The coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic has led to some quite extraordinary developments in Scotland, the UK, Ireland, and worldwide in the last few days. Yesterday I blogged about many closures in Scotland for archives and family history societies, and the hits keep coming, with Edinburgh City Archive, Dundee City Archive, Stirling Libraries, and many other facilities also announcing closures, including the NRS and ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and the National Archives (TNA) in England. (Update: also now Scotland's national museums - see below)
Some future events are already postponed, and some are seemingly close to it. The Brunton in Musselburgh (https://twitter.com/TheBrunton), the venue for the SAFHS conference next month (www.safhs.org.uk/conference.php), has announced that it is working with partners to reschedule events, but no decision has as yet been announced re: SAFHS, whilst Alexandra Palace in London has now closed (www.alexandrapalace.com/advice/) although, similarly, no decision has as yet been made re: Family Tree Live (www.family-tree.co.uk/family-tree-live/).
Folks, if it hasn't already closed, or been postponed, I would assume it is imminent, but do check with the organisers. Rather than continue to announce facility closures, I am going to assume everything is shutting down shortly, or has shut down in Scotland and beyond, but I will continue to carry announcements of major event closures or rescheduling, as and when announced.
In the meantime, here is the current advice of the Scottish Government for event organisers in trying to help prevent the spread of the virus: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-to-organisers-on-mass-events/.
For the general public, the current advice is as follows:
To slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) the general public are being asked to stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact.
People over 70 and those who have high risk and underlying health conditions are being strongly advised to stay at home as much as possible and significantly reduce unnecessary social contact.
The advice is that people should:
- minimise social contact by avoiding crowded areas and large gatherings, including religious congregations and smaller gatherings such as restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs, cinemas and gyms
- avoid using public transport as much as possible
- work from home when possible
- follow the latest health and travel advice, and follow basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
People showing symptoms suggestive of coronavirus should stay at home for seven days and only contact NHS 111 or their local GP if their symptoms worsen during that period.
Members of a household where someone has suspected symptoms should stay at home for 14 days.
This package of necessary measures comes into force with immediate effect.
Schools will remain open for the time being, however this decision will be consistently monitored and reviewed depending on the spread of the infection. Those who cannot work from home should continue to go to work unless advised by their employer or if they display symptoms.
Equivalent advice from the UK government in England is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response.
There is likely to be an impact on many of us who work as self-employed family historians in the foreseeable future, but as we move towards self-isolation, family history research will offer a fun distraction for many. There are magazine publications out there which can be purchased in print and e-edition formats (including Who Do You Think You Are?, Family Tree, and the online only Discover Your Ancestors), webinars will fill the gaps for events normally requring attendance, and online courses will help towards tutition needs. My Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet book is due out shortly in a a few weeks, which I hope can offer some steers with research from home, and my Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition) is already out, again in print and e-editions. I am currently working on my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, which will be out later in the year.
If anyone wants to share any news of online activities (webinars, projects, etc) over the next few months, drop me a note at chrismpaton@outlook.com, and I will happily give them a plug. In the meantime, I'll also keep reporting on the latest records releases and other developments.
The world has not ended - but coronavirus is going to be an almighty pain in the arse for a bit! Let's just crack on and keep an eye out for each other.
And, respectfully, if you really need THAT much toilet roll, perhaps you are on the wrong diet...!
Chris
UPDATE: From the BBC:
National Museums Scotland has announced the National Museum of Scotland,
the National Museum of Flight, the National Museum of Rural Life and the
National War Museum will close to the public from 17:00 until
further notice due to the coronavirus.
All scheduled exhibitions and events
will be postponed, including the display of the Declaration of Arbroath.
Also, my good pal Alona Tester has provided a summary of the impact of the virus on family history activities in Australia - you can read Alona's account at https://www.gouldgenealogy.com/2020/03/covid-19-and-its-effect-on-the-australian-genealogy-world/
Chris
You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.
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