Torquato Testa to Miss Rotorua Slopestyle Due to Coronavirus Self Isolation
Torquato Testa will miss the Crankworx Rotorua slopestyle finals on Saturday after being asked to self-isolate by the New Zealand Ministry of Health. New regulations protecting against the spread of Coronavirus mean that he is currently holed up in his hotel room and could be there for up to 14 days. New Zealand currently has four cases of Coronavirus, however it is protecting itself against visitors from countries such as Italy where Coronavirus has infected nearly 4,000 people and killed more than 100.
Testa says he is totally healthy and not showing any symptoms of the disease but has been asked to self isolate as the disease can incubate within a body but still be passed on. The Italian rider called the New Zealand embassy before he left Italy and was told he would be fine to enter. Torquato then left Italy on March 1 and passed through border security on March 3. He was at the Crankworx site on March 4 for dual slalom practice with Stefano Dolfin, a rider who traveled with him, however they were both asked to leave the site and return to their hotel room.
Initial recommendations published on March 2, asked anyone who flew out of Italy into New Zealand after March 3 to self-isolate for 14 days, which would not have affected Torquato. However, new regulations published on March 4 stated: "anyone arriving in New Zealand who has returned from mainland China, Iran, northern Italy or the Republic of Korea (excluding airport transit), or been in close contact with someone confirmed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days is being asked to self-isolate." The full regulations can be found here.
Testa on his way to 2nd place at the 2017 Crankworx Rotorua slopestyle.
Torquato has since spoken to the Italian embassy in New Zealand to try and reverse the decision but has now received word from Dr Phil Shoemack, Medical Officer of Health for the Bay of Plenty, that confirmed he must self-isolate and not attend public gatherings. It has come as a big blow for Testa who battled his way up to the top 3 in the Crankworx Slopestyle rankings last year after 10 years of competing, guaranteeing himself an automatic invitation to all stops this year. He also fears the impact it will have on his sponsorship contracts after being forced to miss one of the three biggest events of his year.
 | Didn’t want to post this but I have to: we are in Rotorua for Crankworx WE ARE TOTALLY HEALTHY but we are forced to stay in self-isolation in our hotel room from about 2 days because of new Corona Virus New Zealand prescriptions. FOR NOW, WE CAN NOT TAKE PART TO ANY EVENTS HERE! We already contact the Italian Embassy that agreed with us but not the NZ Ministry of Health. This entire situation feels unreal because feels like to be discriminated only because I come from Italy while Corona Virus is a Worldwide problem NOT ONLY OF ITALIANS!!!! Tomorrow could be you: Germans, French, Swiss, Americans... |
| “This is a very unfortunate situation. We have been in close contact with the athletes to offer support to them during this time.” |
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He followed the procedures he was told to follow, he was accepted into the competition and made the arrangements to compete in March 6ths competition. He was told 2 days before competition that policy had changed and that he would no longer be eligible to ride.
Was his reaction reasonable? I am not one to say. Slope style spits riders out faster than any other discipline. You MIGHT be on circuit at a high level for 3-4 years. If you do this, you are probably a top ten ranked athlete WorldWide. Torquato has been able to stay relevant for 5+ years and has only been getting better. Maybe this was his year where he could be a legit 1st place contender. That is LIFE changing. Like, 1 in 1000000 sort of odds. And now 2 days before his most important competitive season he has been told he can not compete. He may not have another year, because you just never know in slopestyle. So yeah, emotion is probably running high and he may have said some shit he wouldn't have in other situations. Makes complete sense to me given how greatly this could effect his life
I know on this website there are only cool and tough guys though
Also, singling out ONE nationality out of a few dozens is text book definition of : RACISMS.( there’s quite a few more countries other than Canada at Crankworx buddy )
You’re seeing a big conspiracy where theres just isnt one...nobody hates Italy man, you guys make sick cars, great food, gorgeous womens ;-) Its just bad luck your country got hit hard with the flu this year!
I don't think the situation is different in other countries, they simply don't care and everyone is fine.
No one will do a test in USA paying 3000 dollars
All those people on a plane with recycled air an only Italians get quarantined....
You dont have more deaths in the population simply because youre testing more people thats just not how it works...Money and testing as nothing to do with the death toll.
The first week we had 11 deaths from covid19 and in the same week 217 for season flu.
Close contact? Sounds dangerous.
@chacou Wow - you got owned big time. Serves you right for injecting politics where it did not need to be. Take your politics to a political site.
The entire international race schedule is in jeapordy.
But senseless is where we are at in this world, so they will cancel at some point. Which is gonna suck and be stupid at the same time.
It's not always about the me me me... Sometimes you have to take one for the team, and sometimes in doing so you have do something that inconveniences you. Here he is only concerned about himself. What if he infected a baby?
And if he were to get sick he'd have the full support of the NZ health care system and not have to pay a dime.
Until the health authorities know more about this virus, then we as a population have to tread on the cautious side of the line.
Hopefully this will blow over like SARS, but indicators are that SARS pales in comparison so who knows?
since
all rider
travel around the globe the problem isn't only for Italians. The discrimination come from the fact that we are the only country in Europe that have
made enough test on the population (initially exceeding the guidelines from the OMS) and search for the virus .Thanks to the Media people thinks that the virus is only in Italy ( fake news about an Italian who have spread it in Europe )
China and Iran , while the other places are safe, time to time and we'll se . Fortunately we could count on one of the best free sanity system in the world (even if the government cut budget to it or don't pay enough the doc) . I agree that the virus is a world problem compared
to whichever events,
so the safe choice would be cancel or reschedule every event if you can't ensure the safety for all the competitors , but the wolrd market can't handle it.
That only justifies the decision and your argument would mean they should’ve cancelled the whole event and stick everyone into quarantine?
So here’s the deal: the virus can only get into your body by one of two ways:
You ingest it, you put it into your body by sticking your fingers in your mouth, nose, or eyes. Yes, YOU are the one making yourself sick.
A mask reduces virus spread by containing the virus that a sick person spreads from coughing and sneezing.
You can prevent getting the virus by washing your hands before you pick your nose. Yeah, you know what I’m saying.
In the end, this virus will spread around the world not unlike a flu virus. All of us will be exposed to this virus in time. Get over it.
.... and yeah, I’m a medical provider, I tell the same things to my clients, and I’m getting tired of stoopid people stressing over this virus, it’s making us all irritable.
and no, if you are not sick you will not get tested for the virus in the USA because we ain’t got enough f*cking tests. Blame your supreme leader, overlord dumbass, Trump.
and no, there is no treatment for this virus, so getting tested doesn’t do jackshit!
He might be a nice person and a great talented rider but I’m not tolerating this behavior. Every single one of us has a voice, follow, view and therefore power to either support or stop stuff like this in either direction!
True, but I'm assuming you're all chilled cause you're healthy.
As a person with a couple of chronic conditions, including asthma, I don't have that comfort (as a doctor I see many people with infections daily).
And there are many people with much more serious conditions than mine. They are all in danger of making it to the 14-15% that will become very seriously ill, or the 3% that will die.
A healthy person who is a carrier of the virus, may represent a deadly threat for someone with chronic diseases.
Its unfortunate for sure and i feel for the guy (and anyone else who in the same situation) but unless there were riders from Iran and China and Korea attending then the call by NZ is totally understandable.
Its nothing against Italy and Italians so get over it and grow up. Maybe pay some attention to current world news.
And as for those of you citing that its 97% survivable, tell that to the 3%...
(not talking about those who didn't have access to the vaccine).
It's completely uncomprehendible for me how you can have an easy accessible, cheap and effective way to prevent a disease and not use it.
(not talking about those who didn't have access to the vaccine, or couldn't get vaccinated or didn't respond to the vaccine due to a medical condition ). They had a solution but opted not to use it.
It's completely uncomprehendible for me how you can have an easy accessible, cheap and effective way to prevent a disease and not use it.
Was going to edit the post above, but PB said it's too old to edit. I admit it was a bit insensitive, sorry for that, but people not getting vaccines is a bit of a touchy subject.
I know at least one other athlete there who has had contact with Italians from the north as well, he has not even been to italy... shall we isolate him?
That’s bullshit... people without symptoms have been tested positive.
It depends on your health how „sick“ you get and if at all but can still be a carrier.
Just like any other flu!
@handynzl: Chris Martensen (Peak Prosperity) March 6th update "How To Avoid Getting Infected By The Coronavirus" on YouTube provides some interesting information regarding masks, respirators, gloves and face shields/eye protection:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4InhmRCIpow
I fully agree with you. Corona is bullshit. Far far more people will die from influenzas than from corona over the same period of time. This is an engineered event that will have devastating economic effects for most and some very positive economic benefits for a very few. People are so easily swayed by fear and rhetoric.
Just another conspiracy huh? Add it to that loooong list of yours...
Signs and symptoms are the same as the flu, this disease is not different. I work in the medical field and if ya'll want to thrive off fear and lack of evidence than be my guests. This will go down in history as being right on par with y2K, one of the greatest examples of man's fear playing into the unknown.
If someone out there has anything about the coronavirus that shows facts other than the flu please do share. Everything that has been shared is merely media hype.
The guy obviously flew over, on a plane that recycles air for other people to breathe. I wonder if they're all quarantined too......