The answer is, yes—despite the stringent social distancing regulations set down by governments worldwide, physical orienteering events are still possible for some.
Taiwan is relatively less affected by the coronavirus pandemic thanks to quick action in containing the spread of the virus. This makes bans on public assembly unnecessary and orienteering events (albeit at a smaller scale) are still going on:
Asian countries are the first to be affected by COVID-19, but thanks to hard-learnt lessons from the SARS epidemic in 2003, they’ve been diligent in keeping the infection rates low now in 2020. Asian clubs have also been limiting events to a small scale and cancelling larger events by themselves, without any regulations or coercion. However, the Europe and USA outbreak re-imported the disease to Asia, prompting stricter regulations and shutting down even smaller events in Singapore and Hong Kong (which fared better off than most European countries):
There is reason for hope: there are fewer new cases now in the European countries first hit by the coronavirus (Italy etc.), and countries like Germany and Denmark are expected to loosen restrictions gradually after Easter this weekend. So wash your hands, fingers crossed, and prepare for an exciting orienteering season again!
