Top carper stopped fishing due to Covid-19 rule change

THE nation's most in-form carper had to stop fishing for two weeks after being ordered to self-isolate under revised government coronavirus rules.

Craig McEvoy had just finished an overnighter when he got a call from a member of the team running the track-and-trace system, saying that he had to self-isolate.

He, who works with the NHS, had to do so because the person who he had come into contact with had a high temperature, though was not positively tested for Covid-19.

Craig, 40, from Wednesbury, West Midlands, explained: “I managed to get a much-valued overnighter in just before getting a call from the track and trace team on Monday.

“You have to isolate for 14 days if you have come into contact with someone with Covid-19 symptoms.

“It has made the lives of people like me and anyone else in the health and social care sector very difficult.”

Stressful time for Craig McEvoy & team

Craig continued: “One staff member has a runny nose, which could be due to hay fever, but the whole team has to self-isolate. It’s a very stressful time.

“I’m an operations manager supporting the NHS, having a team of nurses, managers and staff.

“In terms of Covid-19, it is very challenging at the moment. The implications of the government’s track-and-trace system are far and wide.

“Anyone who has come into contact with my staff member who had a temperature should self-isolate for 14 days.

“This could be potentially disastrous and dangerous for the care sector, as it could mean a whole team having to self-isolate.

“Highly vulnerable clients could potentially end up in NHS hospitals, putting them at risk, due to a heightened chance of exposure to Covid-19. It would also add pressure to the NHS.

“If you get symptoms again at a later date, you have to isolate for the same amount of time again, even if you have had an antibody test, as the government is unsure how immunity works with Covid-19.

“The night before all of this I managed to bag a cracking 30 lb 2 oz common carp from The Avenue, in Shropshire, on a Dynamite Monster Tiger Nut pop-up.

“Fishing is my respite. It allows me to reset and get ready for helping people that need my support,” concluded the carp fishing fanatic.

Craig has appeared in Angler’s Mail several times with giants in recent months. His success has mainly come at The Avenue.

Several anglers have told Angler’s Mail of their struggles with Covid-19 since the pandemic swept into the UK.

One of them, carp baits ace Jim Rawcliffe, admitted he was lucky to survive his harrowing ordeal.

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