Coronavirus - should we prepare?

My daughter, who lives with us, and I have prepared. She's off to Thailand on Thursday and has learned that, if she comes back with symptoms, she must self-isolate for 48 hours. I have reassured her that I will seal her door from the outside and deliver regular trays of food.

She is a nurse and is not worried in the slightest about the virus.

People stock piling leads to empty shelves and then more panic because people have been selfish. No I won't stock pile. Anyone that does is selfish thinking only of themselves and not others....

Once we've all stocked up for Brexit, stocked up for Storm Ciara, stocked up for Coronavirus, and every other possible eventuality, our homes will resemble supermarkets!

I've no room to stockpile, and no inclination to, either.

Media driven hysteria, in my opinion.

I think at the moment about 4,300 are fully recovered and 1000 have died. Until more people recover we won't have a real death rate but it is constantly shrinking as they find treatments that work x

Most countries are quarantining anyone who turns up ill at an airport, irrespective of whether they have been in China or not.

I feel we should be wary of fear-mongering,

I also feel that anyone who is running a temperature or the like should stay at home until they feel better, so they don't spread the infection whether it is corona,the flu, or the common cold.

Maybe people could live off their Brexit stockpiles.

For many years now I have washed my hands as soon as I get home - it's amazing how much dirt rolls off after shopping in supermarkets - even Waitrose! I also avoid touching my face while I am out. I think these two simple measures have ensured that I get very few colds etc.
Sitting in a restaurant recently I saw a man sneeze lavishly into his hands, rub them together, and then open the door and come in. I shouldered my way out, but wondered how many would grab that handle in the next few minutes! This selfish behaviour is what spreads illness mostly. A small bottle of hand steriliser gel in my bag, and I face the world of germs with confidence!

I have antiseptic gel in the car as well as in the kitchen. DH tested positive for Cdif when he returned from a long spell in hospital last year so I switched to Flash with bleach for my household cleaner.

I need to take extra precautions for DH's sake. I dread him becoming ill again.

I have my Brexit stash of toilet rolls

As a result of medications that reduce my immune system, I'm more likely to pick up virus/cold/flu. If I do, it's more likely to morph into something unpleasant with long lasting consequences. I'm therefore in the at risk category
I'm always a bit Lady MacBeth on the hand washing front. I have anti sceptic wipes in the car, wipe down steering wheel, door handles, hand break, gear stick and so on.
I plan to be more vigilant but won't be stock piling anything.

I can't stock up as I have only a small house. I hope that if I have to be housebound, I'll be able to order supplies from Waitrose, though shops may be short of necessities too. I do have a stockpile of toilet rolls, however; and I may be unique in having some surgical masks, bought originally to protect me from pollen in the garden.

No, don’t panic (Captain Mainwaring) just be sensible about hygiene and vigilant.
Stocking up just causes shortages for others,

I have a friend whose Chinese wife is stuck in China where she was visiting family. I will not repeat the stories she tells about the way the authorities are dealing with the problem. I will just say they remind me of the stories we hear about the Black Death.

I keep a stock of food in the house at all times for emergencies.

My brother in law has has a cough for years as a result of medication. He recently stopped in Singapore on his way home from New Zealabd so his neighbour has reported him to NHS England and he has been checked by his gp - as a priority!

Silly neighbour has only lived next door to him for 12 years and, presumably, listened to his cough for all that time.

A good item to buy is a tube of that hand 'steriliser' gel that you put beside the sink or wash hand basin for people who are too busy to wash their hands.

It is not the same virus as influenza. I stand corrected having googled the difference. My only excuse is that it was a GP who told me so I assumed it was correct information. He should have said they were similar I expect.
My apologies to all.

Because of medical treatment, my immunity to viruses etc is reduced. I have therefore stocked up on antiseptic hand gel (which I have read needs to contain over 60% alcohol) and also antiseptic wipes.

I don't think that younger people these days understand illness the way that we did back in the 1950s when as a small child steadfastly nursed by my mother I soldiered on through chickenpox, whooping cough, measles, Asian flu, rubella and mumps. Though it was horrible at the time, most of us children survived. And much respect is due to those 1950s stay-at-home housewife mums who bravely nursed their sick children on pitiful resources and old wives' tales.

It is stockpiling which leads to empty shelves which leads to panic buying........vicious circle, but unnecessary.

I think the Department of Health quarantine plan is working, I heard Dr.Hilary say this morning that on average 4,000 people die of flu each year in the U.K.

I am in the "susceptible group" but I cannot waste my precious time on Earth worrying about something I might / might not catch.

My ex husband lives and works in China - don't think he is anywhere near Wuhan though
Last time I heard from him, the whole country was in lockdown and he wasn't allowed to go to work and travel, unless for essentials was not allowed - his area was under curfew, that was nearly 2 weeks ago and no cases had been diagnosed in the area at that time.
As he is an Aussie, not sure if he will be flown back there or not - communication is by Facebook and seeing as the Chinese government do not agree with that, have not heard anything since!

It is flu. A new variant but still flu. Every year the predicted mutations are included in the flu vaccine which hopefully we have all had. Unfortunately this variant wasn’t predicted but that doesn’t mean we are all doomed.

Gross misinformation

Back to the OP, no, I won't be stockpiling anything.

wildswan16 that is what worries me, I have to get outside every day,,, else I can spiral down, to be confined quite frightens me, guess I can go in the garden?

I think the media has a lot to be blamed for... all doom and gloom

Yes I do think we should prepare . Maybe if the people in China was more prepared they wouldn't be in the situation they are in now . Those who say it's only a bug , should look up what is really happening in China and not only listen to what the media is telling them . The crematoriums are working 24/7 burning bodies . Doesn't seem like a slight bug to me . It always pays to be prepared and prevention is better than cure .

This virus does seem to spread very easily, perhaps more than our "normal" flu. If there are problems to come I think it will be because of services struggling to cope with reduced staff, and the need to put quarantine measures into place to prevent massive numbers of infection.

The NHS is certainly going to be overwhelmed and we should all do we can to ensure that we protect ourselves as much as possible.

Out of interest - how do you think you would cope if you were told today that you could not leave your home except twice a week (for which you need a stamped pass) in order to buy essentials. That is the reality in China, along with no public transport etc etc. How would we in the UK react?

Some man from Nottingham University was on yesterday’s news speaking about this and he said the flu jab wouldn’t have any affect at all on Coronavirus.