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Covid italian mother-in-law

(83 Posts)
Naty Fri 13-Mar-20 03:48:15

Ignore the title. It's just a way for me to get people to read this...

Hi everyone! I posted about my italian in-laws coming over unannounced and asked them to stop kissing my baby.

I was both torn apart and supported on these threads...now I'm back to update you all yet again to implore you all to take things very seriously.

I am now in Canada with our baby for a planned trip, booked before the rampant outbreak. I will not be flying back until things settle.

Please please take heed: the situation in Italy is dire.

Socially isolate as much as possible. Don't mix with people. Wash your hands. Stay inside.

All of our friends and family in Italy are fine, but they cannot go outside or visit people. They cannot travel. They cannot see their grandkids. Grandchildren can be asymptomatic carriers and kill their grandparents. 2 week incubation period. Old people are more susceptible. There arent enough respirators for everyone and the doctors have to choose between who to save and who not to. This is NOT fake news! Please, I implore you to socially distance yourselves.

Canada has announced 3 weeks off of school, but they are saying it's an extension of our march break so that people don't panic.

Please stay safe!

M0nica Sat 14-Mar-20 15:58:28

Some people are not taking it seriously- but that happens over everything. Others are just frozen like rabbits in the headlights of a car and are so scared they are unable to act. But from everything I have seen and read, most people are taking it seriously.

I have actually been part of an online discussion this afternoon by a group I am a member of and we have decided to cancel all our activities for the foreseeable future.

giulia Sat 14-Mar-20 15:52:34

Lucca WHAT! I just cannot believe that a doctor could say anything so stupid and ignorant.

Summerlove Sat 14-Mar-20 15:28:32

I know many people who are not taking this seriously. Who are sitting around saying it’s just the flu. More people die of the regular flu than this. So to say that no one is not taking this seriously is not at all the case.

Look at all the People who still went to Italy a few weeks ago. Look at people who are still planning to take all of their vacations. People are not all taking this seriously.

Lucca Sat 14-Mar-20 13:38:01

I can’t do the link but I read an article in the independent online about dr Christian Jessen (a tv doctor). Who said the Italians were using this as an excuse not to work and its just a bad cold. I felt sick reading it. How can anyone come out with things like that ?

ValerieF Sat 14-Mar-20 10:46:15

I would think most people ARE doing whatever they can to stay safe but without panicking? I don't know of anyone who isn't taking it seriously though? If you are in a position to sit at home and shut your door on the world then great ..but lots of people are not. What would happen if all members of the police force, fire service, doctors, nurses, paramedics, care givers shop keepers all locked themselves away right now? Many people could then die from much more than the virus.

I am fed up with people saying exactly what the Government should or should not be doing. Nobody knows how long this is likely to go on for starters. Yes it will probably get worse before it gets better but the most anyone can do is try to carry on as normal but be extra careful and follow the guidelines set out.

Callistemon Sat 14-Mar-20 09:35:04

Just England, sorry, not including the RUK.

Callistemon Sat 14-Mar-20 09:34:33

Maggiemaybe, yes as younsaid.

792 cases in a population of 5,000 would be catastrophic, you stated per million.

It will rise, inevitably.

However, on average 17,000 people (loved ones) die of flu annually in the UK although the 2018/19 figure was very low.

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 09:31:41

If you prefer raw figures instead of per head of the population the U.K. now has 798 confirmed cases, Italy has 17,660.

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 09:26:46

The figures are here.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 09:24:44

Yes, and that equates to less than 12 per million of the population. As I said.

GagaJo Sat 14-Mar-20 09:18:41

Maggiemaybe, I'm not sure where you get your figures, but the UK has 798 recorded cases.

I have a friend self isolating. She's not been tested but has ALL the symptoms. There will be many like her.

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 08:53:59

Maggiemaybe. I hope you didn’t think I was scaremongering.

Not at all, Lucca, I was speaking generally. There’s so much misinformation doing the rounds at the moment. A doctor I know has said he’s very concerned that sick people are missing routine, but necessary, medical appointments, for fear of going to a surgery. To some of them, this is more dangerous than catching the virus.

giulia Sat 14-Mar-20 08:44:38

One irony is that while The World Health Organisation is giving the world strong directives on how to behave in the crisis, the people of Geneva (where WHO is based) are living their lives as if nothing has happened, totally ignoring all the recommendations.

Lucca Sat 14-Mar-20 08:42:56

Maggiemaybe. I hope you didn’t think I was scaremongering. I did say I was not qualified to judge etc

giulia Sat 14-Mar-20 08:38:39

Naty Thank you!

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 08:18:30

The WHO advice is to follow guidance from your local and national authorities, who are best placed to give advice for your area. I agree.

www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

Maggiemaybe Sat 14-Mar-20 08:15:31

Italy currently has 292 cases per million people, we have 12. Yes, the figure is probably much higher, in both countries, with many cases not officially confirmed, but one undeniable fact is that over 1200 people have died of CV in Italy, and here it’s 11.

Comparing the situation in the two countries is meaningless, and scaremongering is dangerous.

Summerlove Sat 14-Mar-20 08:07:26

naty, you tried. Thank you.
Stay well.

Hetty58 Sat 14-Mar-20 07:55:53

The WHO isn't happy with the UK (half) measures. Surely they have enough 'experts' yet our own government thinks it knows better.

Shelmiss Sat 14-Mar-20 07:44:40

I don’t think what Boris said about losing loved ones was callous. I think it was factual. People will die, that’s why all these measures are being put into place and maybe his words will be a wake up call.

Lucca Sat 14-Mar-20 07:21:22

I’m having daily what’s app chats with an Italian friend and she is frankly very very scared She talks of streets being disinfected,police cars circulating telling people to stay indoors, upwards of 4o cases of pneumonia per day. They find the uk policy hard to understand but I guess there must be a rationale, I know I am in no way qualified to comment.

Baggs Sat 14-Mar-20 07:04:28

The herd immunity idea is not the Prime Minister’s. He is taking advice from epidemiologists. Other epidemiologists and scientists disagree about the strategy being taken. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It means nobody knows enough to be sure what the best approach is.

I heard yesterday by word-of-mouth that Germany is taking the same approach as the UK. Do we have German posters who could confirm or deny this?

GagaJo Sat 14-Mar-20 06:19:30

My best friend is from Wuhan. All of her family are there. A couple were ill, tested, found negative. They're VERY happy with the way it has been dealt with. She was worried to start with because her elderly mother had just come out of hospital with heart problems when it hit. But both elderly parents have been fine. The family took the view that drastic intervention was needed. I agree with them.

I'm coming home Callistemon. I know it's a risk but I can't bear to stay here.

Naty Sat 14-Mar-20 02:58:19

giulia I'm sorry your family won't listen.

I wish you all the very best
(miserable posters included). grin

pinkquartz Fri 13-Mar-20 23:27:21

I do not believe the herd immunity BS either.

I felt cold shock at the PM's callousness....."some of you will lose loved ones"