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Coronavirus

Pandemic panic

(508 Posts)
Calendargirl Mon 02-Mar-20 15:27:55

I had a cousin die of the Asian flu in the 50’s. He was about 30. We hear about how many new cases there are, but not much about when, hopefully, they recover. When it was 15 cases in UK, 8 of these had got better. So surely some of these more recent cases are recovering. Do they have some immunity then? I would think they will.

AGAA4 Mon 02-Mar-20 15:22:26

I remember having Asian Flu in 1957. I was very ill and only 10 years old. The doctor came to my house but there wasn't much she could do. None of family caught it, though they had all been in contact.
Covid19 is clearly lethal for some people and can make others very unwell so I think it is good to take precautions.

trisher Mon 02-Mar-20 14:36:40

I still don't understand how they know it is completely new. It has certainly been recently identified, but does that mean it never existed until now? Isn't it perfectly possible that it has actually been around in a milder form? And that people ha.ve had it without identifying it and just thought they had the 'flu. If someone can explain to me how they are sure it is new I would appreciate it

Daisymae Mon 02-Mar-20 14:36:33

The advice is that parents should consider childcare arrangements should they become ill. This is a serious situation.

Daisymae Mon 02-Mar-20 14:33:28

Because it's highly contagious. Because the mortality rate for those with complications is high. Because if lots of people become ill at once the NHS can't cope, healthcare workers are at a higher risk of contagion. Doctors are already saying that ICU beds will be given to those who have a good chance of survival. I know many people who won't make the list. Is that enough to be getting on with?

SueDonim Mon 02-Mar-20 14:29:56

I don’t remember the 1957 flu and don’t know what they did, but I think the issue with Covid19 is that it’s completely new and no one has any immunity, which means it could hugely affect the world’s population. Apart from the burden on health services, there will be the effects on manufacturing and commerce, with a possible later recession to deal with.

It seems that most people will only have mild or unnoticeable symptoms but, depending on which figures you look at, the numbers who would require hospitalisation could be between 2.25 and 6 million patients in the UK alone. That’s massive.

I’m not given to hysteria and I’m not panicking about this but I think it does need to be taken seriously.

Bridgeit Mon 02-Mar-20 14:09:02

Well it does seem that they have gone into overdrive, especially compared with other Situations.
I’ve almost gone into conspiracy mode, ?what are they trying to hide/ get away with !

vampirequeen Mon 02-Mar-20 13:18:37

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I've heard the corona virus isn't a very pleasant illness but then it's not the worst illness either. Seems to be a fever, aching and a cough. Most people who get it will recover but like all illnesses a few won't.

So why the panic? I vaguely remember the Hong Kong flu....mainly because my mam got it and my Grandma came to look after her and us. Mam must have been really ill to ask my Grandma for help. I remember she was in bed for what felt like ages but was probably only a few days. I don't remember mass panic, schools closing etc. I wasn't very old at the time and my memory isn't as good as others. Was there a panic? Did the nation go into shutdown?