Coronavirus

Deaths and cases have apparently soared according to today's reports. This is a long way from being over

My understanding is that they are people who live here so there could be a mixture of British as well as Chinese who live here.

I took my neighbour to the GP surgery yesterday for her routine blood tests and the surgery was deserted, mid morning !

The receptionist said they have been quieter than normal for the last couple of weeks.

anti bac sanitiser is no protection at all against virus. The best protection is hot water and soap and a proper good hand wash, virucidal sanitisers (alcohol based) are what is needed for hands if no access to hot water and soap. Money, handrails etc are all potentials for viral transmission

This will not be over for a long time, in the meantime it is best to take simple preventative precautions. Males are more susceptible than females (y chromosome) and so are the health compromised, older as in >50 and the young

A woman who suspected she had Coronavirus took a cab to hospital???The selfish stupid woman. The poor cab driver has been suspended from working for now - most cab drivers are self - employed - I wonder if he has insurance to cover this??

So many people do seem to 'enjoy' being frightened and panicking. What next? stocking up on food items so that you do not need to go out to shop or even have shopping delivered. For heavens sake!!!
Yes obviously, do take care regarding hygeine, but not just for this virus. Noravirus is far more of a killer. In the past few years we have had Sars, Bird Flu, Ebola, - to name few.
These sort of infectious diseases have probably always been with us - but in the past did not get the immediate media headlines. And, people have always moved around the country and the world.
When people have asked if I am concerned - I have replied that I probably have as much chance of getting this as I have of winning the Lottery - and I do not buy lottery tickets!!
Must say much more concerned about the threats to global life by rising sea areas, melting of the ice and loss of bees.

Please give some advice : Here is the story, my brother is going to visit my cousins in Hove (Brighton) he is going next week. I have been watching updates of news and three doctors surgeries have been closed in Brighton and there have been two positive case in Brighton and another down the road in Worthing. I have heard one school has been closed and warnings sent out at others.
I told my brother not to visit Hove for now but he says it's okay it's only a virus. I said to him not to visit me for three weeks after he has been to Hove as that should be enough for the virus to have had isolation I think this virus is spreading like wildfire and I want to keep myself safe from it if possible.

3nanny you should do what makes you feel most comfortable. You’ll only worry otherwise.

Fran there’s a sensible path to take and this selfish woman ignored all advice. As well as the poor taxi driver, two hospital staff have to stay at home but at least they’ll get paid. However the hospital may well have to pay extra staff costs to cover for them. I agree stockpiling etc is OTT but if we minimise it too much, we’ll get more selfish idiots who think they are infected but don’t think it matters.

Yehbut: "From what I heard on the news this morning the inhabitants of Brighton are worried."

No wonder. The media descended on them in full 'panic' mode. And the Argus is about as reliable as the Daily Mail!

Suzie. I agree. Selfish people are the ones who could cause the spread of the virus. I heard that one of the people at Arrowe Park , who was in quarantine, had said he was leaving before the 14 days was over. Fortunately he was not allowed to go.

I have asthma and am due to visit a friend in London by train in a week or two. The train (often packed) is my concern. Should I go?

NotTooOld. I understand your concern. I have asthma too and there are other viruses around that can make you ill eg flu as well as coronavirus. If you decide to go wear gloves on the train as germs can be left on any surface an infected person has touched. Try to keep way from anyone who seems to be unwell and wash your hands well after you get off the train.
I sat next to a man recently who coughed through the whole train journey. Ended up with a nasty chest infection myself so was sorry I hadn't moved! Good Luck

I do not think it is selfishness. I think it is sheer stupidity. The advice that has been given is to telephone 111, or whatever the number is, or your local surgery then self-quarantine. This woman was clearly too stupid to be aware of the advice or to google for it. Wilful ignorance is no excuse.

What is totally baffling me is how do you and the government know who has the corona virus? Serious question. If the symptoms are, at the start anyway, a sore throat, temperature, runny nose and cough, how can you tell that it isn’t one of the usual viruses that go around at this time of year. So if people who are ill and don’t have a blood test and recover are they not counted on the corona list. There’s no proof what they’ve had so how can official figures be any where near accurate. Also if they do recover and not been counted then the death rate percentage will also be skewed as many more people will be recovering than previously thought. If you see what I mean.

I guess that testing takes place on people if they are symptomatic and have visited or have some contact with a person from an infected area or a confirmed case. So I guess that there's a few about who have been undiagnosed.

I see exactly what you mean Art and completely agree with you

Artdecogran totally agree with you, I know several people with those symptoms at the moment. I haven't asked them their contact history.

i would not be going on a train to london to visit a friend. why take the risk. it's not essential; the cost/benefit analysis does not compute, in my mind.
also i would keep away from anyone who has been to brighton.
i have stocks in the house i could live on for a week at least, dont most people.
also if out, using loos, remember many people do not wash hands. i never grab a door handle to exit washroom without a paper or tissue between my just-washed hand and the door.
some people's lack of basic hygiene awareness is astonishing. i remember a nurse i knew visiting me, by public transport, said she'd make tea, i had to insist i did it because it never occurred to her to wash her hands on coming into the house. she actually said they did not need it. i pointed out all the things she had been in contact with and she just looked blank, as if i was mad.
am very glad i was brought up the way i was.

We can't just lock ourselves up for months, but just practice careful hand washing and normal hygiene. I have no doubt the virus is already circulating, and hopefully most of us will recover if we get it, similar to flu.

Face masks are very little use, and unless you wear a sealed respirator they won't stop viruses. Their main usefulness is to stop you touching your mouth and nose.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/13/huge-rise-coronavirus-cases-raises-doubts-scale-epidemic-china?

I hope this link works. I agree we shouldn't panic but given the disinformation from China, I am beginning to worry. The WHO are apparently scrambling to make sense of the latest figures. Given that it's older people who are dying and that they still don't quite understand the method of transmission, this seems serious.

People keep comparing Corona virus to flu.
70% of the UK population are vaccinated against influenza, this protects the weak and vulnerable.
There is as yet no vaccine for Corona virus.
If it takes hold in the UK it will be devastating.

Then, of course, there is the problem of being taken to the isolation units if you are SUSPECTED of having the virus, which means that if you didn’t have it before, you probably would then be infected!

If it can be caught by touching something with the virus on it. Why not wear gloves?

I daresay we'll all be wearing gloves and masks (if we can find them) if things progress! I don't think it's clear yet about transmission. They seem to think that the uber driver who took the London patient to hospital doesn't have to self isolate although he wasn't wearing a mask so that says something.

The greatest risk this virus poses is to Britains and the world's economy. The death rate of those infected by percentage is very low. However, the virus does appear to make most of those infected incapable of working for at least ten to fourteen days.

Therefore, should the virus expand to become an epidemic then many businesses could have their output or production drastically reduced or cease completely. The above situation in China has already affected the world supply chain with JCB in Britain announcing yesterday that it was curtailing production due to shortage of components by way of the virus impact on supplies from China.

If a large section of Britains population begins to change the way in which they carry out their everyday lives in not travelling, taking holidays, avoiding shopping trips etc, then that will set the UK on course for a deep economic recession and if practised widely throughout the world, then we could all witness an economic depression such has not been witnessed in nearly one hundred years.

As stated, the death rate from this virus is very low and the most favourable way of avoiding any impact from the illness is for all to carry on their everyday lives as normal, or as normal as possible dependent on the progression of the illness.

Anyway, my contribution to the above is to be of to our offices and put in a normal days work, and that I shall do for as long as I am capable in not having this virus.

As corporal Jones would shout in Dads Army, Don't Panic.....Don't Panic.