Coronavirus

Labaik I read many articles by him in "The Progressive".

Alexa coronavirus is a general term for a family of viruses which include the common cold, SARS and MEDS. It is not influenza.

This particular one wasn't given a name at first but it is now been named as COVID-19

Not MEDS. autocorrect knows best!

MERS

I was listening to a GP this morning, he said several times that in U.K. between 3-4,000 people die of flu each year, worldwide this is 250,000-400,000 depending on what records/reports are read.

Hopefully Covid-19 will not reach these upper limits.

GG I think averages with annual flu deaths are very very misleading, the range is huge and depends to a large extent on the efficacy of that years vaccination.I think only a few years ago 17,000 died on year.

I agree suziewoozie, as Covid-19 is a new virus (whether it was transmitted via bats or escaped from the bio-lab based in Huwan) humans have no immunity to it.

The GP I was listening to said that the majority of people wouldn't necessarily know they were infected, just a bit "off colour". It is the side/secondary infections that are causing the problems and in some cases deaths. This is where the elderly, young and those with underlying health/respiratory problems have to be careful not to get infected, this is also true for the yearly flu virus (which mutates each season which is why the "flu-jab" is an educated guess on behalf of the Health Experts)

I feel we are still getting mixed messages which are not helpful. I think the emphasis does need to be on the much greater risk to vulnerable groups. It’s fair enough to say it appears to very mild for most people but this should be followed by a great big BUT.

In the event that we do catch this virus what, apart from self isolating, should we do? Keep up the fluids? take paracetamol?
eat/dont eat? exercise/lie low? use 'common sense'?
Just what? It would be helpful to have a rough idea of the best thing to do. Provided we can tell the difference between a mild flu like illness and COVID19 in the first place.

Cannot disagree suziewoozie I am in the vulnerable group as are several GC and GrandpaGravy.

Lots of hand washing going on here.

If we are diagnosed with the virus, we will be told what to do. We will be taken into isolation surely .

We can’t diagnose ourselves

How will 'they' know about us in the first place?

Perhaps I shouldn’t be listening to the radio but here’s another example of lack of guidance from the top. One child told to self isolate because has just come back from affected area. However was in school the previous day. Girl she sat next to all day is being kept at home by her father. School have said it will count as unauthorised absence and he will be fined. Surely all these issues should be decided centrally

I remember Asian flu in 1957 , that also came from China, there was no vaccine. I was 10 at the time and came from a family of 6 and 4 of us got it. We were really poorly at home not hospitalised. It was a pandemic and millions across the world died as a result.

Sorry I meant to say, about my comments on Asian flu, there was no social media and we didn’t have a tv so as a consequence not the same panic or information.

Well I’m disgusted that a family are going to be fined for isolating a child who sat next to another child who has just returned from an affected area. I don’t really agree with fining parents for school absences anyway, but that would be a new thread. It seems schools, and possibly other institutions, are making up their own rules as they go along. Institutions need very explicit advice from the Health Department.

That was my point. We need much more specific information from Public Health.

Someone on mumsnet mentioned a Dr. John Campbell on utube. I googled it and watched it. He was very informative. I’ll see if I can copy and past it. ??

youtu.be/IL7oGRKETZM

I am concerned that people who wont get paid are unlikely to self isolate. It is understandable especially if they don't feel too bad. There needs to be more guidance on this.

I know people who struggle on into work with a nasty virus, infecting many others and this could be true of coronavirus.

I have a compromised immune system, so I am 'at risk'. It is a bit annoying when people say that it is nothing to worry about as only those 'at risk' should worry. There is an awful lot of us accross all ages! Are we not imprtant? However - I work at a very large hospital, we haven't even got any suspected cases. It is a 'flu like' virus. It spreads very easily. There is no need to panic just yet, or wear masks everywhere, but that doesn't mean it couldn't get that bad, so being aware that we coudl hae a problem at some point is sensible.

The advice I keep hearing from the experts is wash our hands repeatedly with soap and hot water and for at least 20 seconds. Every time you return home and always before eating or preparing food and several times in between. Also don’t touch
your face. Apparently the masks are of little use.

Thanks Envious; very worrying but also reassuring to hear someone tell it like it is.

I came back from NZ 3 weeks ago. After a day I wasn’t feeling well but knew I was jet lagged. It quickly developed into a cold/flu. The result was I stayed away from everyone for 2 weeks, just in case.

Yesterday, I decided it had to have been a cold followed by another cold shortly after. I’m feeling much better now and I’m glad I kept to myself.

It just goes to show how vulnerable we all are with global travel.

I think the true number of people affected is already many times higher than official figures simply because the symptoms are so similar to a bad cold or flu.