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Coronavirus Testing

(169 Posts)
Chestnut Thu 23-Jan-20 18:36:28

Four Chinese patients have been taken to hospitals in Scotland and Northern Ireland to be tested for the killer coronavirus after returning from China with flu-like symptoms. The unidentified patients are thought to be from Wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak which has killed 18 people.

Why are people travelling when I understand they have been told not to? They should close down the airports in that area.

Calendargirl Sat 08-Feb-20 16:48:23

After the 14 day quarantine period, where will they all go? They won’t be able to return to China and their homes and jobs for ages.
Apologies if I’ve posted this before.

Callistemon Sat 08-Feb-20 16:44:51

I think different countries seem to be instigating different procedures and I am worried about my Australian family.
I thought the procedures here apply to all the UK, or does Scotland have a different system?

Grammaretto Sat 08-Feb-20 16:40:51

Callistemon yes I thought that too. I wonder if it's Chinese whispers.
Naturally her parents are very anxious and maybe don't know what is going on.

Callistemon Sat 08-Feb-20 16:03:57

Grammaretto if she is being brought back with the others in the general evacuation I would think she will have to go into quarantine straight from the plane.

Grammaretto Sat 08-Feb-20 14:10:46

There's a notice on the door of our local chemist saying keep away if you've recently returned from the East and are unwell. Phone the doctor etc.

There are mixed messages though.

Our friend's DD is being brought back from China where she has been volunteering for almost a year.

Now she is going to a Scottish island for a few days to stay with other friends. Surely she should keep away for a week or so?
Her mum is a nurse at the hospital and has been given different information.

Should we be panicking? My instinct is not to panic but to play safe.

Yehbutnobut Fri 07-Feb-20 22:34:31

I fear the cat is out of the bag.

Chestnut Fri 07-Feb-20 17:46:35

But how many people will follow the 'national advice'? People are often pretty stupid, they will go to surgeries.

Daisymae Fri 07-Feb-20 17:18:26

The national advice is not to go to GP Surgery or A & E but to phone in. Its obviously the best way of minimising the spread. It does seem that it is highly contagious. There are over 60 people on the cruise ship who have tested positive. It seems unlikely that the doctor who first raised the alarm would have been careless.

Callistemon Fri 07-Feb-20 15:50:41

MawB that doctor raised the alarm quite a while ago now and was ignored; he either did not catch the virus from his first patient and caught it from another patient later, or he developed complications from which he has died.
We found the time lapse rather odd.

cornergran Fri 07-Feb-20 14:41:51

No texts but similar wording is in a hard to miss block at the top of each section of our practice web site. It goes on to say anyone in that situation will be visited immediately at home by a paramedic. I imagine the last thing any surgery wants is to put patients at more risk than anyone ever is from the mix of germs in a waiting room.

MawB Fri 07-Feb-20 14:35:34

It sounds Salsa as if the doctor is saying “Don’t come near me!” grin
Out of interest, not counting the poor Chinese Dr who first raised the alarm and has just died, how come doctors don’t catch everything going?

Chestnut Fri 07-Feb-20 14:18:45

Haven't had the message but it indicates there are going to be a lot of people roaming around who might be infected. The government are telling people who arrive in the UK to 'self-isolate' as if you can trust people to do that!
The mortality rate may be 11% in total but is much higher in the over 60s. I am getting the pneumonia jab in Boots just to be safe. The doctor's surgery has no vaccines at the moment, but I may have that one later as I think it's different from the Boots jab.

Yehbutnobut Fri 07-Feb-20 14:04:29

No, but think that is excellent and proactive.

SalsaQueen Fri 07-Feb-20 14:03:35

I had a text from my doctor's practice this morning.... saying that if I've been in China recently and feel unwell, I should ring the doctor but not leave my home. Has anyone else had a message like that?

Yehbutnobut Fri 07-Feb-20 14:01:34

My understanding is that the mortality rate is 11%.

willa45 Thu 06-Feb-20 17:20:42

Jennifer......Agree. If it's a viral infection, antibiotics are useless. The issue is that most viral infections tax the immune system making a person more vulnerable to (secondary) bacterial infections.
Antibiotics may be ineffective against viruses but will take care of bacteria that would otherwise have an opportunity to raise even more havoc.

M0nica Thu 06-Feb-20 17:17:10

....and, I might add, most will be fit and well so will not need medical care, just regular checks of temperature and condition once or twice a day. Conditions like an old fashioned holiday camp, but without the entetainment team or, probably, the bed makers.

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 17:16:11

With all the space and facilities that Australia has, their government decides to send its citizens evacuated from China to Christmas Island!

Talk about dumping your problems on someone's else's doorstep; they must have the resources in mainland Australia to deal with this.

M0nica Thu 06-Feb-20 17:15:06

Chestnut, not all of them will come home, many who have lived there along time will just hunker down. Those who do come will not come home in one day, not sufficient flights, but will return slowly over a month plus. So some will be through quarantine and away before others arrive. There are also other empty NHS and barrack sites with large unoccupied buildings that can be turned into quarantine centres.

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 17:11:29

There are about 30,000 British nationals in China, willa.

willa45 Thu 06-Feb-20 17:08:57

Chestnut.....
Didn't realize there were that many.

Here in the US, they are chartering flights to bring Americans home. Upon arrival, they are swiftly bused to military bases to be quarantined for at least fourteen days. Several of these Charters have already landed in places like California and Texas; most of them with less than two hundred passengers at a time.

JenniferEccles Thu 06-Feb-20 17:03:06

Yes that’s true willa45 but there is also a lot of misconception around regarding antibiotics and viruses.

Chestnut Thu 06-Feb-20 16:59:50

willa45 - there are thousands of Brits in China. How can they quarantine them all on arrival?

Daisymae Thu 06-Feb-20 16:50:36

I suspect that there is a reason that the government is advising tens of thousands of British nationals to return. My guess is that the infection and death rate are highly underestimated. However it does seem that a return will spread it, but maybe that's inevitable?

willa45 Thu 06-Feb-20 16:39:26

Chestnut,
As long as they're strictly quarantined as soon as they arrive, everyone else should be OK.