Coronovirus - an informed view from a medic

Yes, I had this on my FB feed too. It sounds sensible advice but he may not be who he says he is.

I find this letter way over the top. As far as I can see, while most of us are concerned there is none of the panic of any kind that he mentions.

he says What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. Now that really is ridiculous.

I am in France at the moment, we have done normal shopping in the supermarket three times. There were no empty shelves. One brand of wipes were nearly sold out but there were about six other brands, all in plentiful supply.

We have been here 10 days and before we came here we saw none of the fear or panic buying in the UK either.

Everyone we know has reacted in a sensible and controlled manner. In places where there have been confirmed cases, people have made sure they could survive a fortnight at home. Others have made practical arrangements to have tight hygiene control

But this letter is really over dramatic tosh. Is it real or is it afake.

From what I can see in our local shops and supermarkets there is only a shortage of hand gel. Everything else is the same apart from low amounts of fresh bread towards the afternoon . Shops are well stocked

I would agree May7 I used to buy a supply of hand gel from Lidl for the composting toilets at our community garden but there were none to be had this week.

There’s something about that Facebook post that doesn’t ring true for me.

This is on the BBC website at the moment and I think it helps to put it in perspective -

Four out of five people who contract coronavirus will only experience mild symptoms, a WHO examination of data from 56,000 patients says. It suggests:
80% develop mild symptoms
14% develop severe symptoms
6% become critically ill
The proportion dying from the disease appears low (between 1% and 2%) - but the figures are unreliable.
Thousands are still being treated but may go on to die - so the death rate could be higher. But it is also unclear how many mild cases remain unreported - so the death rate could also be lower.
To put this into context, about one billion people catch influenza every year, with between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths. The severity of flu changes every year.

This afternoon there was no LOO roll left on my local Waitrose, which in the absence of widespread dysentery in NE London is LOOdicrous. However, the shelves were still groaning with bananas and LOOse-leaf tea, which was all we wanted.

Well maybe he could tell this to the government and get them up off their backsides and give some guidance. Also to stop all the hype and scaremongering in the media. People are genuinely terrified.

this florid language and grandiose manner does not sound like any kind of doctor i would choose.
his reviews are not good. based in toronto, if its really him who wrote it even.
some very poor reviews, which have the ring of truth, from unpleasant experiences some patients had with him.
these are interspersed with highly comlimentary ones in now familiar style, using the occasional professional terminology... ?

As my daughters would say, with an ? ‘Dramatic’.

Why’s he scared of the Olympics being cancelled?

Why’s he scared of the Olympics being cancelled
?

The world is scrambling to protect those most vulnerable -
I guess the question he is asking, but didnt, is at what cost?
And if that's what he's asking, he must have some idea of a set price-

“But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.”

This ☝️

I hope to be able to conduct myself in the manner of an Aussie bushfire fighter. To just get on with it, do what needs to be done, draw on the better, braver part of myself. Those men and women were/are brilliant. And, if I can conduct myself half as well when it comes to the Coronavirus challenge, then I will be well pleased with myself.

My step 1: Don’t storm the supermarket for toilet rolls.

I haven't changed my mind. This letter comes under the heading 'Fake News' and may have been posted with the intention of engendering the non-existent extreme panic that he claims to deplore.

I would rather be asking who is behind this so called impassioned plea from a medical professional and to what purpose was it posted.

It just doesn't sound like any doctor's opinion at all. He fears an overreaction will cause global recession - when a pandemic itself can easily cause one. He comes across as idiotic. Why not read up on the various concerns about infectious diseases instead?

www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases

I don’t take much notice of anything that comes up on my Facebook feed.
This included.

Only shortage in my local supermarkets etc is hand gel. Plenty of soap and water still comes from the tap. Everything else is available. I have no budget for or storage room for panic buying.

What saddens me most at the moment is when I hear of people in genuine distress or poorly, for whatever reason, being shunned.

During a cholera epidemic in 1832, a famous Edinburgh "worthy" was so appalled at the way the sick were being shunned that he would sit beside them in the Canongate to comfort them.

My view of this too MOnica dramatised rubbish.

We had a shortage of liquid soap, no hand sanitizer or paracetamol, shortages of toilet rolls, tissues, tinned soup and, oddly, apples when I went shopping locally Friday. I am willing to bet that most of the people panic buying are far more casual when it comes to ‘flu. So many people do not have the ‘flu jab when offered and it astounds me.

Flu is completely different from this new virus. There were 3.5 million cases of flu in 2019, around 5% of the population and only a couple of thousand had it seriously. Medical authorities say that up to 80% of the population could get CV.

The government and medical authorities have all been telling us to wash our hands more frequently, and more thoroughly than most of us are used to and that means that we are using more soap, hand sanitiser, and medicated wipes than we normally use, so have had to buy more of these items than we are used to. That is not panic buying. The same with paracetamol, the recommended medication if you do get the virus, and bleach.

I have bought two packs of wipes, items I do not normally use, likewise an extra bottle of bleach and an extra pack of kitchen towel. I do not consider that panic buying. Just following medical advice and needing to buy items that are not usually on my shopping list.

I confess the need to empty shops of loo paper does seem ridiculous and mindless.

Published on Mar 8, 2020 CBC News Canada
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy says there's 'more than enough' fear about coronavirus and wants to see constructive practices like handwashing and avoiding unnecessary travel. He recommends vigilance when dealing with the elderly and immunocompromised people.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=6cpFvORsIAc

And here is the CBC News article:

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-dr-abdu-sharkawy-coronavirus-fears-1.5490534

He can't have his cake and eat it too during an outbreak-

It's the economy or a pandemic- Money or saving lives-

Toilet roll- If the populace suddenly buys twice as much as usual, supply won't meet the demand for it- It wasn't planned for in advance- Much like this outbreak wasn't-

He seems to be saying what he must as a doctor- Everything else he says sounds like an investor -

Rosecarmel The links just repeat what is quoted by the OP. Where all these panicky people are, who are too panicked to take sensible precautions are, I have no idea. I have yet to see an empty shelf or crazed shoppers raiding the supermarkets.

All I see are people calmly going about their normal lives but doing a lot more handwashing and avoiding crowded places.

It sounds like a fake letter to me too, never trust Facebook.

However, just want to say that some of us who have underlying health conditions, are doing our best not to panic but the statistics are alarming. Theres a Cobra meeting this morning and clearly we are in a waiting period. Things may be much worse in a couple of weeks.

It's not fake news- It's an opinion piece- And he is an actual doctor- The interview took place with Canadian network news and is legit-

Nobody wants to lose- Not loved ones, not investments- Due to lack of preparation, we have to choose one or the other- We can't have both- He said what he had to as a physician but emphasized more of an interest in finances and used a guilt trip to bolster his opinion-

We have to listen to experts and use our own discretion- Its not like we were instructed in advance aside from given routine lists of supplies to have on hand to survive for a little while- Other than that, we're flying by the seat of our pants- Which might be any we need more toilet roll!!!