Coronavirus are you worried?

[CountryGirl1234]

So this virus has infected 600+ already and seems to be picking up pace. It’ll be in the UK any day, if it’s not already. AIBU to think this is going to have a big fallout and are you concerned?

amp.theguardian.com/science/live/2020/jan/23/coronavirus-china-virus-flu-scotland-testing-wuhan-live-news-updates

Not worried at all. I remember the hype with swine and bird flu, I didn’t really believe it was any different from regular flu tbh. I knew people who had ‘swine flu’ and it was just the flu.

I wonder at the bubble people who are sick with worry about this stuff.... Your preponderance to anxiety is far more likely to impair your quality and length of life than this virus.

It may turn into the next Spanish flu and kill me... But until the chances of that happening are significantly higher than dying at home from an accident (6,000 in UK last year), I’m not going to give it a moment’s concern.

becomes a big deal in the end. Swine flu, SARS, avian flu - none of them have killed a tiny fraction of the numbers that died in the 2018 epidemic.

Presumably you mean the 1918 epidemic!

Thank you everythingthelighttouches for an interesting and well thought out post.

We've just had a letter about it from my sons school! 🙄

Analysis from imperial Coll London predicts numbers of cases are far higher than officially recorded. Currently ~4000.

That kind of estimate (guess) makes me less worried. If true, it means a HUGE number of people have had only a very very mild version of this illness (hence not detected, or needing any treatment).

I'd be reassured by those figures, but there are reports of China suppressing news of severe cases.

All the people on this thread like, "you'll be fine unless you're immunocompromised! "

Well, I'm immunocompromised. Thanks.

I'm immunocompromised too

I feel sorry for the people quarantined in the city in China, must be so scary and the lack of food mentioned as well.

ragged quite. The cases so far reported by the Chinese authorities are those that presumably have made it to a dr and then formally been screened. Note, there’s a 3-5 day lag on the results of the screen.

Of course, many of these will be the more severe cases and many many more will be in the population at large with mild symptoms.

This has two effects: firstly, it may lead to an overestimation of morbidity and mortality rate. Secondly, it may be giving us a vastly underestimated figure of how virulent it is i. e. how easily the virus is transmitted.

It is worth bearing in mind the speed with which this virus has taken hold, despite rapid (and frighteningly draconian) measures taken by the Chinese authorities.

SARS had been raging for four months before the world became aware of it. This has been going for 4-6 weeks. It is the rapidity of the spread which is causing concern for those in this field.

Also, while I’m at it, the effects we feel here may not come from illness with the virus but rather financial markets and availability of goods which we are all now heavily reliant upon from China.

When they say the people who died were elderly or had “underlying chronic conditions”, they include:
Hypertension
Diabetes
Heart disease for example.

I am worried as my son returned from a visit in China on Monday. He was not in Wuhan. He stayed in Shanghai and Beijing. He did travel extensively by train. So far he appears fine in himself. Fortunately he is very good about hand washing and hygiene. I guess we will wait and see.

We have some visitors coming over from Shanghai - and they have asked for masks to be provided - so I think is more that their worry...worries me...

I agree everything I think the effects here will be on financial markets etc. I think the danger is here is how quickly it spreads and the effect in infrastructure etc with a large percentage of workforce being ill. So far this seems to affect adults far more than children

The 1918 flu pandemic I think had such an effect partly because of the state of the world at that time and the limited resources in fighting it. Today that mortality rate would be lower and I think that is what we are looking at

I don't have my spleen and I'm worried. My son lost his too so I'm worrying for both of us.

They are shutting Shanghai Disney World down, multiple cities are being shut down too. Have a look on Twitter it is awash with videos of people dying in the overrun hospitals, this is WAY more serious than the media is stating.

My brother is in Beijing so a bit worried about him, but do thing the media are being hysterical.

secretwitch there are many academics who have returned from Wuhan itself in the last couple of weeks (several UK Universities have outposts or co teaching programmes in Wuhan) and have not contracted this virus. I hope you find that reassuring with regard to your son.

The problem is this feeds anxiety so people go into overrun hospitals with symptoms that could be treated at home

what worries me the most is the fact our hospitals are already bursting at the seams, closed to new patients in some areas.....with regular flu patients

where and how will this new strain be treated? we have no beds

Since I posted yesterday I’ve seen a video of people collapsed in the street in China and being carted off my men in full body suits.

So I’m a bit more worried.

I’m aware that the videos could be staged or just not what I think they are, but they’re worrying to watch regardless.

The men is body suits are not actors, I’m more concerned about the videos with people pretending to go about daily life as if it’s normal.

14 people have been diagnosed in the UK... I am increasingly worried!

Nah. It's a bad flu essentially. Flu kills older and/or sick people every year. That's nothing new sadly. It's just got a new name.