Response to first 2 UK cases of coronavirus not robust enough

[MissPoldark]

The hotel is still open and accepting visitors. Apparently they weren’t immediately informed that 2 of their guests had been diagnosed.
All public areas should have been deep cleaned but there is no suggestion this has been done.

No details are being released about where the tourists had visited (because of “patient confidentiality” - bureaucracy is dangerous) How on earth can anyone in York know whether they’ve been put at risk?
How can they trace possible contacts without making this information public?

[MyNewBearTotoro]

why are they banning flights from the WHOLE of China?

They’re not in the UK - still plenty of flights to and from China available over the next few days.

[Trafalger]

@GarlicSoup I did and they had no concerns! It's a cold type bug. We have no reported students ill, it was just to illustrate the point that people like me may have it and we all think it is just a cold.

[NaturalBornWoman]

It's not ebola FFS. Most people have mild symptoms. HTH

France, the first European country to report cases has just reported the first person to person transmission. 3 of the original 5 are critical in intensive care.

[Iooselipssinkships]

I don't understand why people are calculating the survival rate against the amount of people who have the virus. It should be determined through the amount of people who have fully recovered from it surely.

It's also saddening to see that those who have died, and those who had flu, are being treated as statistics. I don't see any RIPs or anyone sparing a thought to those who have lost their life. There's not been much empathy at all really.

[teta]

For those who think this may be a mild illness read Sixtone.com . An account of a Chinese resident of Wuhan and his experience of Wuhan with an illness.
It also talks about one of the doctors who discovered this virus - an opthamologist and discussed it in his weibo blog. He was subsequently chastised publicly by the police and warned to stop.

[PhilCornwall1]

I can't possibly get wound up over anything to do with the coronavirus. To be blunt, with the illness I have and how shot to pieces my immune system is, I would more than likely die if I got it.

We all have to go one way or another.

[swg1]

@bridgetreilly The health precaution most immuno-compromised people take in a flu outbreak is.. to get the flu jab.

People are being really stupid about this figure comparison. Yes, the flu mortality rate is 1%. We don't see that in Western countries because we immunise people who are likely to die of it. If we didn't literally everyone in the country would know someone who had died of flu. 2% is 1 in 50. That's not scary if only 0.0001% of the population gets coronavirus. If literally everyone gets it? Think of your kid's school. If it has duel form intake that's over 50 kids per year. One kid per year is going to die. Are you still feeling relaxed?

Malignant melanoma in women has a 98% survival rate for the first year now. Weirdly enough on diagnosis they still don't tend to go "that's practically just a cold, why are you making such a fuss".

[swg1]

I've had regular flu. It sucked. My then-boyfriend had to stop me deliriously cooking myself in the bath because I thought that only immersing myself in actually boiling water would get me warm again.

Off the back of that (because flu does a number on your immune system) I got shingles. That also sucked. Not a good year. Yes, I do pay for a flu jab.

I also got swine flu. That was worse.

Young, healthy, no pre-existing health conditions. Those things were horrible.

I try not to make a habit of implying people who actually had those things basically had a cold and it was a big fuss over nothing due to, I dunno, not being an asshole?

[swg1]

@Sunshineand

Ebola had a mortality rate of 90%. That's 9 in 10. We don't actually have to have a disease that would literally decimate the population to find it a bit worrying.

Also using the death of a large amount of people to insinuate anything less is utter hyperbole is an asshole move.

HTH.

[Whycantibetangy]

Meh - I’m in York, I work in the city centre and we have loads of Chinese tour groups here all the time, my workplace is next door to 2 Chinese supermarkets where they all stop off for familiar snacks (in much the same way as Brits abroad go looking for bottles of HP) I’ve definitely been in close proximity, touched the same surfaces, breathed the same air and have convinced myself I have a sore throat.

Its business as usual here, but face masks have sold out and hand gel is in short supply.
I’m expecting a few new cases to come out over the next few days as they all get back to uni after New Year. A little worried for those who are vulnerable (pre existing health issues etc) but otherwise amused by the hysteria of some.

[Sunshineand]

@swg1 anyone who puts HTH after a post is an asshole (sic)

[woodchuck99]

I'm very concerned now that it has potentially hit a student population. If the "experts" actually knew what they were doing there wouldn't be cases here in the first place. They had plenty of warning but have continued to allowed people from China to enter the country without being quaranteened. I keep reading on the news that PHE are working hard to contact anyone who has been in contact with the student but how can they do that when nobody knows what course they were on and whether they have been sitting next to them in lectures for the last week. They are working on the assumption that people are only infectious when they have symptoms but there is plenty of evidence now that asymptomatic people can pass it on.

The laissaz fare attitude to the fact that only about 2 or 3% of people are dying is outrageous too. Will you be saying that if one of your children's classmates dies from it or do you just think it will only happen to those with other conditions so you don't care as you will be alright jack?

[woodchuck99]

A little worried for those who are vulnerable (pre existing health issues etc) but otherwise amused by the hysteria of some.

Yeah it very assuming that this will probably spread widely now and potentially 2% of those who get it could die.

[woodchuck99]

assuming amusing

[woodchuck99]

One of the two people in the Philippines who has been diagnosed with coronovirus has died.

[woodchuck99]

So if the news said they'd been in York shopping and visited the Jorvik Centre what do you think would happen? Mass hysteria. Scores or even hundreds of people turning up at the hospital wanting to be tested.

But that gives a reason not to trust them when they say that the risk is low. It may not actually low but they don't want to admit it because they are rather patronisingly trying to avoid "hysteria". The student who has it could have been sitting next loads of students in lectures last week. Rather than telling the students and the Chinese persons caused a self quarantine they are keeping everyone in the dark which could lead to those students infecting other students, going home and infecting people in other parts of the country etc etc.

[slashlover]

Rather than telling the students and the Chinese persons caused a self quarantine they are keeping everyone in the dark which could lead to those students infecting other students, going home and infecting people in other parts of the country etc etc.

Where do you end it? All the students in those lectures self quarantine...but those students went to the student union so they should all self quarantine...and some students work in cafes so the people who went there should self quarantine...then those people were tourists so everyone who sat next to them on the train or bus should self quarantine.

[CSIblonde]

Well the room was deep cleaned, and I'm sure the staff got the bleach out everywhere communal. And it's probably 4 now: overnight, one is 'suspected' in London & 1 is 'suspected' in a Hospital in Walsall. (Chinese soldier).

[woodchuck99]

ell the room was deep cleaned, and I'm sure the staff got the bleach out everywhere communal. And it's probably 4 now: overnight, one is 'suspected' in London & 1 is 'suspected' in a Hospital in Walsall. (Chinese soldier).

One person was a student who could have potentially have been in contact with other students in lectures etc. So cleaning the room of the hotel they stayed in for one night isn't much reassurance.

[woodchuck99]

Where do you end it? All the students in those lectures self quarantine...but those students went to the student union so they should all self quarantine...and some students work in cafes so the people who went there should self quarantine...then those people were tourists so everyone who sat next to them on the train or bus should self quarantine.

You end it at the point where the people who have been in close contact with a person who is definitely infected self quaranteen. That would mean the students in contact with the infected chinese student should be informed. This is actually what they say they are doing but considering that nobody has been contacted that isn't true!

[woodchuck99]

And it's probably 4 now: overnight, one is 'suspected' in London & 1 is 'suspected' in a Hospital in Walsall. (Chinese soldier).

They have had loads of suspected cases so far but after testing only two have actually been infected. Subsequent to finding very little has been done as far as we know to prevent further spread. Cleaning a hotel room isn't go to have much effect if they have been sitting next to students in lectures etc.

[MyNewBearTotoro]

Unfortunately the virus is in the population now. It would be impossible to find out every single place an infected person had been and to disinfect them all whilst also finding out everyone who may have also been in those places and where they may have been and who they may have been around etc. There will be more confirmed cases in the UK but hopefully they will be discovered early enough that they can get the hospital treatment they need and it won’t be fatal. We have a good healthcare in the UK and generally our public and living areas are not overcrowded. We’re also fortunate that the virus hasn’t hit us until fairly late in the outbreak do we have some knowledge about what we’re dealing with it. The risk to the UK from the virus is far less than it would be if it hit underdeveloped countries with poor healthcare or than it has been in China where the virus was unidentified and able to spread.

Ultimately the UK is at a very low risk of this becoming a health emergency. There is a high concern for people in China but also a big concern is what will happens if the virus is able to spread. to countries where people are living in overcrowded conditions such as slums/ without access to soap and running water/ without robust public healthcare systems etc. In that case the virus could cause high numbers of deaths globally which is why the WHO are so concerned but the risk to the average person in the UK is still exceedingly low and even if we see a few more isolated cases of people having the virus here is likely to remain so.

[Hingeandbracket]

YABU

[woodchuck99]

Unfortunately the virus is in the population now. It would be impossible to find out every single place an infected person had been and to disinfect them all whilst also finding out everyone who may have also been in those places and where they may have been and who they may have been around etc.

I doubt that they have to disinfect everywhere. Viruses don't survive that long outside the body and they probably need to have been fairly close for at least 15 minutes. If they just gave details of where the student and parent had been it would give people some idea of whether they could have been infected so that they could take some precautions and watch out for symptoms etc.

[woodchuck99]

Unfortunately the virus is in the population now.

And it wouldn't have been if they had taken proper precautions in the first place. It could have at least been very much slowed down and perhaps avoided altogether.