...to ask if you are worried about flying/crowds due to coronavirus?

[hoolydooly]

Just that really. Due to fly on Monday and will be spending time in London beforehand. Bit worried about coronavirus (some of you might remember me from the "surprise trip" thread).

Anyone due to fly thinking of cancelling?
Those of you in big cities like London/ Singapore / Hong Kong / Tokyo: how worrying is it in reality?

I am not too worried by what I see on the mainstream news, but a lot of threads on here talk of worrying stats that are being kept hidden, and the death of the presumably young, previously healthy doctor is a concern.

I’m not worried and I’ll be flying to the US next month.

The fatality rate calculated at the moment does seem high but it is, as far as I know, calculated on the basis of people who have been diagnosed with Coronavirus. Those whose symptoms are minor or negligible, and so haven’t had medical treatment, haven’t been included. That would make the fatality rate much lower.

I also wonder (from a perspective of of a layman’s understanding of lung function and disease) whether the very bad air quality in Chinese cities and their high proportion of smokers makes that population more susceptible to pneumonia because their lungs are already more stressed. Extrapolating further (on the basis again of basically guessing) I wonder if that might account for the higher rate of infection in middle aged men, ie is smoking more common in men in China? I don’t know.

I don't suffer from health anxiety and am rarely unwell either. I wouldn't fly or choose to enter particularly crowded places right now.
Really it only takes one infected person to be on a plane and I'm pretty sure there would be a high risk of contamination

The tube is horrendous crowded each day - I can’t avoid it as it’s my route to work along with millions of others in the London area.

There are no cases in London so no reason to avoid it. I’m flying to the US for work on Wednesday - again no reason to avoid it.

I know a few people (family member and close friend) living in Singapore with young families. They song seem concerned and are still going out and about. Try not to worry and just practice good hygiene.

Don't* not song lol

I’m not worried about the corona virus anywhere in the UK or Europe. Crowds will only be crowds of people who don’t have it.

I wouldn’t travel to Asia at the moment.

I have a lot of friends in Tokyo and no one is really worried. People are wearing masks on the subway and taking care to wash hands. I haven’t heard anything about the government encouraging people to work from home. Quite the opposite, it’s been business as usual.

...the lovely owner of our local Chinese they have had to significantly drop their prices due to the negative effect the virus (and racist misconceptions) has had on their business.
On the news today in Australia, some areas of Australia with high Chinese populations are deserted. An example was Box Hill in Victoria. The Chinese people aren’t out buying Chinese food either.

Here‘s the link
https: //www.3aw.com.au/diners-desert-restaurants-as-coronavirus-fears-grow/

At this point I wouldn't be/am not too concerned about fairly routine activities - e.g. commuting to UK cities, taking a flight to somewhere that's not seen as particularly risky for the virus. Yes, in those situations you could be unlucky, but right now it doesn't seem so widespread that there would be a high risk of catching it.

However, the position is of course evolving all the time of course, and I am a bit concerned about a big conference we have next month. By that stage I would expect it to have grown, not diminished, and the nature of conferences means it's a lot of close exposure - handshaking, meeting many more people than usual in a confined space. Not really looking forward to that given I got I'll after the last one!

Yep, I am worried sick, just booked a holiday in Europe in August and I am worried about that now! I am convinced we are going to get it and I have underlying health conditions so am at risk.

If you're going to China then I would be worried about it. If you are going anywhere else then I wouldn't worry about it at all tbh.

Victorious I'm with you.
I wouldn't be too worried at the moment but I am concerned about the trips booked later this year.

@HomerSimpsonSmilingPolitely
I can’t imagine many are going to China! I live there and cannot get home at the moment.

On some of the threads on here, some people are speculating the death rate may be a lot higher

Who cares? Random people on internet forums speculate about all sorts of things. When i'm in the bath i speculate about alien civilisations that may have existed on Mars millions of years ago, but all evidence of it has now turned to dust. Wouldn't that be cool?

Speculation means nothing.

@ShanghaiDiva I didn't really think that OP was going to China lol.

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope things settle down soon so you can get back home

My concern when travelling to SE Asia is not actually the virus but getting stuck / refused entry etc.

The current Department of Health advice is for anyone who has travelled through the region and who develops a cough / fever / sore throat etc to self isolate at home for 2 weeks. I always develop one of those after long haul so worried about travelling as feels like it means inevitable chaos on returning to the UK.

I'm flying next week to the US so I am taking a face mask. I might not wear it but thought I would wear one on the flight if others are. Not just for coronavirus but for any germ as i often catch a cold on a flight.

Thanks Homer!

I was in Singapore a few weeks ago. Apart from some people using masks - no real change then. Though my family have told me some people are panic buying For no real reason and she had to pay $90 for toilet roll! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I was meant to do a short trip to Singapore and Malaysia in the next couple of weeks but I couldn’t fit it in. Now I’m glad mainly because if I had had to self isolate on return it would have caused huge difficulties at work. I hope the colleague who has replaced me is considering this carefully.

I am not particularly worried at the moment, just keeping an aye on the news really, and making sure dc wash their hands etc.
However a close friend who works in a related medical field has advised us not to book our flights for the summer holidays just yet. He says to wait and see what happens over the next month or two because of the possible increase/risk.

Oh I was thinking of you yesterday. We had a letter from DD’s school (international one based in the U.K.) and any families or children who are visiting Japan (and all China, Korea etc) over half term and Easter are being asked to self quarantine when they return for 14 days. Check with your school what their policy is for when you return.