AIBU to think there are already people in the UK with coronavirus who think it’s just cold/flu?

[Dennisreynoldsduster]

... because it doesn’t seem particularly easy to tell
It apart from a cold/flu if what we have read is true.

Not trying to start panic or anything, it just seems like people might have come into contact with the Brighton man, not realise it, and assume what they have is just cold/flu/usual winter viruses.
Seems like people can be quite mildly Unwell with it as well so could potentially recover and not even realise they have it?
Unless I am misunderstanding.
Not trying to propagate false news or anything, am just up late and was reading the news and it made me wonder.
I guess this is part of the reason why this is being taken so seriously because it could easily spread the way without people even knowing they have it

I legitimately thought I had it a couple of weeks back before there was any confirmed cases here. I've never felt so rough with a cold, I couldn't even do the school run at one point, it hurt so much to just move, and I don't make that decision lightly - (my dad ended up taking them luckily).

I got a lot of "Don't be so silly it's just a cold".... and it was. Thank God!

It must be really hard to tell. I don't know when you reach the point of going and getting tested. And even then how do you get tested without spreading it about?

From what I know, coronavirus exhibits shortness of breath as well as other similar flu/cold symptoms. I have asthma, that's a pretty standard cold symptom for me.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51442314

You can treat the symptoms Oblomov, and they’re what would kill you. Also there are a range of antivirals available including loads used for HIV treatment, some of which may help treat this virus even though they weren’t specifically developed for it: they’re testing these at speed.

@Straycatstrut how do you know it was just a cold, were you tested?

frightening headline

digs out the alcohol hand gel

I was wondering this too.

It’s cold and flu season and we are told not to go to the gp with a cold unless we have breathing difficulties or signs of a chest infection. If a healthy person contracts corona they are unlikely to be really poorly so may assume they just have a cold so why would they go to the gp?

I suspect it’s the same in other countries and there are possibly 100’s of undiagnosed people.

I’m in bed feel like death with an awful flu the few days - feel crap - assuming it’s just the flu tho!

China gov are dodgy as fuck and their human rights record is not good - the treatment and way they are dealing with this is bloody awful - I don’t think the virus is that bad - but they way they are dealing/treating it is probably not great hence the high number of deaths - they are apparently putting people they suspect to have the corona virus into quarantine with the sick people - possibly spreading to healthy folk

I don’t get why only one person is isolated but the family isn’t.

If I got it my son would be going to college with another 2000 students and my other son would be at school with 900. Surely the children should be isolated too!

I had a cold over Christmas that made me short of breath for several weeks even after the cold had gone. It definitely wasn’t the flu or Coronavirus! I think there’s a lot of panic at the moment over things that wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow normally.

The World Health Organisation isn't one known for panic.

If you have the new Coronavirus then you absolutely shouldn’t be going to your GP anyway Lovemusic. My GP’s surgery has a big sign on the door saying “If you’ve just come back from China and are feeling poorly then DON’T COME IN, go straight back home (even if you have an appointment) and call 111”.

Travelling on the tube the other day, I thought there is no way this is not already the case. YANBU.

I totally believe this. I think there are 00s of people who get very poorly and never visit a doctor - would rather die than go to see one so will suffer on with whatever they have. My dad has always been like this, never seen a doctor in nearly 60 years. Most of these people will - by pure luck / chance- recover and so we will never know what they’ve actually had. I think the real figures for coronavirus are much, much higher than we’ve been led to think. I think for most people it’s just like another form of flu. (I’m a severely immune compromised person by the way - but I don’t worry about this stuff, just as likely to get something horrible no ones known about yet...!)

Of course there will be, but if it feels like just a cold and they have no breathing issues then coronavirus cant be that serious for everyone can it? we cant have GP surgeries full of people with simple colds demanding swabs be taken- we dont have the resources for that.

I'm sure for many people who are healthy it WILL be like a cold/flu and they'll get over it and that will be that. I think the fact people arent aware they might have it is in a way a good thing because that means its not deadly to everyone and therefore, we dont need a mass panic like there has been.

It must be really hard to tell. I don't know when you reach the point of going and getting tested. And even then how do you get tested without spreading it about?

With Swine Flu, it got to the point where you’d just ring a number if you’d got certain symptoms and then be directed as to where you should pick up Tamiflu.

On the 2nd Feb Tencent printed these figures on the left, later that day they were taken down and replaced with the figures on the right.

What are the figures? As in, I can see they've changed but what do they represent?

Reading the New Scientist report from Thursday left me with the strong impression that more or less everyone in the urbanised world is just going to get this thing, and we’ll have to get really good really quickly at administering the best retrovirals and treating dangerous symptoms.

Look at #coronavirus on Twitter to get a better idea of what is going on.

I’d say there’s definitely people who have it but don’t realise. For most people it’ll just be a nasty bout of flu and no worse, which is grim but not fatal. That of course is no comfort to those people and their families for whom it is fatal. It’s a pretty unprofessional virus however if it keeps killing its hosts, so it really needs to get its act together if it has any ambitions to stick around.

I’m not panicking because there’s no point. Beyond the usual measures there’s nowt I can do.

I really recommend checking out Dr John Campbell on YouTube - he's a nursing teacher and he's been making very interesting, calm, sensible videos on Coronavirus, looking at case studies as they are published, and giving practical advice.

two employees caught the virus, one ( unaware) took two days off work with a slight cold, recovered and went back to work. Only found out they had the virus because the visiting Chinese collegue later tested positive.

It's perfectly possible that it was just a slight cold.

scarbados I'm guessing he tested otherwise??