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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

82 replies

Dennisreynoldsduster · 10/02/2020 03:12

... 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

OP posts:

squizzles · 10/02/2020 08:43

It's already in London. I have no doubt about that.

notanothergiftcard · 10/02/2020 08:45

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

Haven't seen anything on Twitter that isn't clearly reported in mainstream news.

The UK govt made a similar statement WRT Sars. I'm not worried and will continue my life as normal, paying normal attention to handwashing and hygiene.

WaterSheep · 10/02/2020 08:46

scarbados

I took SpeakOut's post to mean the person thought it was a cold, so they took 2 days off. However they actually had Coronavirus, so could have potentially spread it to other colleagues.

speakout · 10/02/2020 09:41

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

He leter tested positive for Corona. Point is, he was not badly ill, only a slight cold. Howmany others are in this situation?

CherieBabySpliffUp · 10/02/2020 09:52

For those saying the symptoms might not be that bad... what about the "whistle blower" doctor? He was a healthy man in his 30s and he died.

Whichoneofyoudidthat · 10/02/2020 09:59

There are many who have been tested but are not sick, or very mildly sick, but yes, the death of Li Wenliang does raise some questions. AFAIK he had no underlying illness.

Schuyler · 10/02/2020 10:02

There have been specific symptoms identified for Coronavirus. People with colds/flu who are worried should google this and then seek medical advice, especially if they have reason to think they may have come into contact with someone with this virus.

AnyOldSpartabix · 10/02/2020 10:02

The whistleblower doctor also identified a cluster of patients in hospital and recognised it as being similar to SARS. I should imagine if it was spreading in the general population, given that medical professionals must be on high alert, that it would be picked up fairly quickly.

That isn’t to say that it’s impossible that it is already too late to stop it. There may well be cases still going under the radar. But so far, there haven’t been any cases identified where they have not been able to establish a link with the current Chinese outbreak.

I do think the next two weeks will be crucial. The cruise ship case will probably be under intense surveillance as this is a significant cohort of patients outside of China, with (presumably) adequate healthcare available and a better chance of uncensored information.

Mypathtriedtokillme · 10/02/2020 10:11

I took my toddler (her eye was swollen shut from an allergic reaction to a bug bite) to our local GP here in Australia last week.
All of the reception staff and DRs wore masks and didn’t take them off at all even during our consultation.
There was a case 2 weeks ago in my suburb, there is also a large Chinese population.
Slightly disconcerting!

nldnmum · 10/02/2020 10:14

I think it’s quietly spreading in London and UK already. But what can we do? At the moment, washing hands frequently and keeping healthy are the best defences

bellabasset · 10/02/2020 10:27

There are 4 more cases confirmed today in Brighton linked to the man who caught it in Singapore, then went skiing - and spread it - before returning home.

So the thought of travelling on crowded transport is worrying in cities.

BlooperReel · 10/02/2020 10:36

I'm worried for DH if this does start spreading hugely in the UK, he is diabetic so any illness is worse for him than the average healthy person, and plays havoc with his blood sugar levels etc.

Trumpspeach · 10/02/2020 10:48

I think part of the concern isn't so much the fatalities of it, because I don't think it's significantly fatal for the general public. However, if it becomes an epidemic here then we will have a large proportion of the workforce staying at home. That would have a knock on effect to our economy and infrastructure. The media's scaremongering isn't making things any easier, imo.

Ozgirl75 · 10/02/2020 10:49

I was just talking to my husband about this. We’re also in Australia and anyone coming back from China has to self isolate (we had over 100 families at our school do this). Now, the families that have done this that I know are all pretty affluent, live in nice houses with one family per house. So self isolation is a nuisance but totally do able.

But what if you’re a minimum wage or gig economy 22 year old, living in a shared house, and if you don’t work, you don’t earn? The likelihood of them risking it by going back to work is so high, that I’m sure it’s going to spread more widely here, although it hasn’t seemed to so far.

ifonly4 · 10/02/2020 10:54

I read last week that one of the group who had returned from the trip was a female doctor. Worryingly, one of the new cases is mentioned as a male doctor. Obviously they use gloves for examinations, but they'll have been back to work mixing with doctors and nurses, and close proximity to patients under examination.

WaterSheep · 10/02/2020 10:59

Obviously they use gloves for examinations, but they'll have been back to work mixing with doctors and nurses

Indeed. As well as using communal areas and equipment, such as computers, and potentially commuting to and from work.

Huffs123 · 10/02/2020 11:05

I'm following this closely on Twitter and think it's only a matter of time before we get hit hard here. What I'm struggling to find is the stories of the survivors? Surely if so many people have contracted it and survived we should be hearing more stories about them?!

windymillersmill · 10/02/2020 11:17

Surely if so many people have contracted it and survived we should be hearing more stories about them?!

They probably don't want to say they've had it so people don't avoid them.

bobstersmum · 10/02/2020 11:18

I have thought this from the start op. And I don't think we have been told the full list of symptoms either.

Dusty01 · 10/02/2020 12:00

China is locking down several cities, closing down all business, barricading people inside their homes,

How are people affording to pay their bills and buy food to eat?

Dusty01 · 10/02/2020 12:05

I think it’s quietly spreading in London and UK already. But what can we do? At the moment, washing hands frequently and keeping healthy are the best defences

What makes you think this nidnmum ?

squizzles · 10/02/2020 12:13

I think it’s quietly spreading in London and UK already

I think so too as I live and work in London. I'm actually convinced that I've got it from public transport. I dont have severe symptoms either, I just never get ill yet I'm sick this year at the time of of coronovirus.

Hingeandbracket · 10/02/2020 12:27

I just never get ill yet I'm sick this year at the time of of [sic] coronovirus.
Good grief.

Kuponut · 10/02/2020 12:35

I fairly regularly get shortness of breath from a cold anyway - have it at the moment and irrationally I went into a brief "eek coronavirus" mode because I'm at university with a lot of students who've returned from China after the break... then I remembered one of the kids had a similar bug a week or two ago so it's just one of their lovely gifts of parenting.

I think it's probably already out there just as a "feeling shit cold/flu" thing - was kind of inevitable it would be.

nldnmum · 10/02/2020 12:35

Dusty
It’s just a conjecture, but -
The British man travelled back from Singapore through France them back to London Gatwick via Geneva, then travelled back to Brighton before he reported to the nhs. If he infected 5 people in the chalet, think about how many people he may have had contact with all the way back and infected. And how many of these people may be carrying the virus asymptomatically and spreading it.

The authorises can track the family in the chalet, the people on the plane he travelled back, but they can’t possibly track every single person he had contact with.

But like I said, what can we do? DH work in London and get on the tube everyday. We can’t avoid aside from good hygiene. He’s started to carry a bottle of hand sanitizer.

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