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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be a bit surprised that nobody in my RL seems to be bothered about coronavirus?

238 replies

Dennisreynoldsduster · 15/02/2020 04:08

Maybe it’s because I have an eight week old DS but I’m getting quite concerned about the virus and the impact it could potentially have.
I know there’s been a bit of hysteria on here and I’m not trying to I whip up more but I’m genuinely surprised that people in my day to day life do not even seem slightly concerned about it.
Most seem to be taking the attitude that it’s just another flu, which it categorically is not - and there’s a lot of questionable personal hygiene about!

AIBU to be surprised at this? Do people not read the news anymore?

OP posts:
Teateaandmoretea · 15/02/2020 20:26

Posted accidentally. There's always something to stress about on here - global warming, terrorism, world war 3 to name a few Most people just choose to crack on with life and see what happens. Otherwise you go mad don't you convinced constantly we are doomed?

Fuckitwhynot · 15/02/2020 20:27

I work in a nursery and two sets of parents have kept their children home for the past week in fear of it. There are no known cases in our area.

EducatingArti · 15/02/2020 20:33

I don't think we need to panic or whatever but it is sensible to actually understand properly what is going on. Saying it is comparable to flu does minimise the potential effects which is as bad as sensationalising them.

Teateaandmoretea · 15/02/2020 20:35

No it isn't. Something can be comparable but either more or less serious. It doesn't mean 'the same' but it has similarities in symptoms so it is comparable.

GorkyMcPorky · 15/02/2020 20:37

2Rebecca not particularly concerned about your immunocompromised patients either?

Teateaandmoretea · 15/02/2020 20:39

I suspect gorky she has enough stuff to worry about immediately in relation to her patients who are immunocompromised 🤦🏻‍♀️

tenlittlecygnets · 15/02/2020 21:07

@jonnypocketrocket - bollocks. Only 600 people died last season in the uk from flu.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 'flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people around the world every year.'

And we have a vaccination for flu.

Coronavirus has a long way to go before it is as deadly as flu.

Sceptre86 · 15/02/2020 21:09

I am just keeping aware through the news, trying to filter out scaremongering. In real life I have been utterly floored with a bad cold, flu like symptoms for 10 days now but as I have not been in any contact with anyone who has travelled to China recently I am assuming it is just the regular flu. I am practicing normal hygiene practices and trying to rest and rehydrate.

I am not angry in any way towards anyone who is Chinese. I do believe the Chinese government have not been completely transparent but dont think any other country would have either in this scenario. What they are doing is robust and they appear to have a stringent plan in place. As for the fact that our own government will not ban flights from China is something people should lobby Boris with if they are overly concerned. For now we can only take sensible precautions eg. Avoid travelling anywhere there has been outbreak, avoid large gatherings and wash hands with soap and water regularly. Everyone should be aware to ring 111 if they have had any contact with someone recently travelling to China and not present themselves to a pharmacy, drs surgery or a and e.

luckylavender · 15/02/2020 21:16

I dunno, I live in Brighton & manage people & I'm quite fed up of the hysteria. The local paper is really stoking it & there are only so many times in a day that I can listen sympathetically.

MethodToThisMadness · 15/02/2020 21:21

2Rebecca not particularly concerned about your immunocompromised patients either?

What exactly is a GP supposed to do to stop someone walking into the surgery and not announcing they have been to an affected area until they get into the room? There is fuck all they can do if people don't follow the well advertised advice to call 111. A GP is not responsible for their immunocompromised patients coming into contact with infectious people, even in their own waiting rooms.

magicmallow · 15/02/2020 21:33

here is quite a good and balanced blog post about the virus by Tim Ferriss:

tim.blog/2020/02/14/some-thoughts-on-coronaviruses-and-seatbelts/?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=convertkit&utm_campaign=5bf

CallmeAngelina · 15/02/2020 21:54

the flu is more dangerous and I don’t see everyone flapping around every winter about that.
I'm beginning to get a little tired of seeing people repeat this ad nauseum.
Think about it. That is precisely the point. They DON'T flap about it every winter. Doesn't that tell you something about this one?

Teateaandmoretea · 15/02/2020 22:02

Think about it. That is precisely the point. They DON'T flap about it every winter. Doesn't that tell you something about this one?

Well they can pop to boots and have a vaccination if they are flapping can't they which puts it more under control? There is nothing you can do here, which is the point and no one knows the truth.

Not really sure that avoiding travel and crowded places as per the article writer is possible for most people - we'd all be sacked. He seems to be missing that the most worrying thing isn't the virus itself but that if lots of people caught it all together then there will not be enough health care resource. So people who need intensive care and could survive may not get it. No vaccines and that no one has acquired immunity means it would spread quicker than usual.

Bouledeneige · 15/02/2020 22:06

On the news last night they evaluated the risk and said that flu was currently a greater risk to public health. Its because we do read the news - the analysis bits - that we are not alarmed. Its always good to be informed not alarmist.

M3lon · 15/02/2020 22:14

The exact type of the virus is not the big issue here. No, corona is not flu is not rhino virus. But they are all very closely related entities with shared evolutionary history. They have different proteins, different coats, different mechanisms to penetrate cells. There is a picture of each attached....pretty little things they are!

You cannot in any sense guess the transmission or fatality rate from the name of the virus. Most corona virus species are not a big deal...most flu species are not a big deal. Almost no rhino virus species are a big deal. But some of each ARE!

What actually matters is how resistant to the virus a population is, and that usually depends most significantly on its similarity to previous viruses that population has experienced. Clearly covid19 is causing problems in the population it found itself in in China. This may or may not translate to problems in other populations.

Some large fraction of the cruise ship cases have no symptoms whatsoever...this in an aging sample of the population! This also means the death rate and transmissibility are currently being over estimated because symptom less people don't show up at hospitals to be counted.

All in all, its going have to start laying out dozens of people in my part of the UK before I'm going to believe its worth doing more than standard hygiene and getting on with my life!

AIBU to be a bit surprised that nobody in my RL seems to be bothered about coronavirus?
AIBU to be a bit surprised that nobody in my RL seems to be bothered about coronavirus?
AIBU to be a bit surprised that nobody in my RL seems to be bothered about coronavirus?
CallmeAngelina · 15/02/2020 22:38

Thanks, M3lon. That seems a measured and sensible take on it.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 15/02/2020 23:31

why do people use inaccurate numbers?
Measles deaths in UK: c. 1/ year
www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data

Flu deaths in uk on average 600. (13,000 in an exceptional year) vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/influenza-flu

saraclara · 15/02/2020 23:58

But you’re right a lot of people have probably weighed up the risks and just think it’s not worth discussing, I just don’t agree!

What don't you agree about? If people have watched the news, read the internet, weighed up the risks and worked out that for them, the risk is minute, what exactly do you want them to discuss?

I've done all those things and put myself in the 'more likely to win the euromillions' bracket. So why do you want me to talk discuss it with anyone?

CallmeAngelina · 16/02/2020 10:37

The trouble with people deciding (on dubious, conflicting evidence, even from those with medical expertise) that it's not a risk for them, they are highly likely to not take care with contributing to its spread.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 16/02/2020 10:40

The Express article was written last month, USA today was talking about current risk to individuals, not future risk.

Bouledeneige · 16/02/2020 10:45

They said it on the BBC News at 10 on Friday. Government advice is that Flu is a bigger risk to individuals than coronavirus.

CallmeAngelina · 16/02/2020 10:50

Yes, but remember what their motivation is in down-playing panic.

Fr0g · 16/02/2020 10:50

What;s the point in panicking about it?
I wipe hotdesk stations with antiseptic wipes when I use them, make my own tea in the office, anb ask a chinese colleague if her family in China are OK from time to time - but beyond that, why bother?
When it's gone, I'll probably keep up the antiseptic wipes - shared mice and keyboards probably hosts a variety of nasties.

Windyone · 16/02/2020 11:03

@FET2020 so you’ve self-isolated obviously if you think you might have it? You have read the guidelines surely? I hope that you’re not just wandering around in public possibly spreading it.

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