To be worried about Coronavirus part 5

[idontusuallypanic]

Parents here are very upset about kids from Milan being at school today.

DS teaches in Japan, this was announced today:

japantoday.com/category/national/Japan-to-close-all-schools-until-early-April-to-control-spread-of-virus

He's coming home. It's not just fear of catching it but all the knock on effects. I expect people will start panic buying there. He won't be able to work for a month anyway (and then will likely not get paid for it). Whether it's all panic or the government there think it's worse than they're admitting, I don't know. I'm not prone to panic but I am looking forward to the day he flies home!

If it spreads the way we are expecting in the uk I wonder how much our numbers will be any more accurate. People say China aren’t being honest but I think maybe they just are inundated and trying their best

If you watch the report from the international team that looked at China's approach I can guarantee that you'll think China have and are doing an amazing job at tracing contacts and quarantining.

What they have in place was astounding - as in world class.

Partly because they have an incredible amount of data on their citizens. Most people pay for everything using the WeChat app apparently so they used that data plus surveillance cameras.

They are uploading a transcript of the international team's report so will link to that when it's available as I don't think I can adequately convey how jaw droppingly good the Chinese system for contact tracing and isolating is.

Far, far, far beyond anything we have here.

Meruem saw your earlier posts, my younger DD taught in Japan for two years. Glad your DS has decided to come home seems like the sensible thing really. Japan's much bigger than the UK I must say them deciding to shut all the schools is pretty telling.

Transcript of WHO press briefing today:
"The point is not only to prevent cases arriving on your shores. The point is what you do when you have cases.

But we are not hopeless. We are not defenseless. There are things every country and every person can do.

Every country needs to be ready to detect cases early, to isolate patients, trace contacts, provide quality clinical care, prevent hospital outbreaks, and prevent community transmission.

There are some vital questions that every country must be asking itself today.

Are we ready for the first case? What will we do when it arrives?

Do we have an isolation unit ready to go? Do we have enough medical oxygen, ventilators and other vital equipment?

How will we know if there are cases in other areas of the country?

Is there a reporting system that health facilities are all using, and a way to raise an alert if there is a concern?

Do our health workers have the training and equipment they need to stay safe?

Do our health workers know how to take samples correctly from patients?

Do we have the right measures at airports and border crossings to test people who are sick?

Do our labs have the right chemicals that allow them to test samples?

Are we ready to treat patients with severe or critical disease?

Do our hospitals and clinics have the right procedures to prevent and control infections?

Do our people have the right information? Do they know what the disease looks like?

It’s not usually a runny nose. In 90% of cases it’s a fever and in 70% of cases a dry cough.

Are we ready to fight rumours and misinformation with clear and simple messages that people can understand?

Are we able to have our people on our side to fight this outbreak.

These are the questions that every health minister must be ready to answer now.

These are the questions that will be the difference between 1 case and 100 cases in the coming days and weeks.

If the answer to any of these questions is no, your country has a gap that this virus will exploit."

Link: www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/joint-mission-press-conference-script-english-final.pdf?sfvrsn=51c90b9e_8

One part of the international team's report:

"A couple of things have differentiated. The first, they took this old approach and then turbo-charged it with modern science and modern technology in a way that was unimaginable even a few years ago.

Just a couple of small examples.

As they cleared these giant hospitals to make space for overwhelming numbers of COVID-19 cases, they moved a huge amount of the routine provision of medical services onto online platforms and other mechanisms that they’ve really come to a cutting edge with.

And when we were in Sichuan, wondering how they were working with the remote areas, they showed us that they have prioritized a rollout of a 5G platform so that they could do real-time contact, support, with investigators in the field, we asked to see it, and in two minutes up on the big screen they pull up an epidemiological investigation team that was in the field, was having problems with something hundreds of kilometers away, and was getting walked through it by the top experts from the province.

So it brought a lot of attention to understand this strategy, because it’s fundamentally different to the way most people think about approaching a dangerous respiratory pathogen in the modern era."

@onalongsabbatical

Yes, as I say, I don't panic easily but even I am starting to worry about him now. He can always go back in the future if he wants to, but at the moment I'd be happier having him here. He feels the same.

Following
Booked Italy flights earlier this week and it’s gone crazy since

Are you still going to go @thisisworsethananticipated ?

Iran's former ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi Khosroshahi, has died of coronavirus - IRNA

I've just had my next 2 weeks work cancelled and I expect that's just the start. I'm now more worried about how I'm going to pay my bills and mortgage than about catching Coronavirus. I'm self employed.

What kind of work do you do @unluckyagain?

I'm in the tourist industry.

@wheresmymojo yes - couldn’t agree more re China. Our only advantage is that we should have seen it coming and have plans in place. This may explain the higher death rates in Hubei compared to other areas. I also read somewhere (here?) that in South Korea there is an App available where you can track every infected persons movements. Having said that the use of drive-through quick testing facilities - being trialled here apparently- sounds like a great innovation.

I should have said I'm not personally worried about getting Corona virus. I'm in a major city so mixing with thousands of people every day. I do understand the concerns of those who are vulnerable or have vulnerable family members. But in my every day life at the moment I don't see any panic, just thousands of people going about their daily business as normal. Im sure it's possible some of them will have come in contact with the virus.

Let's hope the situation doesn't get worse.

Gosh, that's a tough industry to be in right now @unluckyagain! I bet it's taken a beating with the uncertainty over this virus.

www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk/health/buxton-coronavirus-patient-escorted-hospital-ambulance-men-hazmat-suits-2001930?

Might be a silly question but every single person who is diagnosed with Coronavirus at the moment in the U.K. is in hospital? Why is this? If for most it is a mild illness? Is it to stop the spread and they can’t be trusted to self-isolate?

Ok with such small numbers but once we get in to the 100s they can’t all be in hospital?

Just reading about Japan closing schools til April.

All sorts of things going through my mind at the mo, but thinking about reinfection and constant cycle of possibly undiagnosed cases in schools here.

The gov seem intent on keeping schools open for business, so if/when it kicks off here and we’re sending our children in they’re going to be constantly subjected to it, I know children seem to get it mildly but to be repeatedly exposed and subsequently infecting parents/teachers/others etc can’t be good for their health long term or anyone’s!

I just can’t understand how this is going to work. Will every child in school with symptoms be tested, doubt it as things are going.

My dd has just come home today and mentioned the amount of coughing (aware of Corona!), a child could easily be there with a (mild) infection now and school thinking no cases.

I suppose what will happen is the poor teachers will get infected too and if no teachers, no school.

Any teachers, what are your thoughts?

Ok so pupil sent home from dc school today, showing some symptoms of coronavirus. Been to region 2 during during the holidays.

School cleaned.

My question, will we get told if this pupil is getting tested or not and... If they are positive will we get told as parents?

I don't find it's reassuring to say that they were sent home and its been cleaned where the pupil was.

As far as I'm aware, schools don't have to tell you if someone is being tested, only if there is a positive case

130 guests at the Tenerife hotel to be allowed to return home as they have no symptoms, provided they are monitored by their home government.

Apparently the health minister of Tenerife has meet with representatives of some countries who are willing to repatriate their citizens.

No details of which countries.

I have to say that given that particular hotel is used by UK tour operators there must be several other brits who were staying there at the same time as Buxton man, who returned at the same time as him. No word yet on whats been done about these people and whether they have been tested.

I'm really sorry if this is a stupid question - I have started to read the thread but it is very long. Does anyone have a feel for what might happen with regards to flights to other countries over the coming weeks? Or is that just too difficult to tell? specifically Ireland I am thinking. Just pondering..

Monitored by their home government? Like at Arrowe Park? Or at home?