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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Person diagnosed with Coronavirus next town over from me...aibu?!

186 replies

JuniperNet · 27/02/2020 14:07

Just seen this in the local news that a school has closed in the next town over from me as one of the pupils parents has had a case of Coronavirus confirmed yesterday.

AIBU to be a bit freaked by this?! Too close to home for my liking!

OP posts:
Echobelly · 27/02/2020 18:15

YAB a bit U - I think at this point you have to accept that it's fairly likely you'll get it and honestly if you are under 80 and don't have any underlying health problems or a job where being off will be a problem for your continued employment, the worst you have to be worried about is the inconvenience of self-quarentining and having a bug that might be nasty (or may not actually be that bad)

HoffiCoffi13 · 27/02/2020 18:22

But Echobelly don’t you get that people may be concerned for loved who are over 80? Or loved ones (DC for example) who do have underlying health conditions? Surely we’re not all only worried about our own risk of death?

mn12345 · 27/02/2020 18:24

I am not losing any sleep over it.

The symptoms are generally mild similar to those of a common cold. It can cause respiratory issues.

Bunnyfuller · 27/02/2020 18:28

And meanwhile BJ and his rich buddies are scurrying around gearing up to force a No-deal Brexit.

It’s an ill wind, eh?!

vdbfamily · 27/02/2020 18:29

There was an expert on Radio 4 this morning as I drove to work. He was kind of saying that it will not really disappear until it has run its course. If we go into lockdown for a few weeks, it will just reappear and spread after that and it might be best to get it over with and not delay until the Autumn when hospitals generally start their winter pressures meltdown! They reckon it had been in Itally nearly a month before anyone noticed so hundreds/thousands have probably had it and recovered without even knowing. They are starting this week in 8 hospitals around the country to do far more testing of in patients to see how widespread it actually is. Our hospital is one of the 8. This will give them better figures on likely levels of infected people.

Lynda07 · 27/02/2020 18:30

No I would not be freaked out for myself. I would be concerned for anyone who was in contact with the infected person especially if they were elderly and/or had health issues but for most people it would not be any more of a problem than most viruses - horrible while they last but they come to an end (without the affected person coming to an end).

Aragog · 27/02/2020 18:31

Its all over the country. I know someone who works in the Infectious Diseases Ward at my local hospital.

If this is yorkshire and NHS I would be interested to know who is saying this.

Sheffield - two cases in the Hallamshire hospital being treated there. It has been in the news in recent days.

SallyWD · 27/02/2020 18:32

I read they estimate up to 70% of the world's population might get it. I think we have to be prepared for the fact that we or our loved ones are likely to get it. Having said that the mortality rate is about 2% but I worry for elderly parents.

ElderAve · 27/02/2020 18:36

I'm not really worried about the illness (what will be will be) but I am starting to be concerned about the level of disruption it may cause.

ElderAve · 27/02/2020 18:38

If 70% are to get it and mortality rates are 2%, in a street of say 50 houses, that's approx 2 deaths?!

bellinisurge · 27/02/2020 18:41

Buxton is nearish me too. We visit regularly and were there last weekend.
Just get yourself as set up as you can be and take what comes. Plenty of sensible advice on MN about doing that. As well as snarky pants posts which you can ignore.

Echobelly · 27/02/2020 18:46

@HoffiCoffi13 - sorry, hoped it would be implicit in that that you may be concerned for vulnerable people around you! Obviously everyone should do their best to prevent getting it for those people's sake, but I think a lot of people who don't really have anything to worry about themselves are being too anxious for their own health.

Like @ElderAve I a most concerned about potential disruption ... and just having no idea what it's going to be like or how long it's going to go on for.

HasaDigaEebowai · 27/02/2020 18:54

Interestingly 34% of the italian cases are hospitalized and 8% are in intensive care. This follows the pattern in Chinese cases

StealthPolarBear · 27/02/2020 18:55

Bellini you are the voice of reason :)

Doobigetta · 27/02/2020 18:56

I tell you what, then, @Gadareen, you isolate yourself at home for the next three months just to be on the safe side. Best stay off the Internet as well, in case it turns out to be capable of transmitting that way. You’ve clearly already succumbed to UNNECESSARY CAPITALISATION, which I’ve heard can be absolutely lethal Hmm

Aragog · 27/02/2020 18:56

People keep quoting higher mortality rates. This is from the BBC.

Is the coronavirus worse than flu or Sars?

The answer is not as straightforward as it might seem. The virus appears to kill around 1% of people infected. This is far less than Sars (10%) Mers (34%) or Ebola (50%). However, what matters is how many people it can infect. Flu has a low death rate, but it kills hundreds of thousands of people each year because it infects so many. We still do not know if this new coronavirus is going to spread round the world.

Who is worst affected by the virus?

The old and the sick. The current fatality rate is less than 0.5% for people under the age of 50. But it rises to 8% for people in their 70s and 15% for people over 80. Meanwhile, nearly 11% of people with diseases of the heart died when infected. As did 7% of people with diabetes and 6% of people with long-term lung problems. The average for healthy people is 0.9%.

SlipperyLizard · 27/02/2020 18:56

I’m not too worried about myself/immediate family (we’re not far from Buxton either) but I am genuinely concerned it would be the end of my mum if she caught it, so I am worried about her.

Ifonlywecouldwishuponastar · 27/02/2020 18:58

Are you from The midlands? I read an article about something similar.

Enchiladas · 27/02/2020 18:58

Thank you for your reply gamerwidow

StealthPolarBear · 27/02/2020 18:58

That's exactly how I feel lizard. I have a good immune system. But I'm worried for relatives, which is apparently a bit silly.

Aragog · 27/02/2020 18:58

and also from the BBC:

Globally, more than 80,000 people in nearly 50 countries have now been infected. Some 2,800 have died

Which gives a lower %age surely.

BananaChocolateLump · 27/02/2020 19:01

A school literally round the corner from me, has closed as a bunch of kids came back from school trip to Italy and 6 are displaying flu like symptoms. The kids got sent home at short notice and were told to go straight home, but I saw loads at my local shopping centre. This is how it spreads

Downton57 · 27/02/2020 19:02

I'm worried, not for myself but for my elderly parents, my sister with an existing health condition and my daughter who works in A & E. I'm sure the vast majority of people will have family/friends who they will be concerned about, so I don't think it makes sense for people to say don't worry, you're healthy, you'll be fine.

BrokenMumTeenDD · 27/02/2020 19:03

That's exactly how I feel lizard. I have a good immune system. But I'm worried for relatives, which is apparently a bit silly

The only person we knew who was seriously ill with Swine Flu is usually very healthy. But she spent 3 weeks in a coma. Several others, myself included who have health problems that would be of concern had it very mildly. I think in a lot of cases, it's just the luck of the draw

janemaster · 27/02/2020 19:04

I too am fed up of people saying only elderly and people with existing conditions are at risk. That is DP and I, and my MIL.
And no it is not the same as flu. Flu has a 0.02% risk of death. Coronavirus has a 2% death rate.
And no this is not people who will die soon anyway. People with my condition can be expected to live into their 80's. My MIL could easily live another 10 years.
There is a reason lots of us are worried. I do not want to leave my DCs without a mother.