To not understand the coronavirus panic

[YeahWhatevver]

With all the media coverage and social media posts on coronavirus it's hard to really understand why it's so bad.

As I understand it, for most people (and I accept that for those with preexisting conditions it's more worrying) nothing will come of it beyond a respiratory infection.

What am I missing?

It's not just this virus. Hospitals will be full of people with corona virus. No beds or treatment then for people with other illnesses eg cancer treatment.

Plus it risks a global financial depression. See 1930s to see what that looks like

The death rate is around 1%

1 person dying out of every 100 is a lot

In a population of 67m that is 670,000 deaths.

Excellent explanation Talaxu. There is also the possibility for this virus to mutate to become even worse (opposite is possible too). So if it returns again and again that is a risk to be aware of. The WHO aren’t just spouting containment for the sake of it. The Chinese didn’t just overreact.

I think most people are concerned about disruption and if they have a vulnerability of a close relative who does, rather than people panicking as such. As others have said, the problem is this is fast spreading so even a small % of people dying will mean quite big numbers and also problems for already overstretched NHS. There will also be cancellations of travel and large events for a period in all likelihood and some difficulties getting supplies to people. Bear in mind a lot of people alive now (me among them age 42) will never have experienced this sort of large scale disruption. So you can see why people will feel unsettled, even if most people won't suffer directly from the illness.

It will in time just become another flu with a vaccine though.

"No children have died yet I believe. Seems to not affect them as much."

No children under 10 have died yet.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

1 in 5 people who catch it require hospitalisation for pneumonia and there aren't enough hospital beds or staff for that

It is 20x more deadly than the flu

Some of us actually love our parents and don't want them to die

It isn't just the death rate (mortality). It's the fact that many people who need critical care take months to recover (they estimate about 1 month recovery per day in icu) and about ⅓ of patients are left with depression afterwards. There are talks about traiging patients to prioritise ventilators for the most likely to survive. Most wards have 2 cubicle rooms. How can we isolate all the patients who might infect each other?

The economy has already been hit. It's a huge deal, tbh.

What a heartless post to post today, on the same day as this:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51677846

Not heartless at all.

It was truly sad that he died. But to over-sentimentalise or panic about the situation doesn't help anyone.

We have to be practical about it, so that all of us are helped to avoid the illness.

Link to Guardian article today:

Yes, it is worse than the flu: busting the coronavirus myths

YANBU OP. A load of scaremongering concocted by the media. Not worried at all.

It is worrying depending on your situation . If you have family or if you yourself have pre-existing health problems it’s concerning . If you’re as healthy as can be and have a healthy family and healthy friends it may not worry you as much. I work for the NHS and we’ve been told to prepare . My husband is also a nurse and has been given a kit to use at work for safety . I’m also pregnant .
But for those worried about pregnancy or their young children, we’ve been told at work is the most notable recent finding was that the virus was not passed from the mother to the fetus in the womb.
And though the worrying thing is the coronavirus can spread readily between humans — it’s estimated each sick person spreads it to two others which is huge — other evidence shows very few children have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus.
There may be a chance that children have a lower risk of getting poorly.
Very few children have been infected with the virus. And those who test positively for it seem to experience milder symptoms compared to older people and most people infected with the coronavirus were between 49 to 56 years old.

Hope that helps x

If you’re not bothered why don’t you join a charity that sends people out to virus ridden countries to help care for the infected?

The death toll is estimated at 1 to 2 % atm but tolls generally rise, as people don't die instantly. The spread of cases is now far faster than Sars was.
20% need hospitalisation and 5% need ventilators.
A lot of people will die. Hospitals will struggle to cope, and this will have a knock on affect on the care of people with other illnesses.
There is already an affect on shares and the bank of England is saying an Economic downturn is likely.
It will affect supply of all sorts of goods and services.
Some schools are already closed, other may well do so.
I'd say that's quite bad.

Ime as a China resident, the controls put in place to control the spread of the virus can be very challenging- schools closed, working from home, inability to travel between cities, restaurants shut, constant temperature checks...etc
I left China, not because I was worried about getting the virus, but that at some point due to control measures and economic consequences (eg no flights) we would not be able to leave.

5% of people need intensive care. We don't have enough intensive care for 5% of the people who might catch it. If too many people catch it, the 5% who need intensive care might die when they would have otherwise lived, and the case fatality rate might rise quite a lot higher than 1%. That's why it's really, really important to spread out the impact on the NHS by doing our best to lower the transmission rates.

Just posted this to another thread, but www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/coronavirus-truth-myths-flu-covid-19-face-masks

10 times more deadly than seasonal flu.

And it seems to be extremely contagious.

When dd is ill, she needs a nebuliser.

All dc seem to be triggered at the same time by air change in march. So let's say she's stuck down and needs nebuliser but she can't get one in a and e?

Norivus... Surely not a killer but if things are running out, rehydration aids, that's when things tip from manageable and stable into an un known.

The WHO have increased the risk to very high but what do they know?

Entire cities are being quarantined but hey they must be panicking.

It is only the immune impaired/elderly dying with a smattering of healthy 30/40 year/health care professionals so it’s fine.

Nothing to see here.

I seem like a healthy person on the outside and live very healthily but I have one of the pre existing conditions that mean that it can kill me. So does my brother. I'd rather not die, would you? It's pretty easy to say that it's nothing when you are not the one that is at risk. I'm here being vulnerable and wishing that people would take it more seriously so they don't infect me.

I'm more annoyed than concerned. And hoping some degree of change comes from this pandemic.

The WHO (or whoever the right organisation is) needs to start taking action against China and their non existent hygiene practises when it comes to slaughtering and eating animals in markets.

And we need to stop people being able to hop on a plane for little financial cost when we're all now starting to suffer the effects of global warming. A significant part of our county (Gloucestershire) is under water at present.

I have a pre-existing serious health condition that means I am very likely to die if I get it. There are confirmed cases in my area. So yes, I am worried and feel this is completely understandable.

Just leaving this here for all of the 'it's okay it's just old people that die' crowd.

women.ncr-iran.org/2020/02/27/covid-19-infection-kills-national-futsal-player-elham-sheikhi-in-qom/

You have normalcy bias

I always use a hand sanitiser at work. Office based but people really don’t wash their hands. So went out to buy some today and every bloody shop in town was sold out.

Makes me wonder if people really wash their hands.