Can anybody talk me down about Coronavirus?

[ShowerTheHorse]

Our first holiday abroad as a family is booked in may in Tenerife and our baby is going to be 8 months old (7 weeks prem.)

Cancelling right now will mean losing all of our money and I’ve been really looking forward to it, I would just like some positive reassurance really. I’ve kind of buried my head in the sand thinking this will go away or die down at least. Of course If the giver ember advises we will cancel.

My anxiety is sky high right now so I’d just like some reassurance really! Please everyone tell me it’s going to be okay ...

The government not the ember! Haha

What is it that you're worried about?

Being ill?

DC being ill?

Having to cancel?

Regarding your DC children, for whatever reason, seem to get off very lightly.

There has been a study published showing children often don't catch it at all and when they do it's very mild.

Plus by May it will have spread everywhere so Tenerife will be no worse than the UK.

I'm not sure if that's reassuring - but it does mean there's no point cancelling your holiday as by that time you'll be as likely to catch it in Bognor Regis as Tenerife

If you've paid in full already there's no point cancelling now, surely? Wait and see how it pans out.

As a wider note, this particular coronavirus doesn't seem to be affecting children very much.

@wheresmymojo honestly, I’m not really sure exactly I think it’s mainly DS I’m worried about as he’s still only small but I realise that children aren’t really affected, I just think everything on TV and on social media is scaring me and I just want a bit of reassurance, I feel like it’s made out to be really really bad Example being that all hand sanitizers are selling out and stuff! I feel like everyone has been panicking about this except me! X

By May you'll be just as likely to catch it here as in Tenerife.
If you're all healthy you have little to worry about.

The "panic" at the moment is governments (quite rightly) working really hard to reduce the "system risk". Lots of ill people at one time, esp on top of flu season, is really hard to deal with and will increase fatalities. This is a concerning disease -relatively high death rate- but seems to seriously affect those with underlying health issues, in the main. If you are generally health and fit (including the younger one) then you shouldn't have anything to worry about, but the 'system' might be panicking around you, assessing/dealing with panedemic etc .

If the FCO advise against travel to Tenerife in due course then you can hopefully recoup the cost of your holiday via insurance, assuming you have it.
I don’t really think, though, anyone can give you any reassurance as much as we might like to be able to do so.
You’re holiday is May, which thankfully is quite some time away, so I think all you can do (along with the rest of us) is see what happens over the next few weeks.

We have paid in full. I’m hoping that by may the natural flu season has died down and the virus dies down too. Fingers crossed. I just felt a bit up the wall tonight I’m up worrying about it now when I’ve been blasé about the whole thing really, but anxiety does weird things to you

If you’re panicking because of social media and TV, then quite literally mute them.
It really won’t do you any good whatsoever.

@Arseit Thankyou. We have insurance, so grateful for that now! I understand nobody knows what’s going to happen it’s just all so scary

@Arseit I have! I was watching mindless morning tv today and there was a segment on how all the hand sanitizer has sold out and how to wash your hands () and that’s what set it all off for me I went down a massive rabbit hole reading and reading. It’s like you can’t really escape it!

I'm going on holiday too op - not to there but somewhere else with it. Unless the FCO advises against travel you can't claim on your insurance. A week is a long time with this sort of thing. You have months. Sit tight. Wait. See what happens.

Consoling myself with my £10m health insurance and the fact that there's fuck all we can do except wash our hands and be vigilant. And if you get stranded so what. Shit happens.

Next week will be important I think in terms of government advice

pa hand sanitizer does fuck all re coronovirus anyway

But you can escape if you want to.
Don’t read / watch it!
You’re not going away til May, and so much is going to change between now and then, so there’s just no point in worrying yourself now, at this point. Try and adopt a Que Sera Sera mentality!

Well it's as silly to worry about it to that extent as it is to ignore it.

You want to aim somewhere in the middle.

So I would rather lose £2k than put my family at risk of being abroad and getting ill. Or being unnecessarily exposed to a higher risk of infection. I think if this develops into a full blown pandemic as is most likely, then missing a holiday really won't be that important.

But the mantra is keep calm and carry on. Just not on unnecessary things like holidays.

I'm not worried about everyone else buying up the 65% alcohol hand sanitizer gels.

Living in a world of people who clean their hands a bit more will probably help slow the spread of some community infections this spring. I like the thought that other people will be a smaller danger to me :)

The hand-gels aren't going to have much effect on a flu virus.

Soap and water are better for that and there is plenty of soap about.

I plan to enjoy drinking my alcohol ration instead. A toast to your good health @ShowerTheHorse

1. doubtful you will be able to go as I’m sure by May there will be more severe travel restrictions in place.

2. don’t worry yourself over this, we are all in the same situation, May is a long way off, a lot will happen between now and then.

3. stay healthy, drink lots of water, get your vitamins etc

4. this will not go away nor will it die down anytime soon, in fact it’s barely started. Accepting this will make whatever happens next easier to handle.

5. cherish your baby, switch off from this calamity as much as you can, you’re still here, live life as fully as you can!

@showerthehorse. I realize you’ve spent a lot of money on your trip but I can’t stress how dangerous this thing is. You mustn’t panic, but be proactive, i.e., do everything to protect yourself, washing your hands thoroughly, not touching surfaces in public, not touching the face, etc., and circulating as little as possible. Believe me I’ve seen it all happen. I live in Northern Italy and in the space of a couple of weeks we’ve gone from 16 confirmed cases to 2,263 with 79 deaths and 160 recoveries (they talk about people recovering, not being cured because we don’t know yet if they ARE cured permanently).
With reference to your comment about children and the virus - within the last couple of days a child was born ALREADY INFECTED... There is certainly a lower incidence of children being affected, but it’s not impossible, and I personally I wouldn’t want to put my family in harm’s way. You might be OK on the way there, and even during your stay, but what about the trip back? You’re on the ‘plane with goodness knows how many other people (potentially infected) in a cabin with recirculated air and because the incubation period can be a week or more, you won’t even know you’ve got it until you’ve spread it to who knows how many other people. The majority of people probably get a light form of the infection, but to be honest I wouldn’t want to be infected FULL STOP. It’s going to be difficult here too as a week ago there were 2 confirmed cases in 2 hospitals in the city where I live - yesterday there were 80 hospitalized at just one of those hospitals.
I repeat don’t panic, because panic kills - just plan intelligently. Good luck everyone 💕

you don't actually need to take any action. If you cancel now you say you'll lose all your money. So you might as well wait and see, you can't lose more than that even if you just don't turn up at the airport.

Get a grip.

@vhs95 what fantastic advice. Jesus Christ, the op has a baby who was prem, of course she’s worried.

Nobody knows how this is going to go, we know it’s going to get worse but it’s a case of wait and see, only read facts not the rubbish on Facebook. You will know nearer the time what action to take, I know I’d rather be unwell at home than abroad.

By May you'll be just as likely to catch it here as in Tenerife. If you're all healthy you have little to worry about.

That's not really the issue is it? If there's a break out whilst on holiday, you could be trapped there for a few weeks before allowed to fly home (potential for lost wages, boredom, higher risk of contracting it if people you're trapped with have it).

Also, if you get it, you'll likely pass it on to those around you, friends, family, neighbours, co-workers, etc., who may be higher risk - it's not just "you" it affects!

If you've paid, just wait and see what happens. What is the benefit of cancelling it and losing your money when you may get a refund nearer the time if the Govt issue advice not to travel or the airline/holiday firm cancel it.

You’re on the ‘plane with goodness knows how many other people (potentially infected) in a cabin with recirculated air and because the incubation period can be a week or more, you won’t even know you’ve got it until you’ve spread it to who knows how many other people.

Not to mention spending time in busy, cramped spaces like airport security, check in, departure lounges etc. The awful Manchester Terminal 3 security area and crowded departure lounges must be ultra high risk for travellers simply due to so many people in such a tiny cramped space.