Aibu to really NOT be worried about Corona virus?

[Bigearringsbigsmile]

I am dumbfounded by the number of people talking about not travelling, not sending children to school, stockpiling food etc etc

I'm just carrying on with normal life. Going abroad next weekend. Getting trains etc.

I dont get the hysteria.

I've cancelled a work trip to Scotland (flying) next week as the speed of spread and effects are really unknown in this first wave. I weighed it up and on balance decided it was non essential.

On the other hand I'm going to work, not stockpiling food and paying a bit more attention to hand washing and not touching my face.

If my mum had still been alive (died in the summer) she would have been petrified right now. She had bronchiectasis and would end up in hospital for IV antibiotics a couple of times a year.

There is a middle ground IMO and believe we should all do our bit not to become unwitting transmitters even if we are healthy ourselves.

Summer “ She had bronchiectasis and would end up in hospital for IV antibiotics a couple of times a year.”

Oh my mum has this too. I do wonder if we just shrug at this because we’ve both spend years of our lives worrying about the unknown and now we’ve lost the energy to worry ISWIM.

Ironically mum has two medical appointments this week and I’m more concerned about her catching something there.

Is it hysteria or is it common sense to minimise risks if you can?

My thoughts attached....

I’m wondering if I possibly have it. I know it’s unlikely but I have a bad, chesty cough and felt crap for a couple of days. Which in young(ish) people isn’t too far from how it’s meant to present. NHS advice is to get tested if you’ve been in contact with someone who’s travelled to an affected area but are we past that now? Maybe I’ve been in contact with someone who was in contact with someone and I wouldn’t know. So I won’t get tested (unless I get loads worse) but I suppose it’s possible?

Or you could just have a chesty cough same as millions of other people all the time?

@Kitsandkids or you have the common cold which is infinitely more likely?

Well yes, indeed. But my point, which I’m making very badly, is how can they be sure they know everyone who has it? Do they ever stop counting cases? Or just start estimating how many mild cases there have been? Surely we’ve gone past the point of being able to track exactly who has been in contact with a sufferer?

Anyway, I’m not worried about getting it as I’m fortunate to be in the group of ‘no existing medical issues’ so if I did get it I would likely survive.

One of my kids came home a bit worried last week and I told him the flu also kills many people every year but no where gets shut down because of that and we just have to get on with life.

@Kitsandkids well of course they can’t be sure who has it. Likely only people sick enough to take themselves to the hospital and have enough symptoms to be worth testing will be tested.

That’s the thing about the fact it doesn’t present in the same way for everyone some will have no symptoms and unknowingly spread it. It’s very unfortunate.

But you must know that it is extremely unlikely you have it.

I’m not panicking, but I do feel concerned. If there’s a case in my work it will spread like wildfire. I teach in a big FE college with nowhere near enough toilets/washing facilities for huge numbers of people, and there are no bins, only recycling stations in the corridors. I have no underlying health conditions, but the logistics of being off sick are a massive pain, especially if you need a GP appointment for signing off after a week.

It's not killing any more people than a normal flu virus would.
Are you as scared of the flu?

No, OP, for the very good reason that my doctor's surgery gives me an annual flu vaccination so I that don't catch flu.

There is no such vaccination for Covid-19.

Plus it appears to have a higher death rate - and the actual cause of death is acute respiratory distress, suffocating in your own lung mucus. A kind of pneumonia plus plus. Grim.

@AutumnRose1 whenever we got through winter we'd all breathe a sigh of relief as dad had COPD too from an Antitrypsiin deficiency. I hope your mum is ok - horrid disease xx

Hi all. We have a new Coronavirus section and we'll be moving a few relevant topics into it over the next few days (including this one).

It has a higher death rate than flu because there is no vaccine. With flu, vulnerable people can get themselves the jab, either for free (my DH does because he has asthma) or pay for it, which I do now, especially since I had very bad flu that turned to pneumonia last year and was nearly hospitalised.

It spreads a lot more quickly than flu from what I've picked up about it.

I'm nervous because of what happened last year and because I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We can't just go to Boots and ask for the jab with coronavirus.

Also, no one knows how this will pan out.

What I don’t understand, so please help me to, is how so many people aren’t considering next week/month/year. Just quoting illness and death rates as they stand today and yesterday. China had 32 cases at one point, as did Italy, Iran, Wherever. What makes anyone think the UK won’t follow the same trajectory? China has had the most incredible response in halting the spread, as documented in the 40 page WHO China joint mission report. This response is what lead to only 80,000 or so cases. Our government haven’t yet implemented any of those measures and seem to be blinded by the headlights or asleep at the wheel. We know infection rates and exactly how it attacks the body. Some stats (based on other countries trajectories) say 60% will catch the virus. A low percentage of that 60% will be critical and require intensive care however there are just over 4k critical beds available in the entire UK. All of this information is out there plain to see if you look. So based on that, yes I believe you’re being unreasonable to not be concerned. Perhaps you and your family won’t get the virus. But the affects on infrastructure can potentially affect everyone.

@SummerSazz I wish more people had your attitude. I don’t want people to worry unnecessarily, but it does help more vulnerable people when the rest of the population takes simple precautions.

Anyone else noticed that our lovely Government has raised the prospect of delaying (for how long???) local elections if this virus continues to spread?

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/local-elections-could-be-delayed-by-coronavirus-outbreak

I'm not worried about catching it - I do have fairly severe asthma so do have some concerns. I am worried about the logistics if nurseries / schools / offices start closing. I can work from home, but I cannot work from home if my childcare situation changes. My DP cannot work from home and is self-employed so on that score, we'd be screwed quickly.

I think an important reason why there's so much panic is that we're not used to the risk of a fatal illness. I'm old enough to remember when dangerous diseases like smallpox were still around. A lot of children suffered measles, and pregnant women developed rubella and their babies were badly deformed. Now, smallpox has been stamped out altogether and measles and rubella (and mumps) are vaccinated against.

So coronavirus is scary because we're not used to it. We had a taste of it with the swine flu but the mortality rate was very low, 100 deaths worldwide compared to 3000 and counting.

I'm pregnant. The gp signed me off for 2 weeks for HG today, but also told me that she wants to sign me off for a few more weeks to wfh as I shouldn't be getting the tube with a lowered immune system.
I wasn't worried until that point. Now I'm slightly stressed

I'm not in a state of hysteria, but I am concerned. Not even for myself, but for others.
At the moment, there are 36 confirmed cases in the UK. That is not a lot. I may be more concerned when there are pockets of outbreak.

ETA: there's absolutely fuck all I can do about it if there is an outbreak. So apart from some extra precautions (staying away from obviously sick people and washing my hands as often as I can when out and about) I won't be doing anything differently.

I'm with you OP . The media has blown this into mass hysteria. FFS no one worries about the flu

Highly likely...

What does that actually mean = we’ve no idea, we think so.