To think this coronavirus hysteria is completely OTT

[tacosplease]

I’ve just read that the NHS has declared the coronavirus “situation” a level 4 incident - the highest level of emergency.

There are only 51 known cases in Britain out of a population of 66 MILLION. None of these people have died. In the extremely unlikely event that you do catch it, the chance of death is just 2%.

So, I simply don’t understand why people are getting so hysterical about this. Far more people catch the common flu every year and no one starts panicking over that. Every time you use your car you have a 1/20,000 chance of dying yet people still drive and don’t think twice.

AIBU?

Singapore has a well behaved population, used to an authoritarian government. They also have quite structured communities- lots of apartment complexes, easy to control people coming and going, and a very structured public transport system used by the majority of people.

The only downside would be a reliance on taxis, but if you can get taxi drivers on side, that will help.

If I get killed by this virus(health care worker,almost 60 so the odds are against me)

Wow, you're a health care worker and you think the odds are against you...righto...I read the death rate is 3.4%. So even if you get it, the odds are you'll survive.

Re Singapore, this was on another thread

A friend with a friend in Singapore, said that pretty much from the off, they split all companies in half and had half going in to work whilst the other half worked from home: no meetings, no sharing phones etc then the two groups swap over. She’s going to find out how they’ve dealt with schools and working parents, but I don’t get why the UK can’t come up with a similar solution.'

@formerbabe the deathrate for over 60’s is 14%.
Thats over 1.4 in 10 so I wouldn’t fancy those odds either & thats probably higher for HCP.

@formerbabe the deathrate for over 60’s is 14%
Thats over 1.4 in 10 so I wouldn’t fancy those odds either & thats probably higher for HCP

Why is it higher for a hcp? I can see why they're more at risk of catching it obviously but I cannot see why once they do catch it, they're more likely to die?

@formerbabe I think the point is that they're more at risk of catching coronavirus in the first place; it's not that they're more likely than the general over 60s population to die from it.

YABVU. Not because the worse case scenario will definitely happen, but because it is perfectly natural for people to be worried that it will. Even if the worst case scenario doesn't happen, it's reasonably likely that people you know will die of this. Expecting people to just breezily say "It'll probably be fine. And anyway, people die all the time" is ridiculous and insensitive.

Why is it higher for a hcp? I can see why they're more at risk of catching it obviously but I cannot see why once they do catch it, they're more likely to die?

Some theories from hcp experiences in China seem to suggest that repeated exposure can make the illness worse in the person (I read this in relation to the ophthalmologist who was in his 30s and apparently healthy yet died)

One thing to bear in mind, though, when considering the 14% death rate for over 60s is that these statistics include 70, 80 and 90 year olds, so the stats for 60-70 year olds only would no doubt be quite a bit lower than 14%.

@MadameGazelleIsMyHomegirl That's an interesting point, yes that might well be the case.

Agree with Lazy

The death rate is 3.6% for 60-70 age group.
www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
This is of the tested cases which are estimated to be approx. one fifth of the total cases. So the actual death rate is lower than this

Are HCPs likely to be under more pressure, stressed, over worked, and so more likely to be more ill?
That's for when the outbreak is at its peak, obviously.

The working population of the UK is 32.54 million. If the government are saying 1/5 may be off at a single time, that's approximately 6.5 million people off sick altogether.

The government's worst case model then calculates that 10% of symptomatic people may need hospital care.That's 650,000 people all needing to be hospitalised, all at the same time.

If anyone truly thinks that being concerned about those figures is hysterical, then I just take my hat off to their cool, collected ability to contemplate even the most dire situations with optimism and good cheer.

Oops, sorry, cut off there. 650,000 people requiring to be hospitalised simultaneously. That's the figure.

Nello,

I agree. Do we have the hospital beds or equipment to deal with this? I doubt it. Which means the mortality rate will increase.

One thing I do wonder is whether, in extremis, it is worth rushing through the vaccine trial avoiding some of the normal protocols. Vaccines are typically safe and surely it does not take a year of testing if it will cost 10s of millions of lives?!

I have no idea what the possible risks of a rushed vaccine might be.

Hasn’t it peak and declined in China? And they were unaware for a long time, or unwilling to accept.

Can’t the outcome be modelled on that?

They took drastic action in China, the kind that people over here are being called hysterical and OTT if they suggest.

I'm worried but not hysterical. I can't buy hand sanitiser as the preppers have taken it all, so will be accused of being one of the people who aren't doing their bit. Obviously I can wash my hands when I'm at home, but when I'm out all day, I'm carrying on as normal.

@AygoHomeNow and other who are anxious about hand sanitisers, I was too and went to my local supermarket (Sainsbury) thinking all the Hand soaps etc shelves would be bare. There were some hand soaps of the 99.9% anti-bac variety still left on the shelves, so I purchased only one to leave some for others, and there was a big sign up saying Be patient, we are working with our suppliers to get more gels and soaps here urgently

I hope the mentality will be that people should take one and one only, leaving some for others. Hopefully a more war-like approach will start to exist, with people thinking of self and others, supporting each other.

If people are anxious, you can try using a small drop of Zoflora dilute in water, that does exactly the same job, or dilute Dettol 99.9% anti bac/virus (Lavendar and Orange oil) it's on special offer. I'm sure all the supermarkets are getting government guidance to make these products more readily available to people, and affordably, so it gets the hand washing and general hygiene message out there strongly. They may start rationing to 1-2 per person, so people don't go crazy.

Don't get scammed by paying £30 for hand gel on the web! Other products are equally effective. for those of us feeling anxious atm . It's all unknown we are bound to feel unnerved and 'jangly of nerves'

Italy has (definite number there may be more?) over 3000 affected with over a 100 deaths & they have tried to contain the number affected & can we please remember that not only is there a death rate but also a higher percentage of people who are severely ill & who require intensive care (up to 20% which include those who die to be blunt) & we do not have a figure/current percentage on what is happening to the people who have been identified (83 now?) as someone previously said the figures are 6 days behind because that is how long it takes to confirm diagnosis.

And just to mention I would only use Dettol and Zaflora in a very tiny proportion to soap and rinse hands thoroughly with water so it doesn't irritate the skin. I used a droplet thing is to add it to a large sized liquid soap. Hopefully they'll get the hand gel supplies in soon!

It’s fucking insane and they just want to spoil our fun, so stop us going on holiday, to football, to the pub and the new James Bond film, but we still have to go to work and school. I don’t think so. What they gonna do, shoot me? The government can eff off.

Daisy chain you don't need to add anything to soap? Soap and water is fine on its own.