Coronavirus thread 12

[VivaLeBeaver]

Can’t see one? Sorry if there is one.

HSBC staffer tests positive in Canary Wharf office

HSBC has sent some staff in London home after a worker tested positive for coronavirus, the first known case in Europe's main financial hub, Reuters reports.

That Dr Campbell vid is excellent, @MC50, thanks for the heads up.

What I want to know is if we have moved into the "delay" phase, when will the government announce extra measures that have been talked about and what will they be?

@JeansNTees I'm taking DD to the Big Bang Fair next weekend. At the moment, I still plan to go but I'll make a final decision based on how things are next Friday.

BBC just reporting a floor at HSBC in Canary Wharf has been evacuated.

Matt Hancock and Jeremy Hunt have both been on and starting to discuss what happens if we get to mitigate phase (although Hancock insists we're still in Contain). It looks like they are fully expecting things to escalate.

fuck ..this is worrying :(

From Telegraph:

Wuhan man dies after being discharged from hospital

A 36-year-old patient has died of the coronavirus, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, five days after he was discharged from a makeshift hospital built for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms, according to Chinese state media.

Li Liang is reported to have met criteria to be discharged, including tested negative for the virus twice and three days without a fever.

He was sent to a quarantine facility for 14 days after he was discharged, a new requirement issued by Wuhan’s CDC two weeks ago as more discharged patient turned out to be tested positive again days after they were discharged from the hospital.

Mr Li started feeling ill two days after he entered the quarantine facility, with symptoms such as dry mouth, low appetite, and lacking strength. His wife was called to the facility in the afternoon of March 2, soon before Mr Li was taken to the hospital and died.

His death certificate issued by Wuhan Health Commission listed the direct cause of death as the coronavirus.

The recurring positive test results have raised questions on discharge criteria.

Nephew was due to go to the Altitude Festival in Nice this month, but it's cancelled.

@copperstrike76 exactly!! Tell us the bloody plans!!

Hello. New on the thread. Apologies if this is covered elsewhere, but does anyone here know anyone in the 90 UK cases? Any first/second hand experiences? The media seems quiet on the experiences of UK cases.... TIA

That is worrying Crispy

At the moment it is still possible to keep checks on people who are discharged (and I hope this terrible example heightens that), but what happens when numbers grow? Such small, human scale tracking just won't be possible

This is what I mean about a disconnect between the actions of organisations and government guidance.

Government guidance here states:

10. What to do if a member of staff or the public with suspected COVID-19 has recently been in your workplace
    For contacts of a suspected case in the workplace, no restrictions or special control measures are required while laboratory test results for COVID19 are awaited. In particular, there is no need to close the workplace or send other staff home at this point. Most possible cases turn out to be negative. Therefore, until the outcome of test results is known there is no action that the workplace needs to take.

11. What to do if a member of staff or the public with confirmed COVID-19 has recently been in your workplace
    Closure of the workplace is not recommended.

The management team of the office or workplace will be contacted by the PHE local Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken.

A risk assessment of each setting will be undertaken by the Health Protection Team with the lead responsible person. Advice on the management of staff and members of the public will be based on this assessment.

However, as we can see from HSBC, organisations are ignoring the governments advice. Ideally, the government should update their advice, at least just to say that the decision on whether or not to keep businesses open lies with the organisation concerned, if they aren't mandating closure.

What do we think it’ll take for them to close the schools? What kind of numbers?

What do we think the predictions are today? Do we think non essential air travel will be cancelled soon?

Same with schools, some closing some not.

And again, have PHE got enough people to check out every case as they grow?

@NotAWomxn I know someone by, I think, 3 degrees of separation who is a confirmed case. I've not met this person and I don't know their name, though. I know someone who knows them via a family member. We are in the South East.

In the north of Italy, where the outbreak is most severe, some hospitals are reportedly on the verge of collapse.

In those regions, the occupancy rate of intensive care beds is now 95 per cent whereas normally it would be 60 per cent, according to today's La Stampa newspaper.

'Hospitals are on the verge of collapse,' the daily reports, citing a union representing hospital staff.

Why are the authorities not locking down schools and large gathering- what is there to wait and see? We know the trajectory

Why are the authorities not locking down schools and large gathering- what is there to wait and see? We know the trajectory

In this country I mean

I am still holding out hope that they will cancel things like the 6 Music festival this weekend, as I desperately wish my husband was not going. But he says he will.

We won't be told the plans yet as it will cause a reaction. Panic buying and civil unrest are important for the government to avoid, so as a government, you need to mitigate the risks as much as possible.

School closures for example - once you start closing them, parents will be putting pressures on other schools to close and the LEA's will need to have a plan in place as to how these children will be taught from home, consider things such as the impact on vulnearable children etc. All this takes time so you need to be able to have enough time to properly prepare for this.

NotAWomxn I know a diagnosed person but have deliberately not expanded on that as it is not my place to share their experience here. The Guardian has put out a call for those with first-hand experience to get in touch, so they may get something publishable out of that.

All this takes time so you need to be able to have enough time to properly prepare for this. At the cost of the risk of children contracting the virus? Surely it is safer to close, with no plan for now, than keep them there, at risk of exposure, whilst they decide what to do...

@Spacecadetagain - it’s nice to see you again and I hope things are much better for you. I had a four year old back then and he’s now 18. Can’t believe I’ve been around here that long!

WHO yesterday said that if the schools are considered to be a main driver of ongoing transmission then it is justifiable. They are saying the evidence is poor but partly because the Chinese schools were out on holidays which were extended in the outbreaks. He did say that it could be that children were less affected because they weren't in schools at the time. In general children are reservoirs of infection even if the illness is not severe.

Paraphrasing obviously, but watch Tuesdays WHO report to get it from horse's mouth.

Today's WHO should be worth a watch.

Watching Matt Hancock live, saying schools to stay open, so I expect they'll all be shut by Monday

That made me laugh

Baby

Italy closed all schools yesterday, circa 3k cases and 100 deaths, but schools in North Italy have been shut for 2 weeks.

Delhi have announced school closures, but I think (and may be wrong) India 'only' has 30 cases

I for one will be reevaluating over the weekend whether to keep my children at school. My husband is in the at risk category and it’s a big risk to take. He can work from home to further minimise the risk.