We think DH has coronavirus....

[ChippityDoDa]

Hi, so this morning DH rang me from his work to say he’s developed a sudden cough and felt hot. He came straight home and we put him in the study which has its own bathroom and sofa bed. He’s been in there all day. I am literally putting food at the door for him and he’s self sufficient in the room. I’m sure he’ll be ok even if it is CV19 as he’s under 40 and pretty healthy however my question is this.... do I now need to isolate for 7 days? We have two young children, one of whom is at school and one at preschool. We are all well apart from DH. Would be a bloody nuisance to be honest but will I be unwittingly infecting folk if I go about my usual business? Our own elderly relatives have been isolated all week anyway so I wouldn’t see them now. Dilemma!

I believe you do need to. But your husband does need to be tested. If it is not coronavirus then you can all stop isolating. Give 101 a call and ask for advice.

Is this some sort of misinformation bingo?

Hopefully breathing will improve soon, but if he finds it hard to take a full breath and gets any pain in lungs from breathing, contact 111 - on top of feeling incredibly I'll, those are symptoms I've had when I had pneumonia

Isolate the whole family. You are putting others at risk. This is what I would do.

Yes get stocked up on medication, DDad is in week two of it and still has an awful cough, the aches and chills have passed though.

Yes, you must and for 14 days. It is important to know that the virus is Airbourne by droplet but also aerosol means and therefore the patient should wear a mask to prevent its spread by the air currents between the rooms it is also in urine and faeces so flushing th toilet spreads it around the house, lid down and put some bleach in the toilet leave it for 5 mins before it toilet is is used and after every use to try to minimise this spread. Your children whilst the figures shown are likely not to develop the disease symptoms but they are carriers and therefore they will spread to the grandparents or anybody else who they have contact with and the vulnerable adults may not survive this infection esp the elderly. the room really needs to be sealed by duct tape and plastic sheeting and a HEPA filet vacuum used to suck the air to catch the aerosol carried the virus with the cleaning of the Hepa filter in a manner that it does itself not infect regularly. The advisor to the govt has stated that there is no way out of the fact that most of the elderly will die if they get it and they will. So please take special care in their case.

You are not meant to isolate the whole family. Guidance is very clear. People need to stop scaremongering but be sensible. Not you, OP.

@Mohster

Official advice is 7 days, not 14.

Isn't a lack of appetite a symptom? If he's eating loads maybe he's got a cold.

Mohster your advice about sealing the room and sucking air out with a vacuum seems OTT, how many people realistically can do this? Have you got a source saying this is what needs to be done?

And your assertion that most old people who get it will die, I thought the estimated mortality rate amongst over 80s was 15%?

I'm not someone saying this is all a big fuss over nothing, I'm far from it. But your post seems alarmist to me, I'm keen to see if you've got anything to back this up?

@PeachesPlumsPears

Thanks. One thing that I’d disagree with is no headaches with a common cold!

Give him a lemsip.
It probably just a cold.
Everyone’s cough and sniffle seems to be classed as coronavirus atm.
Colds and flu will still be going around as per usual.

Janice I'm all for science but other countries are also pulling on their best medical science minds and they are all on the same page in terms of flattening the peak.. Every other country is taking active measures to stop the peak.
We have unclear advice to stay at home. No testing don't even call 111!!

I do wonder if I have had it.

I had a strange cough like nothing I've ever had before. But not bad at all!

Very very dry, definitely in throat. Came on almost like clock work at 7pm. Almost caught my breath.
Then coughing fit.. But again compared to chesty cough in past... Not bad at all...

Felt teeny bit hot and cold?

Op don't get your hopes up re 111 you may get lucky but I've heard people waiting days for a call back

I believe you do need to. But your husband does need to be tested. If it is not coronavirus then you can all stop isolating. Give 101 a call and ask for advice.

Is this some sort of misinformation bingo?

Haha, oh my gosh yes, even down to telling people to call 101, which is the police. 😂

@PurpleDaisies

Is this some sort of misinformation bingo?

Two days ago a contact of a confirmed coronavirus patient would have been in quarantine for 14 days, no question about it. It hasn't got safer since yesterday! All that's happened since yesterday is that they've given out a new simpler rule (easier for people to remember) for every single cough (not just confirmed cases), and they've stopped testing them all. It's still safer to quarantine for 14 days if he has got coronavirus - if you think it could be that, then that's what you should be doing (just like the people at Arrowe Park did). If you start to show symptoms yourselves, you only need to wait until 7 days after that when they think the infectiousness is less.

I pray for you and your husband and your kids OP. From what I read about recovery stories in China, temps will go up and down for a few days and patients typically feel worst a week in, after that they either get better or develop pneumonia that requires medical attention, so do keep an eye on his breathlessness. Nutrition is VERY important to help body fight back, so try to persuade him to eat even he doesn’t have appetite / feel nauseous or have diarrhoea.

You are doing the right thing by isolating him in a separate room with loo and putting food at his door. Remember to open window regularly to allow fresh air circulation.

Chesty cough isn't a symptom. Isolate him, by all means, but he may need antibiotics for a chest infection more. Has he travelled or been in contact with someone who has travelled overseas? Community infection rate still small. I wouldn't jump to assume COVID-19.

@Allaboardthemagicbus2020 - no, OP believes it. Not sure if this is because everyone believes it or due to actual contact with some seen as high risk.

@ChippityDoDa read this article about the contamination of surfaces www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/coronavirus-rooms-toilets-disinfectants-kill-virus-covid19-study-12503522

Note that even patients with only mild symptoms shed the virus like nobody's business. It's really important to clean the room & bathroom. If he's not to ill, he should be doing it himself.

There are many, many other things that he could have given his symptoms. So please try not to panic OP. But yes, it could be coronavirus and he's doing the right thing by isolating.

Official advice at the moment seems to be that you and the DC do not need to self isolate. I think Boris' s plan is to make sure you spread the disease to as many people as possible before you isolate.

Make sure you keep checking the nhs website every single day, and keep watching the news. If your DH's condition becomes serious then phone an ambulance. Don't hesitate.

Official advice at the moment seems to be that you and the DC do not need to self isolate. I think Boris' s plan is to make sure you spread the disease to as many people as possible before you isolate.

Exactly this. The chief medical officer has said they expect 80% of the population to get it. They are betting on a «herd immunity»; ie 60% have the virus and therefore immunity.
The UK is viewed as rather eccentric in this approach. Boris has already said that he expects people to die.
However in China where people stayed home and were quarantined; death rates are falling and are now lower than Italy, where people didn’t stay home; till they went into a Lockdown and the daily death rate is currently now worse than China at its peak.

I’m in France, all the schools are shut till probably after Easter. Everyone is staying home to Protect other people and lower the stress on medical resources.

We don’t need Official Guidance to use common sense.

This video from David Abel explains in great detail the symptoms David and Sally had. Their symptoms were vastly different. E.g. Sally had a chesty cough, David had a dry tickly cough. Sally didn't develop pneumonia, David did. It's a nice watch and very informative.

PLEASE SELF ISOLATE. YOU DO NEED TO ISOLATE IMMEDIATELY IF YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH AN INFECTED PERSON, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO SYMTOMS. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!