Is this whole thing being exaggerated?

[agentstarling]

Coronavirus seems to only affect mostly older people with already compromised immune systems. So far we have had only 11 deaths some being 80 even a ninety-year-old. The press is whipping people up into a hysteria in my view I have a degree in biology I am not a doctor but I would say that some of this is ridiculous.

But the point is the more people who get it the more elderly and immunosuppressed people will get it.. they are people too and we absolutely must act to protect them.

Really, you have a degree in biology and you're asking mumsnet rather than doing a bit of proper research to answer your questions?
That stretches my credulity to say the least.

@onalongsabbitical just because someone has a good qualification in a subject doesn't mean they understand how their subject applies to the real world.

🤔
Why don’t you ask Italy?

Yes, in fact every country around the world has had a bet to see who can overreact and destroy their economy the most

Would you feel the same way if you were 40 and recovering from chemo? I don't think your theory that it's being over-hyped will be much comfort to those over 60 or immunosuppressed. Nor to the grieving relatives of the 1,100+ Italians who passed away in isolation fairly suddenly and before their time. No loved ones around them as they lay struggling to breathe. Did you have an empathy by-pass at some point in your life?

Ps I also have a biology degree, it's pretty meaningless in the discussion of Coronavirus, unless you went on to specialise.

Yes and no. It looks exaggerated now but the issue is the pressure on health services and risk of total contagion in hospitals. It won't feel exaggerated when your midwife gets coronavirus and you have to deliver your baby in the car...

"So far we have had only 11 deaths" yes, but at the same time only 18 people have recovered, the remaining 769 confirmed cases have not yet had an outcome either way.

I am not saying I expect the 11:18 ratio to remain but that just looking at the number of deaths so far tells us nothing.

Only the thickest of people are still spouting this shit...

No - the thickest of people are the ones intent on spreading hysteria and panic. Not to mention the selfish stockpilers.

Would you feel the same way if you were 40 and recovering from chemo? I don't think your theory that it's being over-hyped will be much comfort to those over 60 or immunosuppressed. Nor to the grieving relatives of the 1,100+ Italians who passed away in isolation fairly suddenly and before their time. No loved ones around them as they lay struggling to breathe.

This. Have you not seen the situation in Italy?

Yeah, fuck it. Let all the oldies and weak die. My 26 year old teacher DD who's currently immuno suppressed is a pain the arse anyway. My diabetic friends 3 young children won't miss her that much when she's gone. And my 46 year old asthmatic husband can go to. It's not like we need world leading nuclear scientists anyway.

Alternatively, we can do everything we can to save as many people as possible. All lives matter.

What do you mean Coronavirus seems to only affect mostly older people with already compromised immune systems? Do they not matter?

The government want 70% of people to catch it (herd immunity theory)
Using the conservative mortality rate of 0.2%, that's 10s of thousands who are going to die.
Other countries are not taking the herd immunity strategy because nobody has proven that you can't catch it twice yet.

Have you not read about what it's like in Italy at the moment? Because of a shortage of medicines and protective gear they can only treat a fraction of the sick people. They literally have to work out which patients get help and which are left to die.

to be honest I am a pain in the arse with serious respiratory issues. I have 2 kids, one of whom has immuno issues. i have a mother with COPD living in a different country, and a father who is having chemo, also in a different country.

I am fucking terrified. And if I die, then there is literally no-one who can have my DS2. My slightly older DS1 is disabled enough he would not know where he is in any one day. So whatever. It won't imapct him either because he will not understand it.

FFS. Why do people think if something does not have the potentail to affect them it does not affect anyone?

I can't believe people are still not taking this seriously.
If anything we're not taking it seriously enough.
People like you are why lockdown won't work here - people will just ignore the official advice

no it's sadly not being exaggerated. We know it is a highly contagious virus. If the UK allows it to spread it may infect 60% of our population in a short period of time. That's what 40 million people. Yes most people will survive but we don't even know the long term lasting effects as it is a new virus. With a mortality rate of 1% that is 400000 deaths. Then there will be the hundreds of thousands who need critical care/intensive care in our hospitals in order to survive the virus. On top of that the millions of healthy people who will have flu type symptoms so unable to work. These will include teachers, drs, nurses, care workers, police, ambulance etc etc. It's not good.

Currently the elderly and those with underlining issues are dying . up to 20% of people require hospitalisation. If you overload the hospital system then that 20% will struggle to survive. If it spreads too quickly loads will need hospital at the same time. There are people in their 40s in ICU in various countries atm. You need ICU for weeks. This is all readily available if you spent a couple of hours researching. Grand for 80% not so much for the other 20%. The elderly can't survive it sometimes even will hospital assistance.

I don't care what your degree is in. This isn't made up shit just to piss you off. Grow up.

Also the evidence come out of other countries is that survivors have permanent damage to their bodies. Hong Kong are reporting 20/30% permanent reduction in lung capacity. China are reporting fertility problems in male survivors. There are reports of liver damage, kidney damage, heart damage. Fact is we just don't know what this disease is unleashing and not knowing is terrifying.

It’s early days.

Come back when it hits it’s peak.

Maybe when everyone in this country has buried a loved one, or two. Then tell us how much we are over reacting. Maybe you don’t know anyone elderly, Immune compromised etc.

It has a 1% kill rate. Think of how many people you know. 1 in 100 of the several hundred people you know could well be dead by this time next year, because I think eventually everyone will catch this.
It’s great that you don’t know any elderly or already poorly people. But lots of us do. So of course we are anxious. I’m not avoiding places, I’m not washing myself in dettol and boiling water, but I do know this is reasonably serious. Yabu.

No

Most of us will be fine it is true. But the NHS can simply not cope with the number of people who will not be OK. I imagine the situation in the NHS is pretty precarious at the moment and we are not in the think of it yet. That is the problem. The number of people who will require critical care at the same time is the issue.