Can someone help me understand why this is such a big deal? Because at the moment I really don’t.

[WellErrr]

Why is the world closing down?
Why is this worse than flu (which thousands of people have, and thousands die from each winter)?
Why the massive response?

I just do not get it at all. The only thing bringing the country to a halt seems to be the fact that everything’s shut and/or banned. Not the virus!?

I just cannot get worked up about it and I feel like I’m living in a parallel universe where everybody else knows something I don’t!?

Presume you don't know anyone over 70 or anyone who is immune compromised.
That's fine.
I hope the worst thing that happens to you is that you are bored.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-51915302

This BBC link is a great article explaining everything. The numbers don't seem that bad at the moment but as it says in the article, if no action was taken then 510,000 people is the expected death toll in the UK by August. If they manage to slow or down it will be 250,000. If they put really strict measures in and stop it like China, it will probably just come back when we stop isolating. We need to get and slow it until a vaccine is invented and we know more about the virus.

Why don't you ask the worst affected? Oh sorry you can't,because they died!!

The main issue is the rate that the Virus appear to spread. So we get it really quickly and transmit it really quickly. It's appears to be mild for most people but because of that rate of transmission a lot of people get it and that figure quantities each day.

Because there is a large amount of people who get it, the % of those who get it severely becomes a bigger and bigger number each day. So while it's still a small overall % it's a large and growing number.

The issue is that small % of people are getting to numbers that will break the NHS or any Health sector. The measures are done to protect those vulnerable and slow the number of those who get it so that that number doesn't become unmanageable.

If we don't, we will be in a situation there those that require medical assistant will not be able to get it and it will be a case of medics having to choose who lives and who dies on a case to case basis.

So essentially, it probably won't make a difference to you, but your actions will make a difference it someone else lives or dies. By limiting contact and doing as advised we slow the rate and reduce the peak of the numbers, so that the NHS is able to cope with those who won't be so lucky.

There are other factors but the main one is asking people to not think of themselves and look out for each other, but as the stockpilers have shown, many are only concerned with themselves and screw everyone else.

OP I don't think you're being unreasonable to ask. When you look at the enormous impact all the shutdowns are having millions will lose their jobs and possibly their homes, people are trapped in foreign countries unable to get home, there is going to be a pretty terrible global recession it does seem a bit odd considering the disease has not actually killed that many people in most places, outside of a few hot spots, relatively speaking.

There is also the problem that everyone is suddenly an epidemiologist and quoting 'facts' about a disease that are not truly established yet. We have no idea what the mortality rate is because we have no idea how many have contracted it. It's possible that 90% of those who get it are asymptomatic. So the actual mortality rate may be lower.

People are also ignoring important demographic and cultural differences and assuming that everywhere in Europe will be like Italy. But there are some reasons why they think Italy is so badly affected that will not apply everywhere. We don't know yet!

I am deeply concerned and I do agree that drastic action needs to be taken, but I think we need to be patient and learn a lot more before giving in to total hysteria.

Thank you for putting it into words better than I did.

Many people are wondering these things you know. Mumsnet is a fucking awful place for mob-shaming anyone who doesn’t agree with the groupthink. Seriously awful. Reminds me why I left....

Yes it is. I dared to say I was finding the virus more of an inconvenience than anything because I don’t have any immediate people within the relevant brackets and I was sad my holiday was cancelled. Peoples heads exploded.

Take the rose tinted glasses off and look at the world.

Why do you think it has a lower mortality rate than flu? Also, mortality rate is not actually a 100% useful figure as overall impact also depends on rate of infection...

I think you are right to be suspicious of social media OP, you obviously frequent parts of it where absolute crap is spouted. You need different sources.

First you know there must be something very different about this if all over the world govts are doing things they desperately do not want to have to do. So admit to yourself now that you are not and cannot be trying to show these things are not needed. You are only trying to understand why. After this I think you should sit down and ask yourself why you are so behind in this.

Some viruses like Ebola have a very high mortality rate amongst those they infect. Others have a lower rate. The overall number who die depends on the combination of that rate with the infectiousness level of the illness. A leading expert has said this is much more frightening than Ebola because it is so much more easily passed on, so much harder to avoid catching it. So if many more people catch Covid 19 than catch Ebola, more people will die even though it has a lower mortality rate. For example, if an illness has a 90 percent mortality rate but only ten people get it as it is harder to transmit, then 9 people die. If an illness has a ten percent mortality rate but is so contagious that 1000 people get it, 100 people die.

This is very contagious and as PP have said, no one has immunity and we have no vaccine. It will infect many more than are infected in a flue season, and it has a much higher mortality rate.

Left unchecked it would rage through society, there would be massive death and a complete breakdown of health care. Within just weeks I think you would be tripping over bodies in the street outside hospital, until people just gave up and died at home. The mortality rate without any health care is not even known. Those not killed by the disease would be at risk from the complete lack of any other health care.

Social order would break down and the economy would entirely collapse.

You haven't seen quite this elsewhere because nowhere has been stupid enough to take no measures at all. But it is early days, who knows what is to come.

I would have thought what you can see of what is happening elsewhere is bad enought for you.

I don't mean this in a patronising or rude way, I am genuinely saying.... You can do better. Really ask yourself if your problem is attitude, intelligence, education, habits...and see what you can do to change that.

Flue autocorrect, not chimneys

I understand the need to follow government advice to minimise the spread which me and my family are doing, what is really annoying me is the people rading the shelves of everything so when normal people go shopping there is nothing left, if you are following the advice of staying indoors and not in large groups why cant people losten to the fact they ate also telling people to stop doing this as there is more than enough for people of we all just shopped normally! Selfish! I couldn’t get any nappies or formula for my son the past three days!

“I don’t mean this in a patronising or rude way but ask yourself if your problem is intelligence and education”

What the fuck?? 😂

Missed that one 😂

Because it threatens Western civilization OP.

Every death is a tragedy, and affects loved ones.

Every year 9 million people die from starvation and conditions associated with malnutrition and contaminated water.

So far 9 thousand people have died from Corona.

I don't dismiss any life, every soul is precious.

But we seem blind to catastrophic numbers dying in developing countries.
We wake up and panic when death comes to our door, but seem immune to millions dying on other shores.

Yes many people are thinking these things. It's good for me, I did my shopping and got everything I could sorted 3 weeks ago. You keep thinking that way.

Because nobody has immunity, it is a new virus. It may have the same death rate as seasonal flu, but without a vaccine the whole world will catch it, vs the much smaller number who get seasonal flu (because we have immunity and flu vaccine).

I am deeply concerned and I do agree that drastic action needs to be taken, but I think we need to be patient and learn a lot more before giving in to total hysteria.

Actually I think we have learned a lot from China and Italy and it's time to be decisive.

But what’s the reasoning for this? It hasn’t done this anywhere else?

Because of that global shutdown that you're complaining about.

My sisters are working on a covid ward nursing dying patients. Perhaps you would like a tour around one. That might help you understand.

I'll pop back to this thread in 10 days...

Lets see if 100+ deaths per day alter your view and behaviour...

* You won’t get nice responses on here if you ask those questions.*

You won’t get nice response on here if you ask any questions other than “isn’t Boris doing a shit job?”

Mumsnet should be shut down I think now. Just whipping people up in to a frenzy

It’s a virus which has a lower prevalence rate and FAR lower mortality rate than seasonal flu,

I admit I thought this back in January but then I educated myself.... it’s not hard to do ...

We don’t know the infection rate or the mortality rate yet but this is deadlier flu than normal probably ten times more.

The uk cannot cope with the ensuing health problems

The UK government want to isolate the elderly and vulnerable as the health system cannot cope with this amount of ill people.

It wants the rest of the population to become infected and develop immunity for when the virus appears again later this year.

This is the cheapest option.

Good luck everybody.

If you don't believe what the cso and cmo are saying, can you think of one credible reason why both Trump and Johnson are taking steps that they know full well will massively hurt the American and UK economies?

It defies logic that they would do these things on a whim. They are doing theses things because the best medical and scientific advise is available to them, and they are more frightened of seeing mass deaths in their countries than they are of wreaking the economies.