When did you start taking it seriously?

[LuxLFC]

For me it was January when the W.H.O declared it a public health emergency, although I was already aware of it by that point. I stocked up about 3 weeks later. It has been interesting to see people around me so dismissive of the situation until that first press conference with Bozo & the other 2.
What about you or the people in your lives?

It only hit me the weekend just gone. Now I've spent 3 days searching for loo roll and I can't get any, I have only a few doses of calpol left for my toddler and no cleaning supplies and I can't get hold of any. I'm also now faced with working full time from home while being a full time parent and I'm trying really hard to stay calm right now...

When I spoke to a relative who lives in Hong Kong. Around the same time the first cases were recorded in the UK (last day of January?)

Then also again, a few weeks later. Around the first week in March. When the UK confirmed cases took a steep rise. The numbers were still very small but it seemed significant at the time.

For me it was yesterday when the official school closures came out.

When the first reports came out of China and the BBC reported it.

In January when I first heard about it.

The it’s only flu camp have gone very quiet.

At the end of Jan when news broke that the virus was in the UK.

Had a horrible feeling that we were heading into rough waters.

I was aware of it around the end of January but took it more seriously when they closed the schools in Italy. At that point I started getting our freezer stock back up, cupboards etc. & since then trying to plan ahead for the inevitable.
At the time I thought I was overreacting but clearly not.

Mid feb, I did an emergency shop to stock up because I knew everyone else would eventually panic!!

Another one here that started taking it seriously when we first heard about it in January, I knew it would spread across the world when China went into lockdown. I knew it’s wasn’t ‘just the flu’
Where have all the it’s ‘just the flu’ posters gone?

Honeybee do you have amazon prime now in your area, they release online slots every night at midnight

I started to take it seriously a few weeks ago, I started stocking up a year ago for brexit though so I am generally a cautious person. I think it about to get more serious, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are in Italy/Spain style lockdown by next week

It was after Caroline Flack, all headlines were about her. Then it came back.

January.

Sorry! Posted too soon!
But when they began building that 1000 bed hospital in Wuhan, my hackles were up. By the time they’re building those, they’re building morgues.

January

I had a bad feeling about this from the first time I heard about it i January, was poo pooed by many and dismissed as paranoid but in my gut I knew it would be bad.

1st March it hit me that the world really needed to restrict travel and activities in a major way, as i finally understood the exponential growth factor and ICU needs

When I first heard about it from China I was concerned but hoped it wouldn't make it here because we're an island etc. That was naive! I was shocked to see flights carrying on as normal tbh

When those fucking idiots greeted the plane landing from China bringing back stranded people, who no-on knew whether they were infected or not, they opened the plane doors, no suit or mask on, and fucking shook hands with them! and then the coach drivers wore no protection whatsoever. The Gov refused to close down / monitor flights. No checks made, just "ring 111 if ill and wash hands" FFS

Knew it was going to go bad then, starting stocking up, planning, etc.

Early February and I did a big shop. I’ve never done anything like it before but it just felt potentially very bad.

I think it was a gradual realisation. Always knew it was serious, but never expected it to have the impact it has. Shops, schools, theatres closing etc is scary and unprecedented.

I've been watching from the start but around ta couple of weeks ago I was really convinced we were in the shit and that things were going to get a LOT harder before they got any easier.

January, I cautiously started to make plans then for a well stocked medicine cupboard and started to buy the food I need regularly. By the end of January I had a couple of dettol sprays, a spare bottle of bleach, enough paracetamol for everyone in the house to last a week if needed.
I took it calmly but seriously from the word go.

I didn’t quite foresee what an economic catastrophe it would be, I knew objectively it would be serious but not the speed it would come or that it would wreck my own life plans totally.

When it got really serious in wuhan and they started emergency British flights home.

I'd started to wear my brexit stock down so started restocking (forgot to tell DH though, so he was using the supplies as I was repacking!

Wish I'd thought about school closures/isolation.

I home ed some of my kids, but all their tutored lessons and therefore self study has stopped. And I have nothing in for schooled kids and the 9 year old will only accept worksheet learning!