I think we all need to get a grip.

[Bulb1976]

I know Coronavirus is scary, the constant media scaremongering hasn’t helped either. But let’s get this into perspective, the majority of us will be fine and whilst those of us who fall into the at risk category are anxious it’s still important to realise that there is still a good chance we can recover from this.
But the food stockpiling, sending your kids to school when you know you shouldn’t (yes I know people have financial obligations but if you are really worried about Coronavirus then surely the health of your kids comes first). The threads on MN are sounding pretty hysterical and we aren’t helping each other instead we are creating group hysteria.

Step away from the phone and just calm down and get some perspective. We can’t control this, just have to keep going.

If you go along with instruction you don’t have to be afraid and panic.

Being confined to my home is pretty much my worst nightmare due to previous experience. We're on day 8 of self isolation. I feel awful, my chest hurts whether or I cough or not. Dh is so short tempered because he's working from home and despite our house being big on paper, the kids want to be in the same room as him/want his attention so it's a nightmare trying to balance his work with them. I don't get any time to myself. I now have zero mental health imput (unstandable) but also can't access all the things I need to keep myself roughly sane.

My mum and inlaws are behaving like they are immortal with Fil going to the shops every day for his precious papers despite having a 3rd of his heart not working and having diabetes. In the past 2 years I've lost my dad and both my Grandmothers (one of whom we can't have a proper funeral for because she only died a few weeks ago). My cousin has just been tested having all the symptoms and feeling really ill. She's spent a load of time with my vulnerable mum who is currently 400 miles away.

Oh and I have zero faith in our Government to manage this situation.

If that drug rocks up in October... still have to deal with the peak now and not enough critical care.

There are two groups acting suboptimally - panickers and I’ll do what I want. It’s easy, just be calm and stay inside except for essential stuff.

Eh?

FFS! Getting sick of people who think they know better than the medics who are telling us this is very very serious and we all need to do our bit in containing and delaying it.

Also getting very sick of people who think it's ok to focus on the majority and dismiss the minority as though they don't matter or matter less.

And finally, most depressingly, I'm utterly sick to my back teeth of the people who are so inherently selfish and self-centred that they can't see beyond their own sad little lives and how this affects everyone.

Some very promising treatments have been found. Some are existing drugs, used for other illnesses (one is used against Malaria), and have been well-tested for many years. They need to do some more testing before approving them for use against CV, but that won't take as long as developing entirely new drugs.

There will soon be a test which allows people to find out whether they've had CV and are immune. This will be a game changer as, for instance, those nurses and doctors who find they have immunity will be able to go back to work on the front line.

A vaccine is still some way off, but may well be available in 18 months or so.

In the meantime, we need to take sensible measures to slow this thing down, reduce pressure on the NHS and keep ourselves safe and well.

In previous pandemics there wasn't the same hope of cures or treatments or vaccines, so of course people accepted that they might die and just carried on. We no longer have to behave like that.

How is trying to stay calm selfish?

No one is dismissing the minority but it’s good to have perspective.

The medics we see on the videos are the ones dealing with the worst cases. There are hundreds of thousands of cases that are even undetected because they are mild.

Let’s try and see the whole picture, please.

Yes, I’m scared, but I need to go to work.

Treatments sound great and it’s good to hear but we still have to manage the peak now so NHS isn’t overwhelmed before it gets here. It already is of course, but still need to keep it down.

It’d be irresponsible to tell people not to bother changing behaviour because a drug is coming.

There will always be hand wringers and stoics in any crisis. To expect it to be any different is to misunderstand human nature.

Saying 'calm down' is a good way to piss off someone who is not calm.

This thread is actually amazing in watching how scaremongering works in effect. Some posters offer good news and hope whilst others steadfastly try and crush it by saying its either false or far away or wont work anywy despite actual scientists disagreeing with them. Perspective, hope and adhering to rules and suggestions are whats needed here.

Geepipe what’s the timescale? If you know let us know

The medics we see on the videos are the ones dealing with the worst cases. There are hundreds of thousands of cases that are even undetected because they are mild.

So how about we make people realise the seriousness of it, get them to take social distancing seriously and help to reduce the numbers inundating the NHS with a need for oxygen and ventilating?

And the Italian hospital video wasn't the sickest people, they didn't go in to the icu.

Believe me. The media are not scaremongering. The reality, right now, it worse than the media are saying.

“Can you elaborate on where you see hysteria on the MN boards, as I haven’t seen any hysterics at all?“

Haha haha!

MN is batshit right now.

This is a very very serious situation. We will clearly follow what’s happening in other countries.
Follow the government advice.
The government said 2 weeks ago that the real number was around 5 to 10,000 - there are thousands out there with it so the more you are out the more you are mixing with people who have it.
The number are doubling every 3 to 4 days.
Please take head.
We do have some control. We have responsibilities.

Believe me. The media are not scaremongering. The reality, right now, it worse than the media are saying.

OK, make me believe you.

Post your evidence.

Is the Imperial report scaremongering or good to know? And is that difference in numbers ok.

20,000 dead in the UK will be a good result, 250-500k dead expected without a lock down.

www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf

That's what the media are saying.

I wondered if Wikki might offer something that only they know.

Marsha there is a clear difference between sharing info even if negative or worrying, and sharing nothing but negative by completely ignoring or shutting down any positive stories as shown above with people being negative about positive drug trial articles.

Gee I’m really pleased about drug trials, great to hear about it. I just don’t want people to stop social distancing because they misguidedly think it will be here soon enough.

Unless someone can give the timescale.

Let’s try and see the whole picture, please.

This is what I think is lacking. The media reports tend to focus heavily on the number of new cases and deaths - I barely see a mention of the many thousands who have survived this.

I appreciate the posters who are trying to stay calm and positive - their posts are helpful and calming to read. The hysterical posts and doomsday predictions don't help anybody and simply fuel panic.

It's barely begun and I'm exhausted. I wish there was an off button.

@marshabradyo - I agree with you that news of potential treatments shouldn’t lead to complacency because they will take time, but in the interest of offering some small ray of hope to people reading there are trials currently ongoing with known medications (so no human safety trials needed) that are due to complete April/May. Some of these are U.K. trials.

Of course that doesn’t take into account the time needed to manufacture and distribute these drugs but it’s a small hope at the moment.

I'm an at risk person (lung disease). I teach in a school. In the country where I live, schools aren't closing. I must go there every day. I must go there by bus. I must come home on the bus from my unsafe classroom and school to a husband who is isolated due to end stage kidney disease. He needs surgery before he can have dialysis at home. He's been warned he might not get the surgery due to coronavirus. The he'll have to go into the hospital three times a week for dialysis, during the peak of the pandemic. On the bus. And come home on the bus. He can't work anymore due to coronavirus being so dangerous to him. We can pay the rent in full for 8 more weeks. Then we face the possibility of eviction. I have a minor child. I am supporting another child at university. Not for long, I guess. It's been a while since we've been able to buy staples. Now, there are people worse off than me. I've got a job, even if it is low paid and puts my health at risk.

But do not fucking tell me to get a grip.

Cornetto it was nice to hear on R4 first human trials lifted me a bit. Still staying in but really nice to hear.

I think that we are living in a rare time when the media and the governments do appear to be behaving responsibly and doing the right thing. At the moment.

I live in a lockdown country and I do believe that if everyone is responsible this could be stamped out. It takes a month to get from nothing to critical according to what the doctors are currently saying and it will take time to see if this is right, but I think it is fine to be positive about it and at the same time to make sure everyone knows just how serious the situation is by distributing responsible (and I think brave and amazing journalism..) about the appaling situation in Italy, but also what can be done to mitigate the virus.

"So don’t panic just do what government asks" - all well and good, but when the government in question suggests herd immunity with no vaccine as a way of managing the situation, flying in the face of almost every other country in the world's experience/expertise/medical advisers as well as WHO guidelines, you have to wonder if that government knows what it's doing.