Prepping for pandemic...

[wheresmymojo]

I was quite blasé about the novel corona virus outbreak but things I've read today have changed my mind.

I'm not usually a prepper but best things to stock up on for a pandemic?

Surgical face masks?
Latex gloves?
Anti bac wipes and hand wash?

So I'm not posting this on the threads on the other boards as I don't want to freak those with health anxiety out and this is 100% unverified, unvalidated and possible false news.

But...has anyone else seen the videos circulating on Twitter of dead people in the streets in China?

When I saw the first two or three I just thought 'fake news' etc.

But now I've seen at least 7 seperate clips of different streets where people are collapsing onto the ground or are being covered over with sheets (as in fully covered like a dead person, not like someone being kept warm) by medical staff.

Thoughts?

I will link to one of the 7 or so as an example in a sec...

Example 1: twitter.com/ischinar/status/1223234981964779527?s=21

@ofwarren It's a 3M 6000 series mask with 3M carbon filter cartridge with a N95 particulate filter over the top of the carbon filter.
They also come in half masks, but you'll need goggles then too.
Theyre available everywhere B&Q Screwfix etc. Around £50.
There are also Chinese copies on ebay for around £30, theyre good, as good as the 3M ones I think, but most are now out of stock.
Carbon Cartridge lasts 6 months, the pads for 24 hours.
You can also use disposable masks, such as N95 masks, or in UK they are called PP2 or better get the PP3 if you can.

wheresmymojo I would be extremely cautious until independently verified about stuff like that - there have been a shit lot of videos shared on Reddit that have turned out to be hoaxes.

Also a couple of interesting graphs...

1. New York Times showing estimated mortality and replication rates compared to other diseases.

At the very lowest end it's just above seasonal flu but at the very highest end it's not far off the 1918 flu

1. A timeline graph showing how the virus was transferred between the first 4 people in Germany (and I think they are at 6 now?)

Unsurprisingly China are very likley hiding most of their cases, many reports of dead cremated without any official record. Sure we will see scarier figures soon. People dying on the streets is a bit unnerving.

Despite 2 uk cases recorded, its actually 2 UK cases who have possibly infected everyone they've been within 6 foot of, since arriving 3 days ago. Everything theyve touched and come within 6 foot of has potentially got 2019-nCoV on now, waiting for unsuspecting people!
Great to know that they were allowed to continue on their journey from the airport. Where were the checks?

wheresmymojo

But Wuhan is a city of 11 million people (with possibly many more stuck there) where people will collapse on the street and die every day.
Also I thought cars were banned from movement in Wuhan currently? We have to wonder what the source of this video is and when it might have been filmed. Can we look at the EXIF data?

Not to say that this isn’t someone overcome with an acute respiratory illness due to this novel virus but we have to be careful. There are many videos circulating that people suggest are dead bodies in China when in fact they are people acting in Thailand, soldiers collapsing from exhaustion and many videos that have been on the internet for many, many years.

That said, there certainly seems to be an element of cover up on the part of the Chinese government. The R0 on this seems to vary from source to source and I think, sadly only an epidemic in a less controlled country will give us reliable figures and predictions.

But Wuhan is a city of 11 million people (with possibly many more stuck there) where people will collapse on the street and die every day

Really? How many people have you seen collapse and die on the street in London? I go there every day and haven't seen anyone die in the street. Obviously it must happen sometimes but it's rare enough that most people won't see it happen once in a lifetime...

Anyway - totally open to the fact these clips are fake. That was my first thought, it was just because I've been seeing more and more.

On a lighter note...these are the coaches with the British citizens in going from Brize Norton to Newcastle.

Could they have picked a better brand? Horsemen of the apocalypse

I have seen those. I reassured myself by thinking that statistically some people are always going to fall down dead in the street, especially in a country that big. People have heart attacks (horrible to think of them just being assumed to have the virus and not getting first aid though). The number of clips doesn't seem high enough, relative to the number of infections, for it to be a sign that that's the most likely course of the disease.

I do think it's really hard to see how this will stop being a pandemic now though - but hopefully one that most people will survive. Glad of my few bits and bobs of preps - if I wasn't prepared at all (like for being stuck in the house for a bit), then my peace of mind would depend completely on thinking that the virus wasn't ever going to get close to me or affect me. The news suggests it will.

Well I am unemployed from Monday so won't be able to prep but will continue on this thread for the gallows humour!

...and of course there's always my sanitary towel mask idea.

Really? How many people have you seen collapse and die on the street in London? I go there every day and haven't seen anyone die in the street. Obviously it must happen sometimes but it's rare enough that most people won't see it happen once in a lifetime...

Most people won't see someone die in front of them of a heart attack but still, people die of heart attacks all day every day. Dying in the street isn't that much different from dying suddenly in a chair or in your bed. It happens to people. It's probably much more likely to happen to people with severe respiratory illnesses, so it'll probably happen to people with this, and maybe more often in Wuhan right now. But we already know Wuhan is full of ill people, so that's no surprise. I honestly don't think I would take from these video montages that the coronavirus is going full-on "28 Days Later", at least not yet!

I just found a bbc news article from feb 2013 where a small number of people in Uk died of a minor Coronavirus outbreak

Back then the death rate was 50% but they noted that one of the people had a weakened immune system

They also noted on that article that it came from bats

It’s making me quite annoyed at the garbage conspiracies going around saying how it’s a man made virus created in a lab

I’d take all videos with a pinch of salt right now, there’s no way of verifying them and some people really do just take pleasure in scare mongering and trolling.

Could be true or some bastard trolling.

The Yorkshire case is concerning. Feel sorry for chambermaids, waiters etc at the hotel.

@NemophilistRebel there are 7 types of coronavirus MERS and SARS being some of them. This new 2019-CoV has a 76% similarity to SARS and 96% similarity to the Bat one so they think this originated in Bats but there will always be conspiracy theories on stuff like this. Especially as Wuhan has a massive lab there.

Could they have picked a better brand? Horsemen of the apocalypse

Oh dear were there 4 coaches?

I doubt people are dying in the street. Surely you'd feel ill for a long time first so would be indoors?

I was just wondering if any of the calm down, nothing is happenning, dont panic, its all fake news, types who post here are actually driving the infection bus?

Is the driver 1, very brave. 2, really stupid. or just sure that everyone worrying are drama Llamas?

From the Daily Mail website so no chance of fake news here!

This video is not for the faint hearted and no proof it is Wuhan market but you can clearly see from this why so many disgusting diseases start in China and their food markets.

Being unemployed may be a blessing..less contact with the outside world...

Sorry though. Don't suppose a small silver lining is much help.

@Newdadtogirl that bus is empty, I expect that’s a picture of it going to Brize to collect them and the guy in the hazmat suit is going to take over after.

Hope they wash the bus before the next school trip!