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?

Ds is also due to travel to both France and Germany. The school is going ahead with the trip unless FCO advises otherwise. It is making me antsy, as someone said the next two weeks are critical re incubation times? and he is due to travel in 4 weeks.

4 cases in Sudan apparently...

@NotYourTypicalNerd I think if it's going to get bad it will be well before 4 weeks. This will go big fast or not at all.

(My suspicion is that if it gets bad they'll try to wait and then just lengthen the half-term holiday. It gives an extra week to make that judgement call.)

@Parker231

What the Govt appears to be doing seems reasonable. It's possibly getting to the point now where they should follow several other countries and decline entry to anyone who has been in China in the prior fortnight/month unless they are British nationals or close family of British nationals.

Other than that (and things they are already doing) there's little else they can do. They could do everything 'right' but in the event of a pandemic with a long incubation period, high replication rate and potential to spread H2H while asymptomatic any country would have to be lucky to avoid a local epidemic.

Hence why it being contained in other countries is key.

Sudan is not good news.

Building on what I was passing on earlier re: the increased mortality in a potential local epidemic being caused by only being able to have c.200 patients being treated for pneumonia at the same time....

Interesting videos OP.

I was just looking at the tracker and hundreds of people have "recovered", how long did it take them to recover just a week? What's going on with the thousands of people who arnt recovered but arnt on the deceased list ? Still fighting it or just not counted ?

So many questions and I don't think we will get anymore answers.

The whole false news alerts by the mainstream news outlets and on social media platforms are also odd it's like we are being told to listen to the liars and ignore the truth which is being leaked out.

Those videos with people collapsing in the street, the body bags all over the emergency rooms, the people being arrested for posting the videos crying for help is terrifying I truly believe this is bigger than what we are being told. My heart breaks for everyone who's being effected.

The only other number I know is that c. 2,000 or so cases are reported as being critical.

No idea what's up with the 17,000 or so cases that leaves over once you add that to the deaths and recovered 🤷🏻‍♀️

The British Dr. (John Campbell) went through the detailed symptoms and timeline for one case that has been published and it was c. 15 days from start to recovery, but that was for a reasonably serious case (needed hospitalisation).

My guess would be that they don't have enough tests to bother using them to confirm recovery apart from those serious enough to have been admitted? I don't know though!

PS...

Same British doctor has confirmed that any Twitter videos you see where someone is having some kind of fit/seizure is not Coronavirus.

They are using clips of people having grand mal / epileptic seizures which are never caused by a virus.

Also his videos are great in a really 'old school British teacher' vibe way!

• American Airlines have just announced that they are suspending flights from HK (to date it was just mainland).

If others go the same way it looks like @RevolutionofourTime left at the right time.*

Well it’s been exhausting but we’re glad to have gotten out. Confinement is a weird thing - even if self-imposed - you do end up with cabin fever. I’m talking low mood, irritability, restlessness - not full blown paranoia. DCs are very happy to be out and about, just being able to take a walk outside is a treat.

In case anyone is wondering, we were/are all 100% healthy, not been to China in years, so I’m confident we’re not putting anyone at risk.

Distance learning is slightly challenging, the school is doing all they can but I’ll have to —push— support DCs a bit to make sure we stay on top of everything. I dread to think what it must be like if you have 3 or 4 kids, that must be exhausting. Let’s just say I’m not a natural homeschooler.

The problem for Hong Kong is that just across the border is Shenzhen, which is fast becoming the second-most hit part of China after Hubei province. They have hundreds of cases. And about 70,000 HK residents go to Shenzhen everyday - be it for work, shopping or whatever. So the likelihood of transmission is pretty high.

This is really terrible for HK, it’s already in recession and this is going to kill off restaurants, retail businesses etc.

Glad to hear you are doing ok Revolution

And for preppers out there, also consider whether you have enough sources of vitamin D. Apparently, fortified milk typically has much lower vitamin D content than advertised. Likewise fatty fish (mackerel etc) don’t give you nearly enough, so without sun exposure your long time health might suffer.

@bellinisurge thank you!

RevolutionofourTime glad to hear you and the DC are doing OK. How’s your DH doing back in HK? Any changes?

Parker231 to be honest at the moment I wouldn’t want the UK government to be doing anything more drastic - to me the bigger threat at the moment is panic causing shortages of food etc and unnecessary use of doctors/hospitals when people should self-treat at home. Anything more drastic from the government would send people into a tizz.

DH has come in from work nagging about going to France to ski at easter. The thoughts of booking anything involving overseas travel is making me very nervous at the moment (plus he knows we were supposed to be reducing flights for climate change reasons this year)

I'm due to be flying to Japan in less than two weeks with DH and 18 month old DD, for a holiday, really not sure what to do / if we should go / how bad it might be in ten days? If we don't go we will lose the money for the flights :(

I've just read on the Independent that a Belgian woman on the most recent UK flight has tested positive. The BBC is incredibly slow with its reporting - perhaps they've been ordered to underplay the situation.

I think I would still go.

Japan has great healthcare, generally children have the much milder version of it apparently, the risk of catching it is still very small.

I would change my mind if there were a significant number of H2H transmission within Japan implying the start of a local epidemic but you'd need to look at the situation closer to your leave date.

Do any of you have any underlying health issues? If not, then it's not likely to be any worse than the flu.

DH's parents are due in Vietnam in a similar time scale and they'll be waiting and watching until closer to the time. I don't think they'll cancel unless the FCO say to do so (in which case you are covered by travel insurance).

The foreign office has advised British people to leave china. There are around 30,000. Bound to be cases coming back if that many people return.

What I want the government to be doing?

Planning, stocking up in case of shortages, researching vaccinations, hand checking up on contacts much much more. Isolating the quarantined a bit more. IE not mixing in the newly returned with those who have done a few days.

They are doing quite a bit of that.

Onevwod hope they are looking at their when do we need to... close schools, nurseries, lock down nursing homes, restrict travel, other measures triggers so they don't leave it too late.

Learning about EpiPen use, often people leave it too late before administing.... To give it means admitting it is serious... people take their inhaler first etc. Would rather not have government being slow to act as they are too scared to admit it is serious.

The Vietnamese government are recommending that all people wear masks if out in public. They're also screening at the airports and borders.

suitepea I would still go but make sure the travel insurance is iron clad - does it recommend certain hospitals etc? What is the process for having to delay return due to illness or quarantine? I’d also research local pharmacies, primary care centres etc around me; plus possibly even get translations of any needed meds (paracetamol, ibuprofen, cough syrup etc). Vast likelihood is none of it will be needed but that way you’re not trying to translate Kanji on the hoof while feeling like shit or stressing about digging out insurance details if you get stuck.

3,156 new confirmed cases in Hubei alone today (largest daily increase to date I believe). About 2,000 of those are in Wuhan.

They are hoping the spread reduces this week(ish) as a result of the lockdown measures put in place a couple of weeks ago. Let's hope so...

Stats for whole of China will be available in c.90 minutes.

There is nothing to validate any of this hysterical speculation.

What we need is a massive hospital free of wi fi to put you all in.

@Poppyfieldsummerdays

Can you point to what speculation you think isn't validated?

I'm just interested to know what you think has been posted that you don't agree with...?