Coronavirus topic

[eeeyoresmiles]

Mumsnet, when might we get a coronavirus topic like we had for swine flu? It was useful then, and it could have the nhs advice at the top as a sticky.

It's hugely being blown out of proportion though. A special topic really isn't needed.

So the WHO was wrong to declare it a global emergency then?
I don’t think it’s blown out of proportion at all.

The Health Secretary has also just been in Parliament making a special statement saying it will be around for a good while (it's a marathon not a sprint). They've started a public health campaign about it. Cases are doubling every few days in China and showing no signs of slowing down. It's much worse than flu to get. I don't think interest in it is overblowing the issue. It's also interesting from a scientific point of view. All in all it's a pretty good candidate for a topic, IMO, and its posts can always be reclassified later as general health (that seems to be what's happened to all those swine flu posts).

Be kinda useful to have all the coronavirus threads gathered in one place. Then we could quarantine them.
Actually, despite joke, I think this is a good idea. I do tend to want to read lots on anything current, and I am checking in on the cv threads a lot.

How about having an Emerging Diseases topic instead?

That way it could be used for any new (global emergency) disease, and wouldn't be culled (as the Ebola topic was) which is a shame as no-one would ever find the threads scattered into more general topics, so they are essentially lost.

It would require MNHQ to move threads into the topic, wherever they were originally posted. This has been done for other diseases, and is what makes such a topic actually work (sporadically busy, tumbleweed between)

I like the idea of an emerging diseases thread, although I suspect that this one might already have outgrown a thread like that!

we had an ebola one and it got changed to "preppers" because it was more useful than having a topic for a particular illness.

"Plague Mongering" ?

"Preppers" are talking about it already, have a search

The topic could just be called ‘PANIC!!’. Perhaps MN could put it into big red flashing letters...?

Oh Jesus 🙄

I think it's a good idea - it was done for SARS. Then everyone can hide us if they like, while we talk without without having to contend with repetitive rude derogatory comments.

I've read the preppers thread. I'm not proposing this for prepping reasons, or because I'm panicking. I'm not assuming this will be the end of the world (but neither am I comfortable right now assuming it's about to fade away into a non-story). It's a current worldwide public health thing that's probably going to affect us all for the next few months. Sharing information, NHS info on sticky - all would be useful, and a topic makes that easier.

I actually think its bad idea if only because people can then block the whole topic and that means they might miss something important. If anyone posts about it in chat or AIBU then some idiot will pipe up "shut up and put it in the right topic so I don't have to see it". The more people see discussion about it the more likely they are to educate themselves about the risks, particularly as it escalates and we need as many people as possible to take precautions.

Yes that is worth bearing in mind, too, although soon it might be impossible for anyone to ignore.

Hi there, thanks for the report and for this interesting suggestion - we'll certainly have a think about it here at MNHQ, depending on how things progress and how much interest we see on the boards.

@GloriaMumsnet that's the same response you gave to me when I asked the same thing by pm.

There are more and more threads across different topics now. This looks to be bigger than SARS and the 'Swine flu' epidemic for which you did create separate topics. It was useful then - it provided a focus for people who do have knowledge to be able to support useful and reassuring discussions. I believe it would be useful this time round too.

ncov2019 seems to be the short name that's sticking. Talk/ncov2019 ftw

I think a Covid subforum would be good - a new topic just gone up suggesting it's for HCPs to discuss, AIBU really doesn't seem the place for that

It would be a really logical step at this point.

If it keeps the hysteria off Chat and AIBU, a good idea

Any further thoughts on this, MNHQ? (Though I suppose it wouldn't be ncov2019 though now as the name's changed.) I know there's a risk some people might hide the topic, but that could be outweighed by the benefits of everyone else having one place to come to, perhaps?

Good idea.

There's a lot of interest spread across the boards.

If we do, any chance we can have some guidelines like those on Reddit?? (to avoid drama, hysteria and spreading false info / conspiracy theories like the anti vaxxers)?