Are you worried about the Coronavirus?

[Snowdrop13]

Having started off as a small local outbreak with limited person to person transmission this appears to be spreading very quickly,

China coronavirus spread is accelerating, Xi Jinping warns

China's president tells a high-level meeting that the country faces a "grave situation".

www.bbc.co.uk

I thought this was an interesting article about the food markets that are thought to be the cause, a bit like Ebola being transmitted from bushmeat.

Calls for global ban on wild animal markets amid coronavirus outbreak

Experts say wildlife sold for human consumption raises risk of new epidemics

www.theguardian.com

 

[missy]

I have to read more about it. At this point I only know very superficial info. I would say I’m cautiously concerned but not overly worried at this point in time. Hoping it can be controlled and the outbreak very limited.

 

[Slickk]

I am more concerned for the flu as it’s rampant in my school right now but I saw videos of people falling down because of this Corona virus and that’s scary! I know it’s the Daily Mail, so questionable, but still.

Coronavirus: Videos claim to show people collapsing in Wuhan

Dozens of videos being circulated on social media purport to show people collapsing in the streets of the Chinese city of Wuhan, epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak, as medics rush to treat them.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[missy]

@Snowdrop13 are you worried?

 

[lyra]

Yes and no. I'm already secluding myself to avoid the flu. If this virus gets to Canada, I will become a hermit. I mean, spread is inevitable, but my immune system is wiped out due to remicade infusions, so I need to be extra careful. I hope it won't become a pandemic of course.

 

[Niffler75]

I am cautiously concerned. At this time of the year with China celebrating new year and international travel it is a bit of a 'perfect storm'. Also with flu circulating the symptoms are similar so may may mask actual cases of Corona virus unless an individual is specifically screened for this.
Hopefully governments can get a grip on the situation and contain it as much as possible.

 

[Snowdrop13]

@Snowdrop13 are you worried?

Not yet, but the world is such a small place these days, more spread must be inevitable. There have been people tested here in the UK but there are no reported confirmed cases yet. I believe there is one in the US. I guess the situation will evolve over the next few weeks. I plan to keep washing my hands!

 

[missy]

Not yet, but the world is such a small place these days, more spread must be inevitable. There have been people tested here in the UK but there are no reported confirmed cases yet. I believe there is one in the US. I guess the situation will evolve over the next few weeks. I plan to keep washing my hands!

Two and counting so far

CDC confirms second US case of coronavirus and is monitoring dozens of other potential cases

U.S. health officials diagnosed a second patient with the China coronavirus — a Chicago woman who returned from Wuhan with the infection.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Snowdrop13]

Oh. Well, I’m sure the US is well set up to isolate and treat anyone infected. It’s amazing to me that people from Wuhan have travelled so far even in just the space of a week. I’d never heard of the city until now. Shows my own ignorance!

 

[Karl_K]

Not worried about it.
If it were a bad threat it would have blown up by now.
It would take a mutation in just the wrong way for it to be a real threat.
There is a slight chance but its not likely.
The current flu strain has the same mutation chance as it does every year.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Nope no worried at all, we just do the best we can and if it gets to us then we will deal with it.

I am skeptical of the hype about certain things because last year DH caught the flu (type B) and flu is supposed to be so contagious but none of us caught it. Despite touching the same phones, controllers, door knobs etc. I thought for sure the kids would catch it.

 

[OoohShiny]

AFAIK it is a new strain that only really is of grave concern to those with already weakened immune and/or respiratory systems, so most people should recover just fine.

My thoughts go to @lyra and other who are compromised, of course - survival of the fittest is no fun if, through no fault of your own, you are not the fittest

I am extremely cynical of the news, especially the BBC - their main focus seems to be on trying to instill and foment irrational fear and panic in the population through continued and increasingly alarmist one-sided reporting (ref: climate change, brexit, not-that-extreme-really weather events, this story, etc.) so this is, to me, just another story being hyped up by the media in the absence of any real new facts.

I mean - the story is literally a five minute slot, if you boil it down:

- new illness discovered
- appears to originate and have mutated from other animals
- illness has been identified under a microscope
- research into treatment is underway
- transmission methods still to be determined but usual common sense precautions likely to mitigate risk
- risk of transmission across the globe increased by internal and international travel (the same as with all illness)
- majority (98%? based on 1200 reported cases and c.26 deaths in China to date) survive after period of illness
- those most at risk are those already health-compromised
- Further updates when available
- End story

Instead, it is the main headline story, with constant rolling 'updates' of no actual new news, other than to say 'more people infected! 2 more people died on the planet of 8bn people!! It could be coming your way next!!!"

Until people start dropping dead in the streets in their hundreds as they go about their daily business, I'm not going to panic.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Dh is supposed to travel to Shanghai for work next week. Around 800 km from Wuhan.
I'm not pleased.

 

[facetgirl]

Not worried but keeping tabs. It does seem to be moving quickly from people to people and I just read an article in the NYT that people may be infected and not showing symptoms. The mortality rate appears to be low; the other factor though that is concerning is the impact to the infrastructure (and strain on healthcare system) as well as the economy. That, in my view (or hope) is why there is an urgency for containment, especially with the holiday and travel.

 

[dk168]

I am kind of worried as my mum is due to fly to HK in February.

DK

 

[lyra]

The nurses at the infusion clinic today were talking about it with a doctor. A lot of what they said went over my head, but they definitely said having the flu shot could help because of t-cell something or other. And that they were concerned it will become like SARS was here. No one I knew was affected for that, but it was partly due to hospitals and healthcare workers being well prepared in advance. So I'm sure the protocols will work again as they did for SARS. At least that seems logical to me. Meanwhile I'm trying not to get sick with anything at all.

 

[JPie]

I’m not terribly concerned. New diseases get blown out of proportion by the media every few years. I think it makes as much sense to worry about catching this virus as it does to worry about catching the flu. While the threat is out there, all we can really do is take sensible precautions.

The difference with this virus is that I am hearing more conspiracy theories around it. One of my relatives is convinced that this is a far bigger deal than the Chinese government is letting on, but to be fair, that is standard operating procedure for them. Another gentleman on a different forum reached out to me to say the same about the Chinese government.

 

[baby monster]

I'm concerned. No one knows how this new virus is transmitted or mortality rate. Local and social media are highly censored. The government quarantined 40 million people and is building 2 hospitals in Wuhan to hold 2600 beds. And NYT just posted that China suspended all outbound travel for its citizens. 42 people are dead from the virus. It would seem that they are taking it very seriously.

 

[GeliL]

I am worried not for myself but for my family. I am in the US but grandparents live in Wuhan, so basically smack dab in virus central, and my mother and her sister's family went to visit them just recently and now she is stuck there since the airports have all shut down. Grandparents are all 80+ but none of them have gotten the virus. They are all hermits and wear masks while going out, I talk to them everyday wishing for their wellbeing.

 

[Bron357]

There are a number of Coronavirus strains around, it’s not a new virus. SARS is also a strain of Coranavirus which had a particularly high mortality rate. SARS had a 34% mortality rate.
although there have been deaths, it seems that as a percentage of those infected the mortality rate it is relatively low. Don’t forget that even the “ordinary flu” has a mortality rate due to the pneumonia it can cause.
In China with their high concentrations of population and very large population, even a mortality rate of 2% equals 28 million deaths.
The issue is that the virus are easily transmissible, like any virus, and there is currently no vaccine available. This is definately a concern for the elderly, the very young and people with depressed immune systems.

 

[lissyflo]

I am worried not for myself but for my family. I am in the US but grandparents live in Wuhan, so basically smack dab in virus central, and my mother and her sister's family went to visit them just recently and now she is stuck there since the airports have all shut down. Grandparents are all 80+ but none of them have gotten the virus. They are all hermits and wear masks while going out, I talk to them everyday wishing for their wellbeing.

sending good wishes for your family @GeliL

I'm concerned. No one knows how this new virus is transmitted or mortality rate. Local and social media are highly censored. The government quarantined 40 million people and is building 2 hospitals in Wuhan to hold 2600 beds. And NYT just posted that China suspended all outbound travel for its citizens. 42 people are dead from the virus. It would seem that they are taking it very seriously.

I agree. The Chinese government’s reaction is worrying if it’s more indicative of the genuine problem than what’s being said.

 

[AprilBaby]

Not really but if it does come I’m health compromised so maybe I need to go to rural Iowa for a while.

 

[Elizabeth35]

Somewhat concerned as I do not 100% trust the information coming out of China.
I am scheduled to fly through Hong Kong in late March spending 2 nights there.
We then fly to Australia and if things get markedly worse I worry that flights could be suspended out of HK or restricted coming into Australia from China.
I will watch carefully and assess risk.

 

[Niffler75]

I am worried not for myself but for my family. I am in the US but grandparents live in Wuhan, so basically smack dab in virus central, and my mother and her sister's family went to visit them just recently and now she is stuck there since the airports have all shut down. Grandparents are all 80+ but none of them have gotten the virus. They are all hermits and wear masks while going out, I talk to them everyday wishing for their wellbeing.

@GeliL you must be so worried! Sending you best wishes. x

 

[arkieb1]

Yes if you thought the flu was bad this virus is a kicker..... back in the olden days the flu and viruses like this wiped out millions of people from the planet, we are lucky these days, no doubt they are probably already trying to create vaccines to prevent that from occurring.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I don't neccessarily think the chinese government is doing a bad job. They locked down cities to try to prevent the spread ahead of chinese new year (the largest annual migration of people in the world). Blockading roads, shutting train stations and airports as well as public transport in effected places. They also shut all movie theaters across the country despite the fact that chinese new year is the point of the largest nation wide movie releases (costing at least a billion dollars). And they have everywhere from hospitals to airports decked out with quarantine facilities and gear. Sadly they still dont seem to have enough resources in effected areas so it still seems to be putting too much strain on the health care system there.

If you dont trust their reporting you do not have long to wait before getting a more accurate account. In 1 weeks time a lot of people will come home from chinese new year -- which is what everyone was doing visiting family in places like wuhan. It is 3-4 weeks since the first case in china and a few 1000 are infected there. In 4 weeks time you will have a lot of statistics from elsewhere in the world. You will also get more statistics from half dozen countries it has already spread to. So I think itll become a lot clearer soon in any case.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'm about as worried about it as I was about the the Zika virus epidemic a year or two ago.

There are 1.38+ billion people in China. I am sure they have far more flu and pneumonia deaths each year than what's been reported for this situation thus far. I am certainly concerned for those in the affected area as people with poor immune systems and health problems will be more at risk. I've read from two sources that most of the deaths were older people or those with existing health problems, which is typical of pneumonia deaths, in general. It sounds like they are doing the best they can at containing it, and I certainly hope and pray that it will not continue to spread. I wouldn't plan to travel there at the moment.

"Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said earlier in the week that the risk to the American public was low. Severe cases have been limited to older adults or those with existing health problems." NBC News

(I just saw @GeliL 's post and I am certainly sorry to hear that her family is in that area. I hope they will all remain safe and healthy!)

 

[Tekate]

I like @missy am concerned but not overly at this point, I live in a city (Austin) where there are many nationalities coming in and out of here it does make me think. I'm reading what I can and paying attention but not sure where it will go.

 

[cmd2014]

Yes and no. I'm already secluding myself to avoid the flu. If this virus gets to Canada, I will become a hermit. I mean, spread is inevitable, but my immune system is wiped out due to remicade infusions, so I need to be extra careful. I hope it won't become a pandemic of course.

The first case was confirmed in Toronto today. I’m surprised it wasn’t Vancouver.

 

[joelly]

Yes and no. I'm already secluding myself to avoid the flu. If this virus gets to Canada, I will become a hermit. I mean, spread is inevitable, but my immune system is wiped out due to remicade infusions, so I need to be extra careful. I hope it won't become a pandemic of course.

My immune system is also damage due to Sjogren Syndrome. So yeah I’ll be a hermit too. I caught the cold since the day after Christmas. I get better then it came back twice as bad. Praying and hoping for better days. I seem to infect hubby and baby daughter as well. I am praying their immune system will clear them up soon.