Coronavirus - is enough being done to contain it?

More people are dying of standard flu than coronavirus.

The mortality rate is only <2% for Covid 19 and one has to balance containment measures with not putting the entire economy into paralysis and precipitating a severe recession. Proportionality is the key.
The knock-on affects of a severe global recession/depression would lead to more mortality overall.

^ 2% of 66 million people = 1.32 million. That why governments are trying to contain the virus rather than just let it spread amongst the population.

People with medical problems are more at risk.

(28-02-2020 09:44 )babelover48 Wrote:  you do realise it is an airborne virus?

What I meant was that simply washing our hands is one way but feel that it may take more than that to ensure we are not spreading something person to person, and possibly that advice may need to be expanded as more is known about the virus

I have a very personal reason for being well briefed on the situation. Scare stories and sensational headlines do not help. Follow official advice but the safest thing for you might be to turn off the internet or at least pause and think before you post a running commentary

I will say this

I work in a high street store (WH Smith) and only now we are getting people coming in asking if we sell hand gel we only sell the hand wipes. I am pretty much on the counter all day, so you can imagine how much hand interaction i have to go through and often get very little opportunity to keep my hands clean. The only time I do get a chance is often around 3:15 for my break. I have served several people of Asia origin this week, and I do not even know if they have the virus or not. Even the doctor I saw before Christmas was of Asian origin.

[mod edit - racist comment addressed, which is the only reason why it is still in place]

(28-02-2020 09:56 )Charlemagne Wrote:  ^ 2% of 66 million people = 1.32 million. That why governments are trying to contain the virus rather than just let it spread amongst the population.

People with medical problems are more at risk.

I agree - 2% of a lot is still a lot.

Swine flu fatality rate: 0.026%
SARS fatality rate: circa 15%, so far more deadly than COVID-19 or Swine Flu.

Spanish Flu pandemic of 2018 killed 20-50 million, possibly unto 100M worldwide, or 3% of the global population. It killed more than the Great War that had just ended.

Contagiousness and virulence are also key dimensions of any infective agent and determine how effective containment measures are and how much morbidity and mortality results from infection.

Problems like global warming and overpopulation by humans will be stopped by a virus like this but far worse, culling say 30-40% of the global population. Nature has a way of sorting out species that get too dominant and dangerous to the planet.

(28-02-2020 10:41 )babelover48 Wrote:  I will say this

I have served several people of Asia origin this week, and I do not even know if they have the virus or not. Even the doctor I saw before Christmas was of Asian origin.

It's this crap that really angers me. You do realise that of the cases in the UK only 3 have been Chinese and they had been to China. You have more chance of getting it from an Italian or someone who has been in Northern Italy. Making borderline racist statements about people who look "Asian" to you but may never have been to China is bloody irresponsible. Are you going to refuse to serve any foreigners or who you deem to be foreigners? Maybe you should refuse to serve all Italians! FFS!

500 to 600 people in the UK die every year from Influenza on average. In exceptional years this number has been known to rise as high as 10,000. Indeed in 2008/09 the figure was estimated to be as high as 13,000.

Perspective...perspective.

Stop reading the scaremongering nonsense on the internet, calm down, get a grip and use some good old fashioned common sense. Honestly the way some people are reacting you’d think the Krippen virus from ‘I Am Legend’ was rampaging around the planet to either kill us all or turn us into darkseeking zombies!

(28-02-2020 09:34 )babelover48 Wrote:  Currently Buxton in Derbys is in lockdown

No it's not, they only closed the school. And it will likely open again once they've finished the deep clean.

(28-02-2020 13:51 )The Silent Majority Wrote:  

(28-02-2020 09:34 )babelover48 Wrote:  Currently Buxton in Derbys is in lockdown

No it's not, they only closed the school. And it will likely open again once they've finished the deep clean.

Of course they will....so long as they ignore the rampant hysteria from certain sections of the media and use a bit of common sense.