Coronavirus
- Thread starter Kay111
- Start date
We arrived at the supermarket this morning just as a lady arrived back to the car next to us with her shopping. We watched her use gel on her hands and spray the steering wheel, presumably with antibac spray. It was good to see the message of protection in action but shocking at the same time, it hit home it's real, not just on the tv.
@Kay111 I appreciate what you are saying but I live in the Greater Toronto Area and there were 43 deaths from SARS here . People were very agitated and panicky at the time, particularly as SARS was also killing young, healthy people in their prime. The media certainly didn't help with the manner in which they reported the news.
The mortality rate for SARS was 10%. Covid-19 has a mortality rate of 2 to 3% and it behaves more like flu, with the very old, very young and immune compromised bearing the brunt of it. Not that that makes it any better, but my point is that hundreds of thousands die every single year of the flu and no one is upset or worried about that at all. Travel plans do not get changed because of flu season. The media doesn't report it because it happens every year and therefore is not newsworthy.
I do feel the media is whipping up a frenzy, because that is what sells. I find it very frustrating because I feel it creates undue worry, when ordinary precautions of frequent handwashing are our first line of defense.
The mortality rate for SARS was 10%. Covid-19 has a mortality rate of 2 to 3% and it behaves more like flu, with the very old, very young and immune compromised bearing the brunt of it. Not that that makes it any better, but my point is that hundreds of thousands die every single year of the flu and no one is upset or worried about that at all. Travel plans do not get changed because of flu season. The media doesn't report it because it happens every year and therefore is not newsworthy.
I do feel the media is whipping up a frenzy, because that is what sells. I find it very frustrating because I feel it creates undue worry, when ordinary precautions of frequent handwashing are our first line of defense.
@Louise7 @Jaded'n'faded @Palerider - no harm in keeping an eye on things. Agreed it will be interesting to see what comes out of the COBRA meeting.
@tzavet - yes, I've thought too about what would happen if my dad's care agency were self quarantining. he has visits 3 times a day so that will be interesting. is your mum on a waiting list for a care home?
@Canadian Joanne at the end of the day i suppose it doesn't matter if we disagree on this one point, as long as the public washes their hands I'm happy
@tzavet - yes, I've thought too about what would happen if my dad's care agency were self quarantining. he has visits 3 times a day so that will be interesting. is your mum on a waiting list for a care home?
@Canadian Joanne at the end of the day i suppose it doesn't matter if we disagree on this one point, as long as the public washes their hands I'm happy
Personally I think the 'panic' is justified. Better to worry early than regret late. Especially in the UK, with one of the highest population densities in Europe. I might be more relaxed if I was in Canada, where you're more likely to be eaten by a stray Polar bear than bump into a stray virus. Well, for now anyway.
Unlike normal seasonal flu there is no population immunity whatsoever to covid-19. Ignore the death rates for a moment -- concerning though they ought to be for those of us caring for vulnerable folk with dementia -- just consider the fact that everything in modern society is "just in time". Nobody holds significant stock to allow for supply problems, because that's inefficient. And there can't be many workplaces these days that qualify as "overstaffed". Quite the opposite!
So if a significant chunk of the workforce rapidly goes down with something that requires them to be off work, things can go to hell in a handcart rather quickly. Systemic failure is entirely possible in our highly interconnected world. So the slower this thing is allowed to spread, the more time we have to adapt and react to changing circumstances. So a bit of mild alarm is, IMO, justified when dealing with a new health threat.
Fortunately for me, I've always had a distrust of our comfortable, easy Western lives (and they are no matter how hard and complicated life may also be), so the larder's always well stocked, including things like long life milk. And the advantage of being a 24/7 carer is that nobody apart from Tesco and a few local dog walkers would notice if I self-isolated for about... oh, the rest of my life. ;-)
Anyway, while I agree that panic serves nobody well, with a million or so folk in the air at any one one, crisscrossing the globe in hours, it's vital that the scientific and medical community has as much time as possible to minimise the impact of new threats to health. Especially when reported statistics are likely to be the tip of an iceberg.
There wasn't a trace of hand sanitiser in any of the shops I visited today (rumour has it supplies to retail may be being diverted to healthcare etc), which is a shame because it's one of the gaps in my stockpile... if things get out of hand in the loo I can get through a lot of it to try and quickly sanitise Mum and the surroundings. But I've plenty of Dettol and I imagine a splash of mouthwash probably serves the same kind of purpose at a push.
Failing that, there's always the medicinal vodka at the back of the Christmas cupboard.
But you're right that hand-washing is more effective when done correctly in most circumstances. This is also a great time to practice not touching our faces. It's a hard habit to break.So's typing essays. My New Year's resolution was not to waffle pointlessly, but at least I made it almost two months!
@Andrew_McP a few weeks ago we accidentally over ordered loo roll during an online shop (oh those pesky mouseclicks) and now I'm feeling ok about the mini tp mountain in the garage ?
I have been wondering the same thing as I look after mum at home but we have 8 carers that visit the home each day to give peronal care,I haven't heard any plans that the company has yet,I'm wondering if the visits might get disrupted with illness
I have started to stock pile tins in the cupboard
I have started to stock pile tins in the cupboard
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To those who think that 2% mortality rate is low - it really isn't. That's millions of people. The mortality rate for the common flu is 0.1%, and that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year. Also, Covid is highly contagious, three times more so than flu, as you can catch it from symptomless people who don't keep away from others. There is no medication for it and no vaccination against at present.
Sure, mindless panic helps no one, but don't dismiss warnings as fear mongering.
Sure, mindless panic helps no one, but don't dismiss warnings as fear mongering.
@Louise7 @Jaded'n'faded @Palerider - no harm in keeping an eye on things. Agreed it will be interesting to see what comes out of the COBRA meeting.
@tzavet - yes, I've thought too about what would happen if my dad's care agency were self quarantining. he has visits 3 times a day so that will be interesting. is your mum on a waiting list for a care home?
@Canadian Joanne at the end of the day i suppose it doesn't matter if we disagree on this one point, as long as the public washes their hands I'm happy
my mums not on a waiting list for care home .its just coming home to me how vulnerable she would be if there are lockdowns here , surely carers would have to be able to carry on their work .@Louise7 @Jaded'n'faded @Palerider - no harm in keeping an eye on things. Agreed it will be interesting to see what comes out of the COBRA meeting.
@tzavet - yes, I've thought too about what would happen if my dad's care agency were self quarantining. he has visits 3 times a day so that will be interesting. is your mum on a waiting list for a care home?
@Canadian Joanne at the end of the day i suppose it doesn't matter if we disagree on this one point, as long as the public washes their hands I'm happy
I deliver library books to a housebound lady who has carer's in 3 times a day. She was given a face mask by one of the carer's a month ago, which we mused over then (how times have changed, we're all 'expert's' now!).
In hindsight, what a forward thinking care agency. Ok, the jury is out; mask's help/don't help, but as a care company, they were keeping abreast of the situation at that time.
We have to be proactive; laissez-faire is not an option.
In hindsight, what a forward thinking care agency. Ok, the jury is out; mask's help/don't help, but as a care company, they were keeping abreast of the situation at that time.
We have to be proactive; laissez-faire is not an option.
I live in Bury which now has a 'just come back from Italy' case.
https://phe-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/joint-statement-on-confirmed-covid-19-case-in-bury .
No good going to the area of France that I frequent, it's just arrived in Mayenne as well
translate.google.com
https://phe-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/joint-statement-on-confirmed-covid-19-case-in-bury .
No good going to the area of France that I frequent, it's just arrived in Mayenne as well
Coronavirus : trois nouveaux cas en région Pays de la Loire dont deux en Mayenne
Il s'agit d'une femme de 58 ans, originaire de la Mayenne, de sa fille (25 ans) et de son gendre (25 ans), originaire du Maine-et-Loire.
translate.google.com
Twelve more now diagnosed bringing the total up to 35 cases in England. I am sincerely hoping this fizzles out (which is a possibility) for everyones sake.
Talks now about city lock downs if becomes pandemic.
Talks now about city lock downs if becomes pandemic.
For what it is worth the Guardian had a good article on the subject and their writer has a PHD in biological imaging, so I think she has some idea what she is talking about. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...se-than-the-flu-busting-the-coronavirus-myths.
I think that nursing homes are a bit like cruise ships - concentrations of people in a contained environment. Both are at higher risks of diseases like the Noro virus for example.
It's so hard to stop these things at the gate. In Australia, the first death from the virus has occurred, an elderly gentleman who had been evacuated from the Diamond Princess. Another woman who had returned from Iran became ill a couple of days later but had returned to work in a beauty salon. So there could well be new cases that have not originated in other countries. So while everything had been under control prior to that, we are now in a different ballgame and we just now have to wait and watch.
I believe that in USA, people are refusing to buy Corona beer because of its name and here people are avoiding Chinese restaurants. So people are very scared.
Nobody has said how all those people in lockdown in China fed themselves. All the shops were shut and the streets were empty. Perhaps you can't blame people for trying to stock up on foods. If you are in lockdown, masks won't help but we all need to eat and to take our medications.
It's so hard to stop these things at the gate. In Australia, the first death from the virus has occurred, an elderly gentleman who had been evacuated from the Diamond Princess. Another woman who had returned from Iran became ill a couple of days later but had returned to work in a beauty salon. So there could well be new cases that have not originated in other countries. So while everything had been under control prior to that, we are now in a different ballgame and we just now have to wait and watch.
I believe that in USA, people are refusing to buy Corona beer because of its name and here people are avoiding Chinese restaurants. So people are very scared.
Nobody has said how all those people in lockdown in China fed themselves. All the shops were shut and the streets were empty. Perhaps you can't blame people for trying to stock up on foods. If you are in lockdown, masks won't help but we all need to eat and to take our medications.
Total in UK now 40, 4 more today, all have recently returned from Italy.
The next few days are going to be critical.
The test seems to be good on sensitivity/selectivity, latest I've read is just over 0.1% positive on ~11000 tests with no reports of incorrect results.
The next few days are going to be critical.
The test seems to be good on sensitivity/selectivity, latest I've read is just over 0.1% positive on ~11000 tests with no reports of incorrect results.
Awww, sorry to hear of all these (potentially) cancelled trips. More than anyone carers need a break!
I'm doing my bit as best I can by washing my hands about 20 times a day at the moment One thing that I'm suddenly really aware of are self service checkouts or anything with a touch screen.
I'm doing my bit as best I can by washing my hands about 20 times a day at the moment
One thing that I'm suddenly really aware of are self service checkouts or anything with a touch screen.You are in control at self service checkouts, limit what you touch and wash your hands ASAP.
You have no control at ordinary checkouts, a person may sneeze, you breath in the air expelled by people near you.
What about supermarket trolleys, not just a push with a finger, a good grasp with the hand
How to wash hands
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-51637561/coronavirus-watch-how-germs-spread .
No need to panic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/healt...e-uk-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19 .
