Coronavirus - worldwide breaking news, discussion, stats, updates and more

[The39thStep]

Are lots of people in the UK wearing masks? I flew on a domestic flight in Turkey and quite a lot of people were wearing them, which made no sense to me.

Saw a load of Chinese student swearing masks at Manchester Piccadily station in January. Either they knew something about the virus and werent saying or knew something about pollution in Manchester

 

[Cid]

Sheffield mask wearing level is about normal. I think our Chinese classes are proceeding as normal too. At least not heard anything to the contrary. Though most teachers stay here over new year anyway because money/visas. And to view other bits of the UK.

 

[elbows]

Another drug with some theoretical potential to help, baricitinib. Further research will be required, including in the field with real 2019-nCoV patients.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30304-4/fulltext

 

[SpookyFrank]

Are lots of people in the UK wearing masks? I flew on a domestic flight in Turkey and quite a lot of people were wearing them, which made no sense to me.

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

 

[Supine]

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

Yeah, I was taking to a Chinese friend yesterday. Apparently oriental looking people are getting a load of shit about this now

 

[Virtual Blue]

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

Yep...! I get alot of looks just by coughing ffs!!
I would wear my 3M mask but don't want to be accused of being the Wuhan Bogeyman.

 

[elbows]

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

One of the main upsides to me if this thing becomes widespread, is that hopefully the hideous shit we have seen from people and some countries towards certain groups will diminish, as the virus stops being associated one one region and nationality.

Speaking of this possible future picture, this article has a look at two possible scenarios for the future, if this coronavirus isnt contained. There are lots of interesting bits of detail, nothing brand new, but perhaps a combination of facts and their implications that people wont have come across before. Especially since it actually bothers to mention the other existing coronaviruses that are endemic already, rather than only dwelling on SARS and MERS.

Experts envision two scenarios if the new coronavirus isn't contained

Researchers are asking what seems like a defeatist question but whose answer has huge implications for public policy: What will a world with endemic 2019-nCoV be like?

www.statnews.com

I'm not sure as the article actually succeeds in its attempts to put these into two different scenarios. In my mind both scenarios have very much in common, which isnt really pointed out, and the aspects that could spell out the clear differences between the two scenarios are not laid out in a clear way. Because unless I've comprehended something wrong, both scenarios involve the coronavirus becoming endemic, with a strong seasonal aspect. The difference seems to be degree of disease severity, and the ways that disease severity and which groups are most vulnerable to it, affect human perceptions of the virus in question. Very much including how much we actually do about it rather than, as with some of those existing milder coronaviruses, filing it under some kind of 'mundane' category and mostly not bothering.

 

[Sweet FA]

I've been avoiding the news generally since Christmas but I've recently had a peek and note with interest that we're all going to die of coronavirus.

Hold me, urban - is this true?

a) What's coronavirus?
b) Are we all going to die?
c) Vegas with The Walking Dude or Boulder with Mother Abagail?


Slightly more seriously: is this the old/sick/babies in danger? Why is everybody freaking out?

 

[Teaboy]

Coronavirus - worldwide breaking news, discussion, stats, updates and more

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51171035 Bit scary, new virus which seems to have started in China seems very infectious and might be spreading.

www.urban75.net

Loads of really good info.

 

[Sweet FA]

25 pages - I've only got one question.

 

[elbows]

I've been waiting for an article about this possible worldwide medical shortages angle. I dont know if this is the first article on the subject, but its the first one I've seen, having previously only become aware of the subject via some vague chatter on twitter.

Amid Coronavirus Fears, a Mask Shortage Could Spread Globally

Most of the world's supply of masks and respirators comes from China, and a supply chain gap poses a risk to everyday health care beyond the viral epidemic.

www.wired.com

 

[cupid_stunt]

Coronaviruses are often known as 'the common cold', but occasionally new strains appear, like SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) about 18 years ago, and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome), and now this new one, designated as 2019-nCoV, which are more deadly.

2019-nCoV is not as deadly as SARS (approx 10% death rate), or MERS (approx. 36%), at present it's a death rate of around 2%, however it's spreading a lot faster. The flu has a death rate of around 1%, killing 250k - 500k+ people per year across the world.

 

[IC3D]

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

Last night there was a clear gap on a packed tube train around a masked Chinese man. I sat next to him I was knacked. I did observe he wasn't coughing first I have to admit.

 

[8ball]

I've only seen a handful of masks so far. Did notice some SE Asian folks getting lots of nasty looks on the tube though. People are twats

You in London at the mo? In Nottingham at the moment people seem totally chilled and I've not seen anything of that nature. Quite a lot of Chinese people in Beeston anyway, so makes sense that no one is batting an eyelid on the tram etc.

 

[8ball]

Coronaviruses are often known as 'the common cold'...

Well, some of the small number of variants commonly circulating in humans get lumped under 'colds' (which include several other families of viruses and a huge number of variants in some of those families).

Good bit of context with death rates and the comparison with flu, there.

Also, people do die from colds.

 

[Supine]

There is a lot of chatter in the pharma trade press about potential for shortages of drugs and medical devices in the coming months. It's not just the manufacturers who need to keep supply up, it is their suppliers as well.

Something I didn't know - it's estimated that 97% of antibiotics sold in the USA are sourced from China. I expect the global players will be ramping up production outside of China where possible.

 

[SpookyFrank]

You in London at the mo? In Nottingham at the moment people seem totally chilled and I've not seen anything of that nature. Quite a lot of Chinese people in Beeston anyway, so makes sense that no one is batting an eyelid on the tram etc.

Mrs Frank lives in London, but I'm on the bus back up to to civilised world as we speak

 

[blairsh]

Yes. We are all going to die

 

[quimcunx]

If you are worried get a flu jab. A flu jab will not do one single thing against the novel coronavirus but the chances of you coming into contact with novel coronavirus are pretty close to nil. Your chances of contracting flu are higher but you can do something about that which will make you feel more in control of your destiny.

 

[StoneRoad]

Yes. We are all going to die

Yep, but not straight away ...

 

[farmerbarleymow]

we're all going to die of coronavirus.

The asteroid* strike will get us first, so no need to worry about it.

* it'll be detected a day before it's due to hit I reckon.

 

[Big Bertha]

Officially in hong hong.

so now... Hong Kong Fluey!

 

[Yossarian]

Latest UK travel advice is now to leave China if you're here: China travel advice I won't be.

Isn't that just going to result in a lot of potentially infected people making their way back to Britain via Hong Kong or third countries because they don't want to get stuck in quarantine?

 

[elbows]

Its serious but people are waiting to see if it actually turns into a full pandemic or not. The expectation at this stage is that it probably will, but there is still a chance it wont.

If it does become a full pandemic then it is possible we will have several very different waves of human reaction to it. For example with the swine flu pandemic of 2009, the initial concern about how bad it would be and things like the mortality rate, sort of flipped into the opposite 'what was all the fuss about? this thing isnt too bad' sentiments from many quarters. That didnt stop at least one u75 forum member from losing their life to the swine flu, which, when combined with other news such as the singer from Broadcast also dying of swine flu, probably caused more people to then settle somewhere in between the previous two extremes of attitude to that virus.

 

[Supine]

Mortality rate is 2-3%. The u75 population is less than 2% of the UK population so statistically we could all die from it.

Although there are a fair few board members who stay home a lot so maybe we'll be safe.

 

[elbows]

'I was sent racist abuse over the coronavirus'
DJ and writer Jex Wang says she was sent racist abuse after writing about the coronavirus.
"When I first saw the virus, my first thought was with the people in Wuhan and what they're going through, because that's horrible," she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire.
"Then my second thought was, 'I'm going to have to deal with more racism because of this now.'"

 

[maomao]

Please translate

Chin up old chap.

 

[elbows]

Isn't that just going to result in a lot of potentially infected people making their way back to Britain via Hong Kong or third countries because they don't want to get stuck in quarantine?

There are loads of potential problems with the UK advice, I see the Guardian live updates page has a whole bunch of quotes from unimpressed expats.

(all of these are from Coronavirus: UK advises British citizens to leave China – live updates )

eg:

I have just read that the Foreign Office has advised us Brits to leave China, and that Professor Head thinks this move will be reassuring. I’d just like to assure the professor that this news is about as far from reassuring as possible.

For most expats, leaving China is not like cutting a holiday short. We have jobs, houses, pets and (most importantly of all) family here. I, and presumably hundreds or possibly thousands like me, have a child with a Chinese partner, which complicates matters even further as visa applications take months.

Since the outbreak the consulate has not made any attempt to contact any expat I know, and appears to have completely jumped ship (if media reports are to be believed).

If Dominic Raab is serious about our safety as his priority, he could start by assuring us that Chinese parents of British nationals will be allowed to enter the UK if we follow his advice and leave China.

I’ve lived in China for the past 7 years ... and myself and fellow Brits have been left baffled by today’s announcement by Dominic Raab. It seemed such a generic blanket statement ...

How long should we go back for? What to do about our jobs (all of which have been very understanding and supportive giving us updates, free masks, advice etc). Why now? There seems to be no great spike in numbers compared to previous days, do they know something we don’t?

Unless there’s a good reason for this it doesn’t help with the general sense of paranoia at the moment and will add further worry to our friends and family back home.

The announcement by Dominic Raab has certainly caused a stir, but feels particularly like something said as though in order to get excuses in early. The UK government was strongly criticised for its lamentable handling of the evacuations from Wuhan, and it’s announcement today feels a bit like “leave, because we won’t come and help you”.

For many of us this has put us in an impossible position. I’m gay, my partner is Chinese. We met in the UK and have been together many years, but we are not married. It would be very unlikely he’d be able to leave China with me – and I can’t exactly see our government handing out visas to partners and dependants.

It’s all a bit of a shocker really.

I'm not surprised one of them also had a go at Dr Head, given what the knob head was quoted as saying earlier on the same Guardian page:

Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:

“This move will probably be reassuring to UK citizens in China. There may be significant local uncertainty as to how much risk there is of being exposed to this new coronavirus, and so it seems reasonable to makes attempts to support their removal from the country, until the spread of cases within China has reduced.”

Maybe if there was a consistent rational message and actual steps to support their departure then I could start to agree, but as there isnt, what a load of arse.

 

[Baronage-Phase]

I've been waiting for an article about this possible worldwide medical shortages angle. I dont know if this is the first article on the subject, but its the first one I've seen, having previously only become aware of the subject via some vague chatter on twitter.

Amid Coronavirus Fears, a Mask Shortage Could Spread Globally

Most of the world's supply of masks and respirators comes from China, and a supply chain gap poses a risk to everyday health care beyond the viral epidemic.

www.wired.com

I was thinking this..as I was ordering masks.
Made in China.
Posted in Germany.
Came via UK.

 

[elbows]

The just in time global village cannot sustain the sort of knee-jerk responses we have seen in recent weeks, whatever happens it will have to try to return to business as usual at some point not that far away. I suppose I happen to be talking about the same sort of length in time as it will also happen to take for the various draconian measures to be proven effective or not, so the timing of the two may well go hand in hand if a change of approach moment occurs.

I suppose given the increasingly dodgy global political climate we were already dealing with long before this coronavirus, business might not quite return to normal, distorted restrictions may end up further politicised and long-lasting when it comes to certain countries. But this may also depend on the timing of global spread - if there are big outbreaks in some countries well beyond China, leading quickly to pandemic status being declared, but the virus takes many months before it breaks out in some other countries, some ugly draconian measures may remain for some time.

I have no picture in mind of how much direct disruption the virus, as opposed to the human response to the virus, will cause to supply chains. When I go on about the current mortality rate stats not meaning much, all the other measures below the fatal are also obscure at the moment. eg I dont know the actual intensive care rate, the actual hospitalisation rate, the infection rate, or whether there will be many features that causes prolonged public (and officialdom and business) panic. And those could make a huge difference to how much the supply of things is affected over time. So for now all I've got is the obvious short-term shortages such as masks caused by huge spike in demand as much as supply problems, and a sense that there will be 'some' ongoing disruption for a while.