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Purgatory: Coronavirus

Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
edited October 2021 in Limbo
You worried?
«134567106

Comments

  • Yes.
    Because of my chemo-compromised immune system
    But for no reason
    Not likely to get me here - unless brought by pilgrims wanting to be baptised in the Jordan, I suppose
  • I only drink Tequila. Aye Corumba!
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    I'm trying to avoid thinking about it. I've got health problems; we have a large, international airport here (SFO); and a large Chinese community, many of whom travel or are (recent?) immigrants. OTOH, I'm home most of the time, due to said health problems.

    I'm doing a pretty good job of not thinking about it much, with the impeachment and all the other disturbing stuff in the world.

    But I do take it seriously.
    (:votive:)
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    I’ll link if I can refind the article, but I understand the normal mortality rate for flu is 1% whereas the Wuhan virus appears - at this point - to have a mortality rate 3%.

    It is a clearly concerning, though the Chinese government has already made the DNA sequence available and it is thought a usable vaccine may be available by December.

    It is no where near as dangerous as Ebola.
  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I'm not concerned for myself, but I do worry about such an infectious disease spreading among people in crowded settlements in South Africa, especially those living with HIV+. Concern has been raised in our media about the large number of Chinese foreign workers and business travellers moving back and forth between mainland China and South Africa. Neither Air China nor Cathay Airways have suspended flights from Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong to O R Tambo International Airport in Gauteng (one of Africa's busiest airports) and there are no restrictions on South Africans travelling to affected areas in China. No screening measures are in place as yet at major seaports and harbours, or at border posts with neighboring countries.

    Cases of coronavirus have been reported in Ethiopia and Zambia and there are unconfirmed reports of cases in Johannesburg hospitals.

    Passengers arriving from China at local airports are asked to fill in a questionnaire for possible contact tracing. No quarantine, no screening measures. There are no plans to evacuate the estimated 36 South African citizens working in Wuhan.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    edited January 2020
    Simon Toad wrote: »
    I only drink Tequila. Aye Corumba!

    Dang! Corona's mah favourite Mexican beer!

    Flu kills over ten thousand more annually so far.

    By the time this is burned out and there's a vaccine within a year anyway it might reach that.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    It is concerning, BUT as a doctor pointed on French radio a couple of days, we in the West are much less likely to be exposed to it than we are to old-fashioned, bog-standard flu. Get your flu shots, everyone.
  • Not particularly worried personally as my risk of exposure to it is pretty low. But it's a timely reminder that nature could easily crap on us anytime it liked. The British government plans to evacuate people from Wuhan via a special charter flight, and then to quarantine them when back in the UK. Red tape is apparently stopping that from happening at the moment.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?
  • That thought occurred briefly to me, as well. Are we Really Evil People™ to think thus?
  • Would people in the UK feel less threatened by "Middlesex flu"? I think they would.
  • TubbsTubbs Admin Emeritus
    Eutychus wrote: »
    Would people in the UK feel less threatened by "Middlesex flu"? I think they would.

    On the news the other day someone pointed out that bog standard, seasonal flu kills thousands each year and we've fine with that. Probably because the number of cases and deaths aren't reported on an on-going basis.

    Much of the media reporting is designed to cause a reaction - ranging from "be aware and conscious of the need to cough into a tissue and not touch all the things" to "evil foreign germs will kills us all" - depending on the source.

    TBH, I'm trying not to give it the head-space as there's nothing I can do if there is a germ with my name on it.

    Meanwhile, my lovely Chinese work friend is stuck in Shanghai and unable to go home for Chinese New Year as her family live in one of the provinces that's in lock-down. If you've got a few prayers to spare, aim a few at her and thousands in the situation.
  • RicardusRicardus Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    I do think some of these regularly updated coronavirus league tables should start by setting out context:

    Population of Wuhan = 11,000,000
    Population of Hubei = 58,500,000

    It's concerning, but it's not exactly the Black Death.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    Boogie wrote: »
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?

    So a tree falling in the forest does make a sound when there's no one there?
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    Martin54 wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?

    So a tree falling in the forest does make a sound when there's no one there?

    “For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”


  • EutychusEutychus Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    Martin54 wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?

    So a tree falling in the forest does make a sound when there's no one there?

    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
  • A Feminine ForceA Feminine Force Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    The reports I have read say that the thing has the same characteristics as viral pneumonia. There are no antivirals available for this strain, and so the treatment is basically supportive until the patient recovers.

    Not everyone who gets it goes all the way to pneumonia. This also explains why those with compromised immune systems are most likely to expire from it.

    What concerns me is the possibility that the number of patients who present with pneumonia may vastly outstrip our ability to provide supportive hospital care.

    A pneumonic plague walks. Yes I’m concerned but not freaking out.

    AFF
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    What with the thought of Brexsh*t, andTrump, Boris, Putin etc. stalking the earth, seeking whom they may devour, a possible epidemic is not the worst thing that could happen.

    Except to those with poor/compromised immune systems (like me, for instance, but I'll take my chance...), and the unfortunate Chinese affected.
  • Boogie wrote: »
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?

    Right?
  • It's not nearly virulent enough to do any such thing. But it can (and probably will) cause a helluva lot of misery.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    Dang! Corona's mah favourite Mexican beer!

    Didn't you hear? They changed the name of that beer to Ebola. You can also have it with a slice of lyme disease.

    In truth, you really do need to expand your beer repertoire, though.
  • Simon ToadSimon Toad Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    I'm going on up to the Spirit in the sky. That's where I'm going to go when I die. When I die and they lay me to rest gunna go to the place that's the best.

    Or

    What, me worry?
  • Boogie wrote: »
    The planet and the rest of the natural world may thank a pandemic which wipes out humans?

    I have a game on my phone called Plague, or some such. The aim of the thing is to develop your disease and wipe out humanity before a cure is found. You lose if the cure is distributed, or if your disease is so virulent that it burns itself out, leaving some humans still alive to re-populate the planet. The thing of it is that three days after downloading the application I became quite unwell with a nasty summer flu. Poetic justice, I expect.

    If we want to wipe ourselves out for the sake of the planet, plague is old hat. Let's just develop AI a bit more. Finally robotic beings rule the world.
  • It will be mainly dangerous for those who are already unhealthy.
  • I'm sitting at the airport waiting for a passenger, but the plane has been stationary on the tarmac for several hours. Apparently a passenger has become ill with what is thought to be the Corona virus and so nobody is allowed to leave the plane until all checks have been completed. It may be that everyone on the plane will need to be quarantined.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    Dang! Corona's mah favourite Mexican beer!

    Didn't you hear? They changed the name of that beer to Ebola. You can also have it with a slice of lyme disease.

    In truth, you really do need to expand your beer repertoire, though.

    I'm an IPA man. Real ale bitter and chestnut mild too. But on a hot day barbie, Corona with a slice of lime in the neck, bliss.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    I’ve just had a text off the doctor -

    “ Dear Patient, If you have travelled from China in the last 2 weeks and you feel unwell, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND THE SURGERY.

    Please contact NHS 111 or alternatively call our reception team on: *** and ask to speak to a doctor.

    Thanks, *** Surgery.“
  • That thought occurred briefly to me, as well. Are we Really Evil People™ to think thus?

    It is an idea I have floated before, so no.

    But for those who are already weakened - by age, illness, treatment or anything else - it might prove very unpleasant. So I hope it can be contained. Given that I know of a (I think) ex-shipmate who has been through a cancer operation yesterday, she is someone who is at risk.
  • Alan Cresswell Alan Cresswell Admin, 8th Day Host
    Boogie wrote: »
    I’ve just had a text off the doctor -

    “ Dear Patient, If you have travelled from China in the last 2 weeks and you feel unwell, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND THE SURGERY.

    Please contact NHS 111 or alternatively call our reception team on: *** and ask to speak to a doctor.

    Thanks, *** Surgery.“
    That's the NHS advice. Anyone who has recently returned from China and feels unwell should self-isolate by staying at home and use the 111 or NHS website to gain specific advice. Given that the highest risk group are those already ill, the worst thing you can do is go to your doctor or A&E as that will maximize risk of passing on any infection to those most at risk.
  • Common sense, indeed.
  • It is concerning, BUT as a doctor pointed on French radio a couple of days, we in the West are much less likely to be exposed to it than we are to old-fashioned, bog-standard flu. Get your flu shots, everyone.

    I work at a university which has a very high number of Chinese students and no way of knowing how many of them have been back home recently. If the disease (which can apparently take up to two weeks to manifest symptoms while being transmissible for the whole time) does take hold in the UK then places like this are where it will most likely begin.
  • My university has requested students/staff coming back from China to self-isolate for 14 days and supervisors to allow work from home for those individuals if at all possible. The local county has had two cases of 2019-nCoV so far though both seem to have self-isolated themselves for the most part.
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited February 2020
    My university has requested students/staff coming back from China to self-isolate for 14 days and supervisors to allow work from home for those individuals if at all possible. The local county has had two cases of 2019-nCoV so far though both seem to have self-isolated themselves for the most part.
    Yes, my son is at York uni and that is the advice given out and the students don’t seem panicked about it, from what he says (I’m sure some parents are though).
    When I heard there were two cases in Hull hospital I turned to my husband and said I bet they were from York uni as it will have a high number of Chinese students returning home from the break.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    This is the nastiest effect of coronavirus.
  • yep.
  • Martin54 wrote: »
    This is the nastiest effect of coronavirus.

    True, but nothing new, I suspect.

    I spotted a couple of students (from our local Art Uni) today - I guess they were Chinese. One lassie was wearing a mask, the other lassie was smoking a fag!
    :grey_question:

  • Here in New York City I see people wearing masks all the time. It used to be almost exclusively Asian people. Now I'm starting to see other races as well.
  • I used to react negatively to people wearing masks, on the basis that it was a slur on my city's beautiful clean air.
  • !!!! Why would you care??????
  • Simon ToadSimon Toad Shipmate
    edited February 2020
    Well, I never actually growled at anybody. I just felt that they didn't appreciate the fresh, clean air that comes from a heavily regulated and almost non-existent manufacturing sector. I am a grump, LC, liable to take offence at the strangest of things.

    This attitude is to be contrasted with the aggressive mood and funky dancing in Alexi Sayle's classic 80's song Didn't You Kill My Brother. He just wanted to get into a fight. :wink:
  • Simon Toad wrote: »
    I used to react negatively to people wearing masks, on the basis that it was a slur on my city's beautiful clean air.

    And then you realised damn near every city has air full of carcinogens? I had to go to Glasgow today. Blegh!
  • No no, Melbourne air is pure and sweet, when there are no bushfires :wink:

    I have thought about this. I think there is certainly a parochial element to my reaction: we don't do facemasks here, TYVM. And while I am loathe to admit it, the people wearing facemasks before the current scare were exclusively Asian and from places in SE Asia and China where air quality is poor. My response has an underlying xenophobic "you're here now behave like us" tone to it. I hate discovering my own unconscious racism, but there you have it. I mean, they wear designer facemasks for crying out loud.
  • *shrug* if you can protect your feet with designer shoes why not your lungs with designer masks?
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    The Guardian had an interesting article a few days ago about cultural attitudes to face masks, and how effective they actually are.
  • tbanks for that article. In Melbourne it is now common to see Asian people in facemasks, but I have never seen a non-Asian person do so. It will be interesting to see who is wearing one when I next go into town.

    It's been quite a few years since I had my negative reaction. These days I'm accustomed to it.
  • I'm glad you're making progress. I mean, why fuss when it has nothing to do with you?

    Though if you grew up that way, it can be a hard thing to ditch.
  • A Feminine ForceA Feminine Force Shipmate
    edited February 2020
    When I return to Spain later this year I may just end up wearing one on account of the HUGE number of people who still smoke.

    I don't get it. Europe is socially so far ahead of north America in so many ways, but in this respect they are thirty years behind. Everyone smokes. The British the Spanish the Swedes the Germans the French.


    I admit that one advantage to moving back to Canada in the past two years has been that I have never had to check wind direction or proximity of other people, or whether others are using an ashtray on a terrace before deciding to take a seat.

    AFF


  • I just landed in the UK, coming from Auckland via Hong Kong. HK airport was a shadow of its normal active buzz, and masks were in use by people of all appearances. The same was true on the plane from HK to LHR too.

    My first leg was with Cathay, and all of the crew wore masks. On the second leg with BA, some wore masks, some didn’t - I guess depending on previous routing.

    It’s interesting how one becomes hyper-vigilant given all these cues. I think I noticed every time I heard a cough or sneeze on the planes, when it normally would not register at all.

    I am not excessively worried, but I am OK with other people taking whatever precautions give them some reassurance. My goodness though, you do come to miss being able to see people return a smile.

  • I suppose I have lived around London for a long time, and it has been common for many years to see Asians (Japanese mainly) people wearing face masks. So it no longer feels strange - there are more people wearing them, but it is still sort of what I expect.

    Incidentally, we have had a message at work about suspected phishing emails on the back of these fears, so I thought it was worth passing on. Not currently significant, it would seem, but an early warning is always useful.
  • I don't get it. Europe is socially so far ahead of north America in so many ways, but in this respect they are thirty years behind. Everyone smokes. The British the Spanish the Swedes the Germans the French.

    I would say that smoking in public (apart from in the evening, outside a pub) has become vanishing rare here. I see more people vaping than smoking.

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