Author Topic: Covid 19  (Read 99712 times)

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Offline SteveH

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Covid 19
« on: February 26, 2020, 11:05:28 am »
I am not sure if the government are playing it down, but there is more and more mention of the Coronavirus, I have been concerned since it first appeared, as I am in the high risk group, various stories today increase my concern, are we doing enough to educate the public ? , I had an appointment this morning at 11am, with someone who returned from North Africa on Monday, which was cancelled, earlier due to sickness, guess who's getting paranoid now ?

Coronavirus: Hundreds of flu patients to be tested by UK hospitals and GPs
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51641243

Experts warned there was "little in the tank" to cope with the coronavirus.
There is mounting concern that the spread of the virus will lead to a pandemic with mass outbreaks in the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51565492
 
Or just go to the BBC Health page  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health

Boots rations hand gels as people panic buy sanitisers over coronavirus fears
https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/25/boots-rations-hand-gels-people-panic-buy-sanitisers-coronavirus-fears-12298288/

« Last Edit: March 03, 2020, 01:03:22 pm by Ian »

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2020, 11:11:40 am »
Well, Covid 19 is very infectious, with a long incubation period prior to the patient becoming symptomatic, which is why it's spreading so easily.  However, looking at death rates they're significantly lower at the moment than the annual 'flu round.

It tends to kill through Pneumonia, and the thing about Pneumonia is that lying in bed tends to be the worst thing you can do. Sitting up with hot drinks and a whisky toddy tends to be the best course of action.  And the GP will give you a pneumonia jab if you ask.  Free for the over 65s. 
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.


Offline Hugo

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2020, 11:16:26 am »

It tends to kill through Pneumonia, and the thing about Pneumonia is that lying in bed tends to be the worst thing you can do. Sitting up with hot drinks and a whisky toddy tends to be the best course of action


I'll drink to that      $drink$         

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2020, 11:32:30 am »
Well, Covid 19 is very infectious, with a long incubation period prior to the patient becoming symptomatic, which is why it's spreading so easily.  However, looking at death rates they're significantly lower at the moment than the annual 'flu round.

It tends to kill through Pneumonia, and the thing about Pneumonia is that lying in bed tends to be the worst thing you can do. Sitting up with hot drinks and a whisky toddy tends to be the best course of action.  And the GP will give you a pneumonia jab if you ask.  Free for the over 65s.

I am still going to take precautions.........

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2020, 10:43:19 am »
Here's the very latest about Covid-19, direct from New Scientist.  It should allay a lot of fears folk might have:

1. How bad is the infection?

More than 80 per cent of people infected develop only mild symptoms, such as a fever and a cough. Only around 1 in 100 people die – those who do are usually older and have existing health problems, such as heart disease or diabetes. No deaths have been reported in children under 9 years old.

2. How do people catch it?

The virus is thought to be transmitted by droplets emitted when people sneeze, cough or even just talk, says David Heymann at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the global efforts to contain SARS. If you are within 2 or 3 metres of an infected person, you can breathe in those droplets directly. The longer you are near them, the greater the risk.

Surfaces can be contaminated by falling droplets, or by people coughing into their hand before pressing a button, say. If you touch a contaminated surface and then touch your eyes, nose or face, you can become infected. Faeces from infected people might also be infectious.

3. How can I avoid catching it?

You can minimise your risk of catching the coronavirus through “social distancing” and good hygiene. Move at least a metre away from anyone who appears ill if you can. Don’t shake hands, hug or kiss people as a greeting. Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use an alcohol hand rub, especially after touching surfaces that might be contaminated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no need for healthy people to wear face masks. It also says there is no evidence that pets can get and spread covid-19, or that the virus can be passed on via letters, packages or food.

4. How can I protect myself?

It is being claimed all kinds of things can protect you from the covid-19 virus, from vitamins to garlic. There is no evidence to support most of these claims. However, there is evidence that moderate exercise, adequate sleep and a healthy diet help keep your immune system in shape generally.

We don’t know if smoking increases the risk of people with covid-19 becoming severely ill because China hasn’t been reporting if infected people are smokers, but previous studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of being hospitalised if you get flu. Now is a great time to go on a health kick.

It might also be worth booking yourself in for the flu and pneumococcal vaccines, which are already recommended for people over the age of 65 in the UK. These vaccines won’t prevent infection with the covid-19 virus, but by protecting you from other infections they will help ease the burden on health services.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2020, 11:56:45 am »
Thanks for that Ian, we have been discussing the news and the various comments, this morning, there are differing  opinions,
on what you should and should not do, the ones that worry us, are those who are not taking it seriously, "it only affects the old" "I can't take time off work" "I have two of the symptoms, but I am not cancelling my travel plans"  "it does not affect young children" .....Scary

 I mentioned above about educating the public, the advice is no different than we should be doing everyday, even if there was no threat... repeating part of your post

How can I avoid catching it?

You can minimise your risk of catching the coronavirus through “social distancing” and good hygiene. Move at least a metre away from anyone who appears ill if you can. Don’t shake hands, hug or kiss people as a greeting. Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use an alcohol hand rub, especially after touching surfaces that might be contaminated.
   PLEASE

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2020, 12:19:06 pm »
Yes; washing hands after going out and avoiding touching your face is good advice. But the more rational news is now appearing, and suggesting that far from the Zombie Apocalypse that the media are portraying this will be, for most folk, like a heavy cold (Coronavirus is a cold virus–not 'flu). HBwever, it is very infectious, and is so well before symptoms appear.

There are some interesting facts emerging. For 80% of those infected, it's just like a heavy cold with a mild fever. Even in the 'at risk' groups, regular exercise, a healthy diet and washing hands will prevent most major issues. The most fatalities are in the 80-90 year age groups among those with other conditions, such as receiving cancer treatments, and those who are leading very sedentary lifestyles.

Finally, it's worth remembering that our regular 'flu round kills far more.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2020, 11:36:37 am »
Fears North Wales' lack of free coronavirus hotline could have deterred people from seeking advice
Welsh Government says residents can now call 111 free about coronavirus only as it seeks to roll out the free call service across Wales.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “For coronavirus queries, 111 can now be used from anywhere in Wales. We recognise the issue regarding call charging and are in the process of fully rolling out 111 across Wales for all other queries.

"Information and advice on coronavirus is also available on the Public Health Wales and Welsh Government websites and we ask that people look there before deciding whether they need to dial 111.”


https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/fears-north-wales-lack-free-17848399

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2020, 03:41:50 pm »
The stats are beginning to emerge about, of course,the death rates. Deaths as a consequence of Covid 19 are around 2%, which is higher than the annual 'flu round. But muddying these figures is that we don't know how many people are infected and how many have recovered.  In the case of the 80% for whom Covid 19 is simply a rotten cold, they may not even have bothered reporting it, so in reality we only have the death rate from those who've been diagnosed as infected, and who - by that every fact - are likely to have been more severely infected than the rest.

Masks are ineffective at preventing the wearer from being infected, but they're useful for those who might be infected, as they can stop the sneezes and coughs.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Helig

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2020, 10:54:09 am »
News from some friends in Carlisle this morning. There is a case of Covid 19 in Carlisle now. It is a female who returned from holiday to be taken ill and diagnosed with this. Her father, a lawyer in Carlisle, was on the same holiday with her but isn't ill (as yet). He called 111 to ask whether he should take any precautions, self isolate etc, to be told not to worry and carry on as usual. I don't think they are taking this seriously enough by the sound of it. I do wonder whether they are content to kill off the elderly in order to save on pensions.

Helig

Offline Dave

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2020, 12:36:55 pm »
That sounds ridiculous Helig. if you check out the  link to the government website it's pretty obvious that the person in question is needing to isolate .https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

As for killing off pensioners.... not comment ! Maybe it will keep manic riders of mobility scooters off the local pavements for a while if they decide to take cover indoors.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2020, 12:38:48 pm »
According to the PM  the SSP will start from day 1 not day 4 because of the Coronavirus spread

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51738837

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #12 on: March 04, 2020, 02:22:01 pm »
This from New Scientist:

THE world dodged a bullet in 2003 when a global effort contained the SARS coronavirus, after it jumped from bats to humans in China and then spread to 26 countries. We nearly had another close call when MERS, another bat coronavirus, spilled over into people in 2012.

A year later, Chinese scientists found SARS-like viruses in fruit bats that could infect human cells And in 2016, the World Health Organization put coronaviruses among the top eight known viral threats requiring more research.

So you would think we would have some coronavirus drugs and vaccines by now. But there are none licensed. That is why we are hurriedly testing drugs designed for other viruses to see if they can help, and running expedited trials for experimental vaccines. Why were we so unprepared for a threat we knew about?

After 2003, there was a burst of research, but it was short-lived. “From 2005, it became really difficult to get funding for work on SARS coronavirus,” says Rolf Hilgenfeld at the University of Lübeck, Germany.

This was partly because, when SARS disappeared, there was no obvious market waiting for drugs or vaccines to treat it, says David Heymann at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Only big drug companies have the money and expertise to get drugs or vaccines through human trials, and without a market they can’t invest. But Hilgenfeld says agencies that fund research also lost interest, because “prominent virologists believed that SARS coronavirus was a one-time only thing”.

Compared with other coronaviruses, SARS had an extensive genetic mutation that prompted some virologists to guess that this was what allowed it to suddenly spread in humans – and that such a mutation was unlikely to happen again. They were right about the second part. The covid-19 virus doesn’t have this mutation, but it spreads even better in humans than SARS did.

SARS did inspire some global measures. MERS was rapidly identified in 2012 because the European Union had started funding labs to sequence mystery respiratory viruses. In 2007, a revamped version of the International Health Regulations, a treaty designed to reduce the spread of diseases internationally, required advanced economies to help developing ones improve their capabilities for detecting and controlling disease. But nations mostly invested in global initiatives and “not enough in helping countries take care of themselves”, says Heymann. No countries now meet the requirements of the 2007 treaty.

Another problem is getting people other than doctors and scientists on board. After SARS, China set up a network to spot mystery clusters of respiratory disease. It spotted covid-19 in Wuhan – whereupon local officials stifled efforts to raise the alarm.

Public health experts have warned for years that we need to do better. The next new disease might be worse and, unlike covid-19, totally unexpected.

What happened in earlier pandemics?


It wasn’t that long ago that the last pandemic struck. In 2009, a flu virus from pigs jumped to people. The first serious cases were identified in Mexico but containment efforts were soon abandoned. The virus went on to infect a quarter of the world’s population within a year.

Fortunately its impact was relatively mild. That virus killed only about 1 in 5000 of those it infected. But the covid-19 death rate appears to be around 1 in 100, more in line with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

Almost all those people who survived that infection just over a century ago had normal flu symptoms. But with coronavirus it is different: around 20 per cent of cases fall seriously ill, and many of these people require ventilation to keep them alive until their immune system kills the virus.

If there was a rerun of 1918, in which half the US population was infected within a year, millions might need intensive care in that country alone.


Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2020, 02:34:07 pm »
Quote
Posted by: Ian
« on: Today at 02:22:01 PM »
So you would think we would have some coronavirus drugs and vaccines by now. But there are none licensed. That is why we are hurriedly testing drugs designed for other viruses to see if they can help, and running expedited trials for experimental vaccines. Why were we so unprepared for a threat we knew about?

Unfortunately profit....

This part worries me, as I assume it will other's in the high risk group,
Quote
"But with coronavirus it is different: around 20 per cent of cases fall seriously ill, and many of these people require ventilation to keep them alive until their immune system kills the virus."

Offline Ian

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Re: Covid 19
« Reply #14 on: March 04, 2020, 02:51:39 pm »
At the moment the death rate is looking like 1%, Steve, but for most it will only be like a nasty cold. And experience with pandemics throughout history is that for reasons that aren't clear, they tend to disappear by themselves for no obvious reason after a while.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.