COVID-19 — Coronavirus

[I'm With Stupid]

My friend had his temperature taken at the airport today, flying into Kuala Lumpur from Borneo. But Borneo Malaysia have always been a bit overprotective.

 

[RadcliffeRick]

I had my temperature taken and asked about me or anyone I know having recently been to China, that was just to enter a hospital

 

[SebastianBlue]

My friend had his temperature taken at the airport today, flying into Kuala Lumpur from Borneo. But Borneo Malaysia have always been a bit overprotective.

I had my temperature taken and asked about me or anyone I know having recently been to China, that was just to enter a hospital

Unfortunately, such screening will do very little given the 14 day incubation period, approximately the same as Smallpox. It is well outside the normal median incubation period for human coronaviruses (3-4 days).

That is truly what sets this novel coronavirus apart from other potentially deadly pathogens, even if the mortality rate is relatively lower than some of the others: unless you fully and completely quarantine entire populations with confirmed or potential infections (almost impossible these days), it is going to spread.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Unfortunately, such screening will do very little given the 14 day incubation period, approximately the same as Smallpox. It is well outside the normal median incubation period for human coronaviruses (3-4 days).

That is truly what sets this novel coronavirus apart from other potentially deadly pathogens, even if the mortality rate is relatively lower than some of the others: unless you fully and completely quarantine entire populations with confirmed or potential infections (almost impossible these days), it is going to spread.

Well yeah but this is Asia, so they're more interested in seeming like they're doing something than actually doing anything. A continent where people will run out to buy a face mask and then wear it as they drive their motorbike home without a helmet.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Well yeah but this is Asia, so they're more interested in seeming like they're doing something than actually doing anything. A continent where people will run out to buy a face mask and then wear it as they drive their motorbike home without a helmet.

Don’t get me going on the efficacy of face masks, either. ;-)

 

[Ban-jani]

Don’t get me going on the efficacy of face masks, either. ;-)

I work with a former nurse and they say as soon as they are covered in your moisture, it actually attracts and makes things worse.

Not sure if true.

 

[SebastianBlue]

I work with a former nurse and they say as soon as they are covered in your moisture, it actually attracts and makes things worse.

Not sure if true.

It is — general findings are that the general use masks are helpful in reducing pathogen transmission through droplet dispersion by the person wearing it, but only if regularly replaced and coupled with constant hand washing (as people still constantly touch the masks as they do their faces).

There is very little to no evidence that they protect against violent aerosol dispersion (sneezing/coughing) of pathogens, either for the wearer or those around them, and can actually increase transmission if not used properly.

They are primarily used in medicine (consultation, surgery, etc.) to reduce transmission through (non-aerosol) fluid exchange and to make patients feel better about the cleanliness of the treatment space (which, believe it or not, is actually somewhat impactful on recovery rates). There are specialised masks that are much more effective, but those are not widely available and tend to be very expensive.

Coughing/sneezing in to your elbow away from other people, constant proper hand washing, and quarantining yourself when you think you may be sick are still the best methods of hindering transmission, short of wearing a hazmat/bio hazard suit and going through constant decon procedures.

 

[marco]

looks to me like its being transmited with ease as a common cold does,any treatment wont be available to early summer so by then i think its going to be rife,this country included, death rates at between 2 and 5% so on average so if a quarter of the UK population get this then the rate of death is going to be around 680,000, now the percentages will increase if your in a certain age bracket 50 plus or are ill with say HIV or Diabetic or other things such as being a smoker, those percentages could become 10-15% chance of death, now thats not a good deal IMO, is there something the Governments are not coming clean with, if my calculations are correct 'the facts certainly are concerning death rate increase for older people and people with health issues' it certainly raises an eybrow that no one has popped up and explaind it as i have here above

 

[inchy14]

At least the U.K. government are doing all they can to stop liverpool winning the league, they’re putting all UK Nationals returning from China in quarantine in the Wirral.....

 

[Cheer Up Peter Reid]

looks to me like its being transmited with ease as a common cold does,any treatment wont be available to early summer so by then i think its going to be rife,this country included, death rates at between 2 and 5% so on average so if a quarter of the UK population get this then the rate of death is going to be around 680,000, now the percentages will increase if your in a certain age bracket 50 plus or are ill with say HIV or Diabetic or other things such as being a smoker, those percentages could become 10-15% chance of death, now thats not a good deal IMO, is there something the Governments are not coming clean with, if my calculations are correct 'the facts certainly are concerning death rate increase for older people and people with health issues' it certainly raises an eybrow that no one has popped up and explaind it as i have here above

I agree that it looks like the cat is already out of the bag and it is probably already spreading over here. What is not known yet though is the death rate. I don't think you can just divide the number of deaths by the number of cases. The big unknown is how many people have had it and had milder symptoms or were not tested so the death rate might not be as bad as numbers currently suggest.