getting a bit bloody close !

[Dezi]

The towns in Lombardy that have been put on lockdown because of the coronavirus are very close to where my niece and her three children live,
San colombano al lambro.

Its an area that we have regularly visited over the past 20 years.

The nearest infected towns are 8 - 10 miles away so fingers crossed. If anyone had Lombardy in their short term travel plans,
best give it a miss and take the scenic route to Scunthorpe instead.

Dezi

 

[izwozral]

Yup, it's getting worse by the day, two cases in NZ now. Spreading far and wide, oh well, better get another beer in me glass.

 

[witzend]

Just read Venice carnival cancelled and Austria is to close its border with Italy

 

[campervanannie]

There just seems more to this than we are being told but on the plus side it’s a great way to cut down on the over population of the planet a sort of cull of the old weak and sick.

 

[kevarama11]

Hi there. I'm posting from New Zealand - I've just checked the latest news feed in NZ and no cases here yet I think the previous person was referring to two New Zealander's who were on the cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan who have it. They're still in Japan. Fingers crossed it doesn't come here - but I think it's inevitable unfortunately. We've recently paid a deposit on a motorhome in the UK, with planned arrival in May and travel in Europe for four months till Sept - but are now wondering whether it's the wise thing to do. Will watch the situation with interest over the next few weeks.

 

[Wooie1958]

You really could not make this fekking fiasco up Who the hell in their tiny twisted mind decided to move them around the country

What about the coach drivers ( who again had no protection ) on the latest batch to be transported to Arrowe Park, Wirral ?

They have confirmed that two of the passengers have tested positive for the virus.

I noticed the coach drivers in Japan that transported them away from the cruise liner had full protection.

Why were they brought back and why were they not put into quarantine on the airbase where they landed instead of being driven half the length of the country ?

Brings back of the memories of the 2001 foot & mouth outbreak when they transported the carcasses all over the country to incinerate them instead of disposing of them in-situ like happened in previous outbreaks.

I saw several steel bodied tippers completely unsheeted, dripping blood and shyte out of the back pass me on the motorways.

And before all the usual suspects come on just to start a bloody argument YES i do know what i`m talking about because YES i WAS involved in it.

I was delivering small loads ( 5 tonne ) of animal feed to the farms that were condemned because the animals still had to be fed right up until the day they were slaughtered ☹

P.S.

Just said on BBC news that there are four confirmed cases

 

[antiquesam]

Apparently up to 650,000 people die every year from influenza and no one thinks of wearing facemasks or staying indoors. More people died from the influenza epidemic after WW1 than in the war, yet 7,000 have died from this so far, and the whole world is in a panic. Is there something I'm missing here?

 

[mariesnowgoose]

I reckon Phil could be spot on with his speculation.

Certainly looks like it's starting to have an impact on all sorts of things

I am not talking about the mortality rate, that is not the point I am trying to make.
The effect of large numbers of sick people unable to work, borders closing, imports and exports blocked will have a big impact on infrastructure.

 

[trevskoda]

There just seems more to this than we are being told but on the plus side it’s a great way to cut down on the over population of the planet a sort of cull of the old weak and sick.

You have made my day annie,hankies at dawn.

 

[runnach]

Apparently up to 650,000 people die every year from influenza and no one thinks of wearing facemasks or staying indoors. More people died from the influenza epidemic after WW1 than in the war, yet 7,000 have died from this so far, and the whole world is in a panic. Is there something I'm missing here?

I agree a bit of over sensationalism, health anxiety seems as rife as if not more so than coronavirus.

As you say fatality from flu virus on a global scale dwarfs coronavirus by some margin

There is risk in all we do every time we drive a vehicle, cross the road etc but we don’t stop those activities

Whilst attempt to eradicate and control the virus makes sense , the news needs to stop sensationisng and add a bit of context in the reporting than the current practice

 

[mistericeman]

There just seems more to this than we are being told but on the plus side it’s a great way to cut down on the over population of the planet a sort of cull of the old weak and sick.

Careful that's about half of us on the forum....

 

[Derekoak]

Apparently up to 650,000 people die every year from influenza and no one thinks of wearing facemasks or staying indoors. More people died from the influenza epidemic after WW1 than in the war, yet 7,000 have died from this so far, and the whole world is in a panic. Is there something I'm missing here?

There are a lot of unknowns, but taķing best estimates, 60 to 80 percent of a population seems to get it and the death rate is 2%. 8 billion people on the earth: 60% of that is 4.8 billion, 2 % of that is nearly 100 million deaths. It seems to have the potential to dwarf 650,000 flu deaths by 150 to 1?
Then as Phil says such a large disruption will cause all sorts of infrastructure failure which will cause secondary deaths , how about getting shares in undertakers?

 

[izwozral]

Hi there. I'm posting from New Zealand - I've just checked the latest news feed in NZ and no cases here yet I think the previous person was referring to two New Zealander's who were on the cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan who have it. They're still in Japan. Fingers crossed it doesn't come here - but I think it's inevitable unfortunately. We've recently paid a deposit on a motorhome in the UK, with planned arrival in May and travel in Europe for four months till Sept - but are now wondering whether it's the wise thing to do. Will watch the situation with interest over the next few weeks.

Thanks for the update on NZ, our daughter is there so your post is reassuring - so far.

 

[Dezi]

There just seems more to this than we are being told but on the plus side it’s a great way to cut down on the over population of the planet a sort of cull of the old weak and sick.

Thats nice, I do one post and and your first thought is to get rid of me.
Proper miffed I am.

Dezi

 

[Dezi]

My niece is a self employed English teacher and travels around to different towns in the Lombardy region.
Last week she was in one of the lockdown towns and the school had 50% of its children off sick, or being kept away by parents.

Her daughter and son both travel to Milan university daily, one studying to be a docter and the other mathmatics.

Youngest dughter gets bussed to a different town daily for school, so Lombardy is an area with a very mobile population.

Niece has now stocked up on food and bolted the doors and settled down to watch T.V. fo the next ...... weeks.

I am confident that one of them will end up being strangled before the first week is over.

Dezi

 

[antiquesam]

There are a lot of unknowns, but taķing best estimates, 60 to 80 percent of a population seems to get it and the death rate is 2%. 8 billion people on the earth: 60% of that is 4.8 billion, 2 % of that is nearly 100 million deaths. It seems to have the potential to dwarf 650,000 flu deaths by 150 to 1?
Then as Phil says such a large disruption will cause all sorts of infrastructure failure which will cause secondary deaths , how about getting shares in undertakers?

You're figures seem slightly dodgy. 60 to 80 percent contracting it isn't yet happening. Even on the Diamond Princess the figure is around 20 percent. Any disruption seems to be caused by sensationalism and panic rather than fact.

 

[Debroos]

There are a lot of unknowns, but taķing best estimates, 60 to 80 percent of a population seems to get it and the death rate is 2%. 8 billion people on the earth: 60% of that is 4.8 billion, 2 % of that is nearly 100 million deaths. It seems to have the potential to dwarf 650,000 flu deaths by 150 to 1?
Then as Phil says such a large disruption will cause all sorts of infrastructure failure which will cause secondary deaths , how about getting shares in undertakers?

Is 100 million one billion?

 

[big tom]

There just seems more to this than we are being told but on the plus side it’s a great way to cut down on the over population of the planet a sort of cull of the old weak and sick.

When I read this I think you are right.
The new British patients had all been passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship and were in quarantine in The Wirral when they fell ill, having returned from Japan on Saturday.

It emerged on Sunday that the patients had been tested while in Japan, but the results were not received until Sunday morning, by which point they were back in the UK.

 

[Debroos]

In Italy the death rate is more than 2%......4 deaths from 150 cases at the mo.
or is that 3%? my maths is rubbish!

 

[Derekoak]

Is 100 million one billion?

No 1000 million is now a billion. Of course when I was a lad you needed 1 million million to be a billion, but the Americans won that one.
4 deaths is not a big sample. In China the death rate is about 2% although people who have the virus with few symptoms may not get reported, there are many unknowns.