Coronavirus - those in China, and general discussion

[ChTTay]

2 hours ago, mungouk said:

But putting it in perspective, the UK hasn't even had a single confirmed case of the virus yet

Reports of a Chinese National being taken to hospital in York via the guardian website. The paramedics in white hazmat suits, patient wearing a mask. Let’s hope a false alarm! 

[DavyJonesLocker]

2 hours ago, mungouk said:

But putting it in perspective, the UK hasn't even had a single confirmed case of the virus yet, despite more than 90 people being tested. 

 

 

 

one of the effects of social media. Just like all those you those youtubers who know Jack sh*t about virology have become experts. I see seprenzta and the other sidekick seem to have all the inside information that the USA, WHO etc don't in their latest videos. Those two are a disgrace for stoking up fear. I'm always amazed how so many people are 'in the know' about everything all the time 

[Shelley]

2 hours ago, roddy said:

UK negotiates for permission for it to leave.

Just on the news now - it has got the go ahead for takeoff later this afternoon.

[suMMit]

1 hour ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

the other sidekick

I watched that last night, just for the hell of it. Kept thinking to myself that sidekick is such a wanker.

[DavyJonesLocker]

25 minutes ago, suMMit said:

I watched that last night, just for the hell of it. Kept thinking to myself that sidekick is such a wanker

 

I really dislike the spreading fear blogger's, it just causes people to start buying up masks, stocking food when the people who  need or the most , e.g elderly, frail can't just rush out and buy it. These are there very ones who will suffer the most. 

Disgraceful behavior

[abcdefg]

On 1/30/2020 at 11:03 PM, DavyJonesLocker said:

I really dislike the spreading fear blogger's, it just causes people to start buying up masks, stocking food when the people who  need or the most , e.g elderly, frail can't just rush out and buy it.

 

It has favorably impressed me to be in the supermarket when the aisles were crowded with people pushing large loaded baskets and doing it for the most part in a polite and civil manner. Even at the produce weighing stations where you must cue up, people have been orderly. No slugfests in the check out line or at the cash registers 收银台。Old lady let me get in front of her in line yesterday because I only had a couple items and she had a lot. 

 

Many shelves are bare. No eggs yesterday for example. No green leafy vegetables and not much rice. Staff keeps bringing in new supplies, but they get snapped up. I have not, however, noticed any price gouging. The charges that I've checked are pretty much the same as they were a couple months ago.  

 

 

 

 

[ChTTay]

11 hours ago, abcdefg said:

Staff keeps bringing in new supplies, but they get snapped up

This is it. It really annoys me here in Beijing that people post videos or pictures on wechat (and I imagine Douyin) of empty shelves and say things like “OMG where is all the food?”. Actually, it’s CNY and they’re at the supermarket at 8-9pm at night. The effect is that people panic buy and get way more than they need to. That in turn does really mean there isn’t enough food so other people start bulk buying in a panic. Vicious circle. More panic about less food so you buy more food which means there is less food. I went to buy some bananas from my local (very small) shop and, as I walked in a girl literally walked out with 30 bananas (The whole big bunch that they usually cut up). That was all they had in the shop. 
 

As it is you can get fresh food easily here in Beijing but if you want some specific you might need to shop around. My local supermarket is always well stocked, especially if you go earlier in the day. Eggs seem to be less easy to get but I’m not sure why that is. 

[dtcamero]

1 hour ago, ChTTay said:

as I walked in a girl literally walked out with 30 bananas (The whole big bunch that they usually cut up). That was all they had in the shop. 

 

omg it’s like the epidemic’s version of taking all the shrimp at the buffet ? 

[889]

The Guardian just published a pretty chilling picture from Wuhan.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/31/a-man-lies-dead-in-the-street-the-image-that-captures-the-wuhan-coronavirus-crisis

[suMMit]

It's very frightening. I'm surprised to see them allowing foreign journalists in Wuhan.

[Tomsima]

http://www.bilibili.com/video/av85901845?share_medium=android&share_source=more&bbid=XYFB5CAF698EEE335B6147082A959F8C857D9&ts=1580454870665

 

started a video diary for anyone thats interested in getting a realistic perspective of what things are like here at the moment. as you can see, things are calm and quiet. the sun is out, everyone is going about on the street as normal, feeling happy. but tbh it does feel like a calm before the storm kind of atmosphere here, little bit eerie, this street is usually buzzing with neighbours washing clothes, smoking meat, chatting and playing cards and chess

[suMMit]

I would much rather be there than in 武汉市. The videos I've seen from the city look far more grim.

[roddy]

Might that be because the reporters are heading for the worst-looking situations, where Tomsima has basically gone for a stroll to the end of the road? 

 

Two confirmed cases in the UK, within one family. 

 

Enjoyed the video, Tomsima. If you're still bored, you could do a bunch of posts for Signese.

[StChris]

Things are fine here in Harbin. The streets are a lot quieter, there are very few cars driving about and many shops are closed, but the supermarkets and 便利店s are all open and full of food, and the air is clear and  the sky is blue (probably due in no small part to the lack of traffic).

 

I managed to buy three tubs of fresh fruit for just 10 yuan this afternoon. I've just come off a 3 and a half day water fast, so I dread to think what all that fruit will do to my digestive system! We had our first lesson today via wechat. Luckily there are only 3 students in our class, so we can make it work. All things considered life is pretty good here at the moment - it's all quiet on the Dongbei front.

 

Now I have to send an email to my family to stop them from panicking (I hate the sensationalist news sometimes)

[ChTTay]

4 hours ago, 889 said:

The Guardian just published a pretty chilling picture from Wuhan.

I saw this as well. Was there confirmation he died of the virus? Just seems a bit odd if you’re in the late stages of having it and out for a quick shop. 

 

47 minutes ago, StChris said:

the supermarkets and 便利店s are all open and full of food,

Yes! In Beijing mostly fine on the food front too. I’m wondering what it will be like after CNY officially ends. Will more places open or stay shut because of the virus? 

[艾墨本]

I'm in a small town in Jiangxi. Went for a walk this morning and found all but a couple shops were closed up. Normally everything is open and the streets are packed with shoppers by this point and yet I saw only a few people, of which roughly half were wearing face masks. Things have not gone back to "normal" here.

 

I think many are keeping in mind that official estimates from the Chinese CDC put "peak" infections at another week from now. In other words, thins are still getting worse, not better. All non-critical staff here also got an extended holiday vacation as a result.

[Flickserve]

In HK, schools are closed until at least 3rd of March. Indoor sportshalls are also closed.

[Dawei3]

On 1/30/2020 at 5:25 AM, mungouk said:

 

Fear levels stoked by the media

It's universities & governments too.  

 

Johns Hopkins University displays an up-to-date map on the spread.  It's both credible information and   disturbing.  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

If we plotted the usual flu, it could scare many as well.  In the 2018-2019 flu season, CDC says there were 35.5 million illnesses, >16.5 million medical visits, 490,600 hospitalizations and 34,200 deaths.  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html   And this was a "good year", i.e., 2017-2018 had 61,000 deaths.  (just in the US)

 

If we plotted the spread of the flu cases & deaths and showed it on a daily basis, many would be scared as well.  While concerns would probably be less because it's not a novel virus, but it would still be scary.  34,200 deaths = average of 94 deaths/day = much higher daily deaths during flu seasion

 

I'm not criticizing Johns Hopkins.  They're just showing the data.  Also, we want to see the data, even if it is disturbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ruben von Zwack]

I saw that. But the number of "recoveries" is also going up, no? Is that a good sign?
I am kinda invested in this because the German cases are in my sleepy small town near Munich. The folks are in the hospital in Munich now, and the local media is reporting that they are in very good spirits and in good physical condition, and that doctors are trying to study them like crazy.

[Jan Finster]

2 hours ago, Ruben von Zwack said:

I saw that. But the number of "recoveries" is also going up, no? Is that a good sign?
I am kinda invested in this because the German cases are in my sleepy small town near Munich

 

Well, there are 2 outcomes: death or recovery. Nobody will stay infected and ill for ever. Since the mortality rate is rather low, the recovery rate will naturally go up in the coming weeks or months. Considering that approximately 10000 people are officially infected, the recovery rate is rather low. Which means that it may take several weeks until they fully recover.