New coronavirus in/from China

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

Apart from getting well stocked up on food and other essentials, I am currently planning to do precisely nothing. Unless one is able to run off to the hills and hide there for God knows how long, there is no escaping this if it fully takes off.

Plenty you can consider to reduce risk by a long way, just by adopting some routines / habits in handling stuff other people use

Avoid all pointless gatherings esp if 20+ attending
Avoid public transport
Use contactless instead of cash
Use pens / thimbles on ATMs, and card terminals for PIN nos
Same for touch screens - esp doctors, dentists, and delivery drivers
Gloves and plastic strips for door handles, fuel pumps and supermarket trolleys
Also for wheely bin handling
Time (reduced frequency) shopping runs for less crowded times
Wipe bleach solution on car handles, gear shift and steering wheel
Also mail deliveries and supplies if endemic

Saw something about the possible reason the Diamond Princess and the Singapore business meeting were particular problems - and I'm now wondering about that Bus event in London - they probably all had buffets with shared utensils and folks breathing over the food on offer.

[adam2]

And consider use of a supermarket delivery service for groceries.
NOT risk free, but brief and arms length contact with only a single delivery driver, is almost certainly much lower risk than walking round a crowded supermarket.
Wear gloves for unpacking. Store non perishables for a week or two before handling or use, in order that any virus on the packaging will die off.

For goods required promptly, unwrap with care and whilst wearing gloves and mask. Burn the wrapping, the gloves, and the mask.

After any contact with the outside world or articles recently imported from the outside world, change clothes and wash thoroughly. Hot launder clothing.
For clothing that looks clean, but might possibly be infected, consider storing for a week or two before re-use.
Wash hands frequently.

My shed, I regard as a quarantine zone. It contains anything recently delivered and being stored until safer.
Examples include.
3 propane bottles, delivery driver was suffering from a coughing fit.
An entire Tesco delivery that consists entirely of non perishables.
Several courier deliveries of ebay purchases.

I may yet be glad of an old doom prep. For some years whenever underwear or bedding became worn or damaged, but still just useable, I hot washed and stored the items.
During an emergency, such items may be used once and then discarded, it is not wasteful if they due for disposal in any case.

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

Agree with all that. Once this becomes endemic, the delivery drivers will be oversubscribed or infected from their many contacts. Which is a pity as the housebound can depend on them.

Saw something about 9 days so definitely 14+ for suspect stuff. Really like the shed idea.

While this might seem extreme, I'm diabetic. So's Mrs M. So the risk this poses is somewhat elevated for us. At least we can do all on that list, unlike many others. Still plenty to be getting on with, here inside our shell.

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

So, China is now trying to tell us that it is 'generally under control'. Personally, I don't believe this, but I'm wondering what their motivation for saying it is?

Maintenance of social order. Political, financial. Nothing to see here, move along now.

[mikepepler]

So, China is now trying to tell us that it is 'generally under control'. Personally, I don't believe this, but I'm wondering what their motivation for saying it is?

Maintenance of social order. Political, financial. Nothing to see here, move along now.

I agree, but it could have the effect of making people relax their hygiene and it spreading further, which will create disorder...

[Vortex2]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

I bet nobody does here, but plenty still swilling their beers will be 'thinking' that. It's that mild Wu Flu, innit.

[mikepepler]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

No, but it's awkward given that others at work are largely carrying on as normal. My intervention has led to advice on hand washing and avoiding public transport being circulated, but given it's London, the latter is not necessarily realistic. Meetings are all still happening as normal, despite scares like the bus conference last week. I mostly work from home anyway, but didn't go into the office last week at all. This week I think I'll need to go in for one day though, as it's packed with meetings and two of them include external people.

[Vortex2]

I heard something on the radio that the delaying tactics used outside China are intended to move the main infection phase into summer.

The sunshine helps kill the bugs and people aren't so bunched up.

[clv101]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

Pandemic influenza has been at the top of the government's National Risk Register for years. This virus has all the hallmarks, it's novel (unlike seasonal flu) so no immunity, it's highly contagious (unlike Ebola) and it's fatality rate is high enough to have a serious impact (unlike swine flu).

If, having got this far, SARS-CoV-2 doesn't have a major global impact it's hard to see what would.

However, 8 of the 9 UK cases are now recovered.

[UndercoverElephant]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

Nobody knows. I'd be pretty worried if I was in the cinema business.

[Vortex2]

>> I'd be pretty worried if I was in the cinema business.

Yep - dystopian films will seem lame after this.

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

Serious question : does anyone here believe that this is just a China thing ... nothing to worry about here in jolly old Britain?

Nobody knows. I'd be pretty worried if I was in the cinema business.

And... Cruise Liner companies, restaurants, hotels, airlines, taxis, bus companies, trains. Large exhibitions, small exhibitions, clubs and societies, and venue providers. Sporting events, cultural events - arts, music. Car manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers (especially where orders have already dropped to zero - looking at you, Boeing ). Garages, tyre fitters, supermarkets, due to supply chain failures. Holiday firms despite the demise of the Thomas Cook competition. Any discretionary shops, eg clothing. Car parks. Tax revenues from all of this activity.

Oh, and OIL products!

Pharma, 'funeralcare' should do OK. Charity stores overstocked from house clearances. Online distractions popular too. Riot Shield manufacturers, police, military. Spin Doctors.

Would be really interested to see what's happening now with airline bookings worldwide. Not just to Asia. Watch for profit warnings from the booking companies?

[mikepepler]

I heard something on the radio that the delaying tactics used outside China are intended to move the main infection phase into summer.

The sunshine helps kill the bugs and people aren't so bunched up.

However, it's spread easily in Singapore, which has lots of sunshine and high temperatures all year. Also, the second (and more deadly) wave of Spanish Flu actually kicked off in August 1918, with October being the most deadly month. So while we can hope for a summer reprieve, we should not be counting on it.

[Mean Mr Mustard II]

>> I'd be pretty worried if I was in the cinema business.

Yep - dystopian films will seem lame after this.

I looked for a DVD of Contagion (instructional, not for entertainment purposes, in my local store in Cambridge. (It was safe, there were no Chinese tour groups anywhere) .

Discontinued! Huh. Suppressed, more like!

Not unlike the Hannah Fry Contagion! 2018 BBC 4 documentary, which used mobile phones to model a pandemic spread using volunteer downloaded apps, kicking of in Haslemere. Also, strangely, nowhere to be found online now.

And Chris Martenson, purveyor (for a modest fee) of critical thinking, has been booted off Wiki as a 'Conspiracy Theorist'.

But the WHO and CCP are getting along so very well, so It's All Good, as JHK would say. I think we can expect more local Lines To Take too, so it may be as well to draw our own conclusions and act early. Keep Calm and Carry On.