Corona Virus

[Neil]

Why am I constantly thinking of this?

[EvilNed]

Hasn't it got like a lower lethality than the common flu? What's all the fuss.

[blind2d]

Hasn't it got like a lower lethality than the common flu? What's all the fuss. My thoughts exactly.

[Neil]

The next week or two is going to be telling... ie: How quickly it's spreading. The Japanese cruise ship and the taxi driver are alarming. ie: Implying it spreads easily :/

[Moon Knight]

Scary stuff regardless.

[MinionZombie]

Scary stuff regardless. And it should be getting taken as seriously as it is. With all our skills and resources and technology as a species this is exactly what we should be doing - stopping the spread of viruses. Sure, we've had these things before and we'll have them again, but what is being done is exactly what should be getting done. Plus, these situations also help to develop understanding of how viruses spread and how they can be effectively contained - so, perhaps, if/when a really major virus comes along we'll be able to deal with it properly. Government agencies, at least ... because as any cold & flu season proves, the general public are wretched when it comes to keeping their bugs to themselves - they insist on coughing unguarded or into their hands (instead of into the crook of their arm), they wipe snotty/coughed on hands all over public surfaces (e.g. hand rails), refuse to use their sick days ('cos they're saving them for healthy days so they can bunk off work), and constantly go about their normal daily business while coughing/sneezing/snotting everywhere (e.g. going to the hair dresser, going to the shops etc).

[Neil]

The moment it starts growing exponentially in a number of countries, with significant numbers, I think the genie can be considered out of the bottle then, and it only being a matter of time until wide spread contamination. If it can be contained now, that's the main hope! FYI!

[Neil]

So how are you USA folks feeling about the Covid-19 then? Not too bothered, or watching carefully?

[blind2d]

So how are you USA folks feeling about the Covid-19 then? Not too bothered, or watching carefully? Personally Neil, I'm much more concerned about the environment, but yeah, I've heard of it. *shrug*

[MinionZombie]

Folks should be concerned, and folks should be a damn sight more considerate of their fellow human beings. As the old saying goes - "coughs and sneezes spread diseases" - and there's too many grotty people about, open-mouthed coughing all over the shop like toddlers, wiping snotty fingers all over public surfaces (e.g. hand rails, subway straps etc), not using sick days for their intended purpose, not cancelling unimportant appointments or trips despite dribbling virulent goo everywhere. No wonder the humble cold and/or flu gets around so easily. The number of times I've seen people utterly full of cold sitting in, for instance, the barber shop or walking around a supermarket ... it's totally inconsiderate. Complacency does a great deal to spread viruses, and the more a virus spreads the more likely it is it'll mutate (and quite possibly get even worse). We've already seen a negative financial reaction linked to the virus, and think of the impact on all the industries that rely on the movement of people and the economic impact that then entails. We've got all this knowledge about the spread of viruses, all this capability to do the best we can to halt their spread, yet the general sense of complacency is just making it worse.

[Neil]

With Italy on lockdown, a neighbour started singing... The human spirit!

[blind2d]

I mean if we're all going to die, at least we can go out singing. Like Life of Brian. Best movie ever made.

[EvilNed]

I mean if we're all going to die, at least we can go out singing. Like Life of Brian. Best movie ever made. Really? I didn't figure it's a movie you liked.

[blind2d]

Really? I didn't figure it's a movie you liked. Why wouldn't I like it? It's hilarious!

[kidgloves]

I'm on holiday in Key West at the moment and it's empty especially being spring break. When I flew in last week the border patrol was still fingerprinting everyone without wiping anything down. No screening outside of where you were traveling from