Coronavirus - are you afraid?

[Bruja]

Also, this Interview about COVID on Joe Rogan Experience might be worth the watch to give you a little perspective

JRE Corona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw&t=8s

[Beguile's Mistress]

Our mayor here in Pittsburgh just declared a state of emergency.  Part of the handling of this situation is a more dedicated triage system for handling emergencies.  Our 911 system is being set up to as more detailed questions for callers in order to make sure the system can handle all calls and those that are most serious are handled first.  People need to be respectful of the emergency services so those in the most serious need don't fall through the cracks.

[Orval Wintermute]

It's not that different from the influenza virus in terms of symptoms. At least from what I've heard and read. And people die of flu all the time if you have a poor health. Corona has a long way to go to be as infectuous or lethal as the common flu. Yet we don't shut down everyday life for that.

Annual number of deaths in the UK from flu complications : 11,000.

The most optimistic projections for COVID-19 are a 40% infection rate and a 1% mortality rate, which shakes out at roughly a quarter of a million deaths in the UK over the next 6 months.
The most pessimistic projections are an 80% infection rate and a 6% mortality rate, or close to 3 million dead.

So if we're really lucky COVID-19 will only be 25 times as deadly as seasonal flu; and as someone with underlying health issues that is terrifying.

[PassionateDesire]

My country has been on a "soft lockdown" for the last week and today the prime minister announced that the borders are being closed to the outside. No one gets in. A lot of businesses and nearly all public non-essential institutions are closed and the use of any public transport is discouraged. Right now the scariest part is the social effects and also the economic effects. A lot of people will lose their jobs over this.  However, some of the tales from Italy are also really scary. The fact that the Italians fear that they might not be able to handle all of the cases and have to choose over who has the best survival chances. Right now I'm very satisfied that I'm covered by public health care.

[Humble Scribe]

While it was a disaster from a viral containment point of view, the Diamond Princess has been an inadvertent laboratory for studying the effects on a defined and monitored population.
All 3,711 people aboard were tested for Covid-19.
Of these, 696 were eventually found to be infected.
7 subsequently died.
Bearing in mind that the population skewed towards the elderly (because cruise ship), calculations are that in an 'average' population, the overall death rate is about 0.5%.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.05.20031773v2
That's still not great, but the figures of 3-6% assume that detected cases = all cases, which clearly isn't the case.

[Formless]

The biggest impact this breakout will have on my country is how it'll affect the annual Hajj (Pilgrimage)

While confirmed cases are low and already under quarantine, people from all over the world gather in a very small area.

I can't even fathom the idea of preventing Hajj for one year, but it seems quite dire this time.

[TheGlyphstone]

The biggest impact this breakout will have on my country is how it'll affect the annual Hajj (Pilgrimage)

While confirmed cases are low and already under quarantine, people from all over the world gather in a very small area.

I can't even fathom the idea of preventing Hajj for one year, but it seems quite dire this time.

Ooooh yeah. That is a scary thought. I'm not sure which option would be more potentially lethal.

[Oniya]

The biggest impact this breakout will have on my country is how it'll affect the annual Hajj (Pilgrimage)

While confirmed cases are low and already under quarantine, people from all over the world gather in a very small area.

I can't even fathom the idea of preventing Hajj for one year, but it seems quite dire this time.

I've heard that some of the mosques are changing the call to prayer to 'Pray in your homes'.  St. Peter's Square was empty last Sunday.

[Oniya]

I've heard that some of the mosques are changing the call to prayer to 'Pray in your homes'.  St. Peter's Square was empty last Sunday.

Found where I heard it. 

https://twitter.com/jfinspires_/status/1238484635283263489

[Formless]

Ooooh yeah. That is a scary thought. I'm not sure which option would be more potentially lethal.

Its a huge responsibility. But then Global health is also a huge responsibility. :-\

I've heard that some of the mosques are changing the call to prayer to 'Pray in your homes'.  St. Peter's Square was empty last Sunday.

I don't think changing the call is even allowed. But a Fatwa can be produced to advise people to pray at home. They're already disinfecting the Holy Mosque here three times, which requires evacuating everyone from the premises that many times.

But when I look at other countries? I think we're still in a more manageable level.

[Dashenka]

The biggest impact this breakout will have on my country is how it'll affect the annual Hajj (Pilgrimage)

While confirmed cases are low and already under quarantine, people from all over the world gather in a very small area.

I can't even fathom the idea of preventing Hajj for one year, but it seems quite dire this time.

I'm pretty sure Christian churches are packed tomorrow all over the world as well. God will protect them from corona.

Probably.

[Orval Wintermute]

While it was a disaster from a viral containment point of view, the Diamond Princess has been an inadvertent laboratory for studying the effects on a defined and monitored population.....

This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

[Humble Scribe]

It hasn't been peer reviewed *yet* - that's a standard disclaimer. That makes it new, not wrong. The authors are 10 PhDs from the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Covid-19 Working Group - these are the people advising the UK government.

[dead radio]

Yeah, I am.

Not for me – I'm young and healthy and smart working, as they call it, is an option for me. I'm worried because of the impact this is having on my country (I have moved back to Italy some two years ago).

Luckily enough, I live in one of the least-affected areas, but this is growing bigger.

A friend of mine is struggling with breast cancer and is thus extremely exposed to whatever might come her way.

Friends of mine – they have four kids – had to close their bar downtown. Hopefully the government will take some action to help small business, but they're understandably panicking.

My aunt has diabete and such a long medical record you'd be surprised to hear she's still alive at 70 y.o.

So, yeah, I'm afraid – for my friends and family.

[Orval Wintermute]

these are the people advising the UK government.

You mean the people that don't believe that banning mass gatherings in necessary? Guess the Premiere League didn't get that memo.
The people that think that UK will be fine if it can develop a 60% herd immunity, something the WHO has called "theoretical at best".

I'm happy to wait for it to be reviewed before putting any faith in those numbers.

[Dashenka]

Im one of them as well.

[Formless]

I'm pretty sure Christian churches are packed tomorrow all over the world as well. God will protect them from corona.

Probably.

No harm in praying for safety if it can calm one’s heart. But taking precautions takes precedence.

[Hrairoo]

I'm pretty sure Christian churches are packed tomorrow all over the world as well. God will protect them from corona.

Probably.

My brother who's a practicing LDS told me Thursday that the leaders of the church sent out an email temporarily suspending all church meetings worldwide. I just thought that was interesting.

[gaggedLouise]

No harm in praying for safety if it can calm one’s heart. But taking precautions takes precedence.

It's a real conflict of "who do you put your trust in?". I'm inclined to agree with Dasha here, churches (and mosques etc) should remain open as places of worship and shouldn't put a limit at 100 or 500 people in attendance, at least as long as there isn't a raging epidemic literally next door - but politically this can be a tough call.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has banned passenger flights from abroad, which effectively means cancelling this year's pilgrimage season, and New Zealand has done the same, with an imposed 14-day quarantine on anyone entering the country, even New Zealand nationals returning from abroad. :(

[Dashenka]

If you ban all gatherings of big crowds, going to church should be banned as well (depending on the size of your church)...

But then religion comes into play and a whole new cesspit is opened so nobody dares. It just shows to me, the hypocricy of people when it comes to stuff like this.




Other than that, I'll agree to disagree with most of you. Common sense should be the guidelines. Not the media or the government.

[gaggedLouise]

It's going to be really interesting to see how Brexit negotiations will go ahead (at an already packed schecule) if the corona virus and measures against it keep putting tabs and obstacles on all kinds of travel...

[HairyHeretic]

No harm in praying for safety if it can calm one’s heart. But taking precautions takes precedence.

God helps those who help themselves, as the saying goes. Big gatherings of any kind right now aren't a good idea.

[Formless]

It's a real conflict of "who do you put your trust in?". I'm inclined to agree with Dasha here, churches (and mosques etc) should remain open as places of worship and shouldn't put a limit at 100 or 500 people in attendance, at least as long as there isn't a raging epidemic literally next door - but politically this can be a tough call.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has banned passenger flights from abroad, which effectively means cancelling this year's pilgrimage season, and New Zealand has done the same, with an imposed 14-day quarantine on anyone entering the country, even New Zealand nationals returning from abroad. :(

Its only a matter of time before everyone is advised against praying in mosques here.

And we’re suspending any incoming or outgoing flights for two weeks now, so we’ll see.

God helps those who help themselves, as the saying goes. Big gatherings of any kind right now aren't a good idea.

Exactly. You can’t jump into a pit of lava and think I'm a pious man, god will save me.”

[Orval Wintermute]

Exactly. You can’t jump into a pit of lava and think I'm a pious man, god will save me.”

The story of the man who lives by the river.

A man who lived by a river heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town and that all the residents should evacuate. But the man said, "I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."

The waters rose up and started to flood the town, when a guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, "The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety." But the man shouted back, "I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."

The waters rose even further and the man had to climb on to the roof of his house to stay safe, when a helicopter flew over. The pilot shouted down "The town has flooded. Let me lower down a ladder and take you to safety." But the man shouted back, "I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."

The waters rose even higher and the man drown.

Arriving in Heaven the man demanded to speak to God, "Lord, I'm a religious man, I prayed. I thought you loved me. Why did you let this happen?'
And God replied "I sent you a radio report, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?"

[gaggedLouise]

From a book I read recently, by Umberto Eco (raised a Catholic, turned atheist) commenting on Benito Mussolini (who was personally an atheist but would invoke God in his political speeches when he had become dictator of Italy):

"According to a trustworthy legend, the young Mussolini one day urged God to prove his existence by throwing a bolt at him. Apparently the Lord had his attention elsewhere that day and Mussolini survived, but he continued to treat God as a useful fiction."

:P