General Chat

Your main problem is when someone is going around coughing and sneezing, you can't not breath and they say the face mask, as a rule, are pointless. Your main defence is washing your hands and not touching your face, easier said than done we all do it without thinking and hoping you don't breath it in. I know the virus can survive quite a long time on surfaces I wonder how long it hangs in the air so to speak....

Yes it would be nice to know if it's actually in your immediate area, rather than a general 100-mile radius.

If you all remember back in the 40's/50's when Measles and such diseases were going the round the country.

We had a 30 day incubation period.

Still should do that today with this virus.

The Chinese say the virus is still strong even with 14 day incubation period.

Strange this about it surviving on surfaces. Yes I have seen it can survive on bus/train handles etc, then I saw a scientist saying the virus can't survive long off the body. Masks have run out in many places here. They don't work to protect you and, in my opinion will give false confidence. Far better to try and avoid crowded areas and practice good hygene. I don't find the thought of catching the illness as frightening (worrying?) as much as I do the thought of being whisked off on my own leaving my OH on his own at home, Or him being whisked off where I can't see him. :-(

I often worry, for selfish reasons, when fellow bus travellers would appear to have a very distant relationship with soap & water. :-|

Well just learnt we have 3 people that have got the virus in West Yorkshire now.
2 in Leeds came from Iran and the other From Bradford has travelled from Italy.

Iran and Italy have been hit hard haven't they, wonder if they failed to heed advice regards screening etc, now we're all paying for it!

Yes and so are we.

Nothing in our Area yet
Long may it stay that way :-D :-D

Actually, as one piece of advice is not to touch your mouth or nose with your hands, face masks would render this more difficult, and, therefore help protect you.

Re facemasks, I have seen several videos on TV showing people wearing facemasks but still leaving their nose uncovered :-S

Or the mask doesn't fit tight enough, then they forget to wash their hands before removing the mask. Also touching your eyes is a big no no.

Have to admit, as a user of public transport, for years, I've washed my hands as soon as I arrive home (I try to remember at work - or use hand gel). I also change my clothes as soon as I get home.
That'll be bra off, comfy (baggy) trousers, t shirt, jumper and fleece on (it's cold at the moment), and, I pull my (outside) trousers down before sitting on my bed to change them :-S

Just seen this on FB it is quite informative

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - CORONAVIRUS
Last evening dining out with friends, one of their uncles, who's graduated with a master's degree and who worked in Shenzhen Hospital (Guangdong Province, China) sent him the following notes on Coronavirus for guidance:
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but - a lot can happen during that time - you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can't emphasise enough - drink plenty of water!
THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you'll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you're drowning. It's imperative you then seek immediate attention.

I have to be honest seen another post that infers that not all of this is correct. so I will leave it here and let you decide.

The best advice is ..........

Listen ONLY to the Medical doctors in charge of health for your area/country.

Also pay attention to what trained virologists and disease specialists say in interviews

DON'T take advice form friends, FB, or any other social media. There is an awful lot of false information floating around.

You only have to think of the old women's advice about how to treat the common cold to realise that not all "sure to cure/prevent" remedies are a lot of baloney

............ eg, my father's cure of eating a large raw onion (preferably Spanish); mother's advice of don't get your feet wet; etc

Sylvia, not for this virus, but your post reminded me of mum, boiling an onion in milk to have to stave off colds...disgusting :-D

This is a short sensible video on 'self isolating' if needs be https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51506729

oh, yuk

and I thought Dad eating a raw onion sitting as close to the fire as he could was bad!

:-0

The world, or at least Australia, has gone crazy.

Two reports, one from Oz about people stockpiling items

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/toilet-paper-will-coronavirus-panic-see-us-run-out/news-story/935b0fc0ee52f114507e7704d445aeba

and another from the US advising people what to stockpile

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/how-to-prepare-your-home-to-prevent-coronavirus-outbreak/news-story/9e37c07e184ded75c860f644af5610bc

I don't know about other countries, but here in Oz both major supermarket chains offer a home delivery service, so even if you do self-isolate groceries can still be delivered without any type of personal contact.

We went shopping today (I needed some razors) and the supermarket was crowded with people stocking up :-S

Tuesday is normally a quite day, with Thursdays being very busy :-S

re buying groceries on line Allan. At least three supermarkets have said that their slots are almost full or full as people are ordering much larger than usual orders.

Interesting info re a scam connected to coronavirus.

As is typically the case, the panic surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak has brought the scammers out of the woodwork once again via a new and very dangerous email scam.

In a nutshell, the scammers are flooding the world’s inboxes with emails offering to sell the recipients a box of “Coronavirus masks” to protect against catching the virus.

As you might expect, one (or more) of the following things are virtually guaranteed to happen if you click on a link in one of these emails:

1 – The link will take you to a malicious web page that will download malware onto your computer or mobile device.

2 – You’ll enter your personal info and credit card info into a malicious web form that effectively hands that extremely sensitive info over to the scammers.

3 – You’ll pay for a box of masks that will never arrive.

I have written about the dangers of clicking links in unsolicited emails many times in the past, but this particular scam makes it even more dangerous simply due to all the panic over the virus.

Bottom line: If you desire to purchase masks for protection against the Coronavirus I strongly recommend that you only deal with reputable companies and avoid these scam emails like the plagues that they are.

And just so you know, it’s probably a bad idea to even wear a mask according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and many other health and medical professionals.


know the facts before you mask.

General face mask use is not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The worldwide supply of masks is limited. It's critical that we use them appropriately.
Masks are only recommended for caregivers of patients with communicable illnesses and patients with a fever or cough.