Coronavirus

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 04/03/2020 19:47:48:

It's the Millennials. They've genetically engineered a virus that targets us baby boomers…

Neil

.

… or perhaps Gaia, starting to rebalance the system [?] **LINK**

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146362/airborne-nitrogen-dioxide-plummets-over-china

MichaelG.

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

As a 75 year old with Asthma I fit into a higher risk category so does my wife on other finely balanced medications.

Knowing what a sloppy country this (England) seems to be I certainly do not feel confident about all this.

Only today I was in a diy store and some guy was coughing away without any attempt to cover his mouth, hopefully he only had a normal type of cough otherwise a lot of people were potentially infected.

It seems quite normal at any time for people to cough and sneeze over other people without any kind of attempt to cover their output, as to hand washing properly an awful lot appear not even to bother washing their hands after using the toilet so what hope that they will bother over the possibility of spreading the Coronavirus?

Edited By V8Eng on 04/03/2020 21:09:17

Edited By V8Eng on 04/03/2020 21:10:49

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

I suspect some panic buying is starting – went for shopping in local Waitrose early evening – near empty shelf normally full of toilet paper was a surprise. Maybe tissues were not available as didn’t think of checking these and toilet paper was the alternative.

[Martin WhittleParticipant @martinwhittle67411]

There has been a bit of a run on toilet paper

Also staples such as flour, rice and pasta are being hit.

Hand sanitising gel is unobtainable locally, but I have plenty of meths and isopropanol . Painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen also going fast but seems plenty of supply.

Local Waitrose seems as good as ever on its fresh bread suppies – if you go before mid morning, they have not put it out yet, if you try in the afternoon it it is all all gone.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Posted by Martin Whittle on 04/03/2020 20:17:05:

B

Expected mortality at minimum estimate of 1% for near 8 billion population gives around 80 million deaths, near double the 1918 flu pandemic. Note typical recent mortality at nearer 2% is much greater than current general flu of around 0.1%, and is also greatly dependant on age But data is still at very preliminary stage.

Martin

There is an obvious lag between diagnosed cases and mortality, hence the jump in Italian deaths reported. If/when it spreads to significant numbers then facilities will run out and mortality will rise. I wouldn't be suprised to find UK fatalities at 3%+ partly from an aging population and because of general dithering.

Governments lack the will to take serious measures that intefer with the economy and just hope the problem goes away. It's the downside of globalisation and freedom of movement. We see tthe same thng with pet passports – yes, a rabies vaccine exists and has prevented a UK outbreak but we now have tick borne disease we were clear of before. We also import plant diseases that would have been prevented before EU rules applied.

Depending on a vaccine for coronavirus is a false hope. It'd take many months to go through trials and production and can only be of benefit if recovered patients lack long term immunity and need to be boosted.

Interesting times ahead.

pgk

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

looks as tho I’m going to find a use for the 5litres of surgical spirit (beauty store version) I picked up cheap some months ago at auction – bought it mainly as a cheap way of removing stuck on labels!

Is orange swarfega any use for anti-viral hand cleaning as I still have half a 5 litre container full of this – luckily recently stocked up on workshop blue wipes – catch is I still need to go out to buy food!

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Ironically, a doctor was on TV today saying soap and water is a better thing than hand sanitizer. The soap removes a fatty layer on the skin that the bacteria lives in. Sanitizer does not.

Hard to say what the mortality rate is because the number of infected persons could easily be double the official figure with many suffering only minor symptoms and unaware they have Coronavirus. So it could easily be only 1 per cent. But that is still 10 to 100 times that of the regular flu, depending on age.

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

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[doubletopParticipant @doubletop]

Planning a holiday? The Amazon is looking good.

**LINK**

The map apears to be updated at the begining of each week. NZ now have 3 cases and the run on toilet paper has hit the masses here.

Pete

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

My wife went to Screwfix for some gutter parts for my wood store rebuild and they have a notice up stating that a maximum of 5 masks for each customer. Is it panic buying or is there a shortage as they are made in China and no more being imported i don't know.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Doubletop on 05/03/2020 09:40:54:

… NZ now have 3 cases and the run on toilet paper has hit the masses here.

Pete

Strange. Is this nasty virus so terrifying that people all around the world are losing control of their bowels? I put it down to Lack of Moral Fibre…

Dave

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I'm fed up to the back teeth constantly hearing about Covid 19 or whatever it's now called.

Brian

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

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[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

' Is this nasty virus so terrifying that people all around the world are losing control of their bowels?'

I think there may be an element of that, but the real fear is of the end of civilization as we know it. Toilet paper is ultimately what distinguishes mankind from animals*. We are rather aware of the fragility of the supply chain of this commodity, here in NZ, with earthquakes, etc., so keep a stockpile routinely…

It's pretty clear that the virus has escaped the futile and inadequate attempts at containment. Politicians seem unable to make important decisions. China, possibly uniquely able to exert iron-fist control over its population, tried hard, but, with the rest of the world's blinkered governments considering that commerce is paramount, borders could not be closed, and the game was lost. We are therefore facing a pandemic and, at this early stage, all bets are off regarding what proportion of the world's population will become infected, and what proportion of that will become seriously ill or die. All one can do is to take reasonable steps to avoid infection, so that the rate of transmission can be minimized. Be careful, and good health!

[edit – added lest anyone take offence] * Yes, I know not all humans use toilet paper: they are not therefore sub-human. And I know all humans are animals. You know what I meant. It was supposed to be an attempt at humour.

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 05/03/2020 11:13:07

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

It sounds much better if you think of a 98% survival rate, my doctor quoted a 20% chance of stroke or heart attack for me, it sounds much better if you think of 80% chance of not having one. I am hoping that at 63 I will survive.

Mike

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

It's all very well saying don't panic, but similar to V8Eng above, I'm 76, had a mild heart attack 5 years ago and so am under pills for that, and am currently being treated by a form of chemotherapy for lung cancer hence my immune system is somewhat compromised. So what am I to do? Sit back and enjoy it? Of course I'm going to worry about it.

I'm well aware that my time is running out, indeed a few years ago I looked at our wills & codicil (satisfactory) and set up EPA's some years ago when they were still allowable. I've even produced a set of notes for our children to assist them in sorting out our affairs (I have memories of doing my fathers probate and receiving a letter from the Halifax containing a reference to what thankfully turned out to be a long closed account) and, on the assumption that I will go first, how I envisage what my wife's income will be, and how to manage it. Our children have been advised by email about the existence of these notes and their location (a number of copies on the various computers I have) along with a recommendation that they don't lose that particular email. The reason for the notes being on the computer is so that a) I can update them without having to bother about sending out copies to each of our three children, and b) they do contain personal financial information of which our children are unaware, and do not need to know until we become dead or incapacitated.

Nevertheless, it is a worrying time. Whether or not I, in particular, can weather the storm, only time will tell. Needless to say, I've still got too much to do!

Peter G. Shaw

Edited for spelling correction.

Edited By Peter G. Shaw on 05/03/2020 11:33:47

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Peter Shaw. Well done. Some years ago I got my mum to help me fill in all the probate forms and powers of attorney for when the inevitable was going to happen to her. Fortunately she saw the practical side of that and had some years left. With the additional issues of her and my deceased dad having been born before german occupation of their euro country of origin and the destruction of some documents it would have been an absolute nightmare for me to sort out without her help in advance. When the tiem came it was just a DIY slog to sort it all without the silly fees solicitors charge.
Wife and I are in process of doing tthe same for our kids but with a complex estate I can gues they'll just take the lazy way out and lose a large proportion chunk to facilitators….
Whether or not coronavirus is the concern there is good reason to get stuff sorted at these age groups.

pgk

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Do not worry about toilet paper supplies! As long as Newspapers are obtainable you can tear them into small squares then pierce holes in a corner and hang them on a string from the toilet ceiling.

Sound advice based on my early years on this planet.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by V8Eng on 05/03/2020 12:26:10:

Do not worry about toilet paper supplies! As long as Newspapers are obtainable you can tear them into small squares then pierce holes in a corner and hang them on a string from the toilet ceiling.

Sound advice based on my early years on this planet.

Although we don’t normally use it we have a warm water douche next to one of our toilets so we don’t need to get newsprint on our nethers if bum roll supplies run out!

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by Vic on 05/03/2020 12:42:29:

Posted by V8Eng on 05/03/2020 12:26:10:

Do not worry about toilet paper supplies! As long as Newspapers are obtainable you can tear them into small squares then pierce holes in a corner and hang them on a string from the toilet ceiling.

Sound advice based on my early years on this planet.

Although we don’t normally use it we have a warm water douche next to one of our toilets so we don’t need to get newsprint on our nethers if bum roll supplies run out!

And if someone has done the crossword some of those pens are permanent!

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

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[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

At least newsprint seems more permanently fixed to the paper these days

There are of course mixed blessings about this virus (as long as we don’t catch it) for instance the wife seems less likely to suggest shopping trips, the disadvantage is that she notices more things that need doing around the house. As her Chauffeur and Handyman I can’t win anyway!

Edited By V8Eng on 05/03/2020 13:07:42

[Russ BParticipant @russb]

Well I've got enough bar stock in the scrap bin to keep me going for quite a considerable amount of time in the workshop. Plus a newly ground ML7 to rebuild, a set of Jacobs gear hobber castings to machine and a 10 inch shaper to check/rebuild to do it on!!!

Bring on the apocalypse, just don't open my garage door, you'll let all my heat out.

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Toilet paper is apparently in short supply as everyone panics, I hear that soaps are also on the shortages list , is this because an element of the population who rarely if ever used it are now going to be washing their hands ?
Dave W

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

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