SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

One question I had is how long is it taking for tests to come back in the UK?
I saw on a BBC article a few days back that it was 2-3 days, With todays video from the old guy saying they'll ramp up tests to 10k a day with results taking 48 hours.

A week behind if you consider the average incubation period of 5 days and then potentially 48 hours before results.

Not sure how it is in the UK but for us we get the results back after 48 hours.
 
As a Doctor who works in Liverpool it boggles my mind that the game is going on tonight with a full crowd including Atleti fans . Just absolute madness and pathetic decision making all around. I love football but this is just non sensical and asking for trouble

Some of the decisions so far have been questionable to say the least. It’s as if they know it’s going to spread so they just want it to get on with it to get out of this limbo phase.
 
One question I had is how long is it taking for tests to come back in the UK?
I saw on a BBC article a few days back that it was 2-3 days, With todays video from the old guy saying they'll ramp up tests to 10k a day with results taking 48 hours.

A week behind if you consider the average incubation period of 5 days and then potentially 48 hours before results.
My partner's mum was tested 10 days ago. She rang up today to ask what was happening and was told the results would still be a few days.
 
Well, I'm sure the stupidity of people is one of the reasons. You just have to look at the example someone posted earlier in the thread where one of their employees was refusing to self-isolate for two weeks because "life's too short". You can imagine how people that dense would react to extended restrictions. Plus when you think of the potential for people to panic one can also imagine why it would be preferable to gradually ramp things rather than jumping straight into harsh measures. Though as you say, some of the government messaging seems to have gone too far the other way.

But even if everyone is was very calm and sensible, there's still only so long a country can last in lockdown conditions given the disruption it causes to pretty much every aspect of life.

But surely when that lockdown comes it's going to last for longer, than if you had acted earlier? The rate of infection is a lot higher than the rate of recovery (look at China, they're still weeks and weeks away from getting their total active cases down below 1000 - I.e. the stage we're at).

The ramp up should've started earlier, but as it didn't it needs to be accelerating right now.
 
Some of the decisions so far have been questionable to say the least. It’s as if they know it’s going to spread so they just want it to get on with it to get out of this limbo phase.

Common sense must prevail at some point surely. There is not one reason to believe that what has happened in Italy won't happen in England so why are they not being more careful. Unfortunately people are dumb too , they wouldn't stop going till the government stops it
 
My partner's mum was tested 10 days ago. She rang up today to ask what was happening and was told the results would still be a few days.

Between stuff like this and their unwillingness to test people without a known link our numbers really can't be trusted
 
Watching Sky News, a reporter in France with a mask (not on his face) talking about France and how the PSG v Dortmund is going ahead behind closed doors, while behind him you can see PSG fans
 
Common sense must prevail at some point surely. There is not one reason to believe that what has happened in Italy won't happen in England so why are they not being more careful. Unfortunately people are dumb too , they wouldn't stop going till the government stops it
I know of someone who has come back from the Far East recently and was told to self-isolate for two weeks, but he's just ignored that. Doesn't work.
 
This really is monumentally stupid. How on earth are they not being made to play behind closed doors and fans stopped from travelling?

It's insane. It's illegal for Atletico fans to watch their OWN team in their OWN stadium, yet feel free to travel to the UK to watch them. That's fine. No problem. They're also mingling in pubs and around the city. It beggars belief
 
Girl from the reception at our company is going to Madrid with her boyfriend next week for a holiday, I told her he has to stay home for two weeks after she returns to which she replied 'I'm young, you only live once, I don't care' and says she'll be coming to work as normal. I imagine that's going to be a quite frequent approach among young people which basically means this virus will be impossible to contain unless you just force everyone to stay home under the threat of severe penalties.
Never can underestimate the selfishness, ignorance and plain stupidity of people. In situation like this people need to be told what to do, not left to make their own stupid minds up.
 
I'm on a bunch of daily steroids for my asthma, I'm guessing that makes it worse for me if I get hit?

If you are on inhalers, it depends on the dose. Rinse your mouth with water and then spit out after the puffs which can reduce systemic absorption (will also reduce your risk of oral candida) but if you are on long term steroids/high dose inhalers or oral steroids then yes you would be what we consider immunocompromised.

Make sure you regularly take your relievers though and see your GP if you are still are using your salbutamol for wheeze as getting your preventer regimen in place more than anything will prevent you becoming unwell.
 
We don't stop the world economy for the flu. We would stop it for ebola. Everything else is negotiation
This is nonsense. We didn't stop for Ebola, we would/will stop for some rare flus and we definitely should stop for this coronavirus.

There's no negotiation here. The ones to stop later will be the ones to suffer most.
 
I'm furious about this. So unnecessary and will literally result in British people's deaths.

That's the key word in this. Just completely unnecessary. It's a game of bloody football for god sake. Play it behind closed doors like they're doing throughout Europe.
 
As a Doctor who works in Liverpool it boggles my mind that the game is going on tonight with a full crowd including Atleti fans . Just absolute madness and pathetic decision making all around. I love football but this is just non sensical and asking for trouble

True. Very reactive than proactive in general.

Me and my mates from ireland all said they should have shut the country down two weeks ago.
 
I'm truly impressed by China. They are operating on a different level.
 
If you are on inhalers, it depends on the dose. Rinse your mouth with water and then spit out after the puffs which can reduce systemic absorption (will also reduce your risk of oral candida) but if you are on long term steroids/high dose inhalers or oral steroids then yes you would be what we consider immunocompromised.

Make sure you regularly take your relievers though and see your GP if you are still are using your salbutamol for wheeze as getting your preventer regimen in place more than anything will prevent you becoming unwell.

Thanks, my doctor had also warned me about the fungus and I keep forgetting to rinse.
I don't need salbutamol more than once a fortnight but, yes I'm on a long term high dose thing with other steroids.
 
I'm truly impressed by China. They are operating on a different level.

They've had to because their denial & initial lack of action put them in this position. Had they not fecked up at the start and started reacting to it even a week earlier than when they did, we would've all been much better off.
 
Mate was telling me that someone got tested positive for Covid-19 & their brother who lives with the infected patient (works with my mate) called 111 & said he’s not got any symptoms so what’s the advice. He got told to carry on as normal until they show symptoms.

Now I’m no expert, but I’m sure I’ve read symptoms can take up to 5 days to emerge & you can still spread it to others whilst not showing symptoms yourself. Surely the advice would be self-isolate for at least 5 days to make sure you don’t have it?! I really think people aren’t getting the right advice and/or are just being very easy about the whole thing whilst potentially infecting so many others.
 
This forum seems more concerned about the implications of letting thousands of lads from Madrid travel to Liverpool than the people over in RAWK.
 
They've had to because their denial & initial lack of action put them in this position. Had they not fecked up at the start and started reacting to it even a week earlier than when they did, we would've all been much better off.

Nonsense.

They had minor problems with local authorities which were quickly solved.

The world be looking differently to China when this ends.
 
@Sarni, you need to inform her manager that she's intending to ignore the self-isolation rule. It doesn't matter if she's mad about it, we all have to protect vulnerable people from stupid, selfish people.
 
I'm on a bunch of daily steroids for my asthma, I'm guessing that makes it worse for me if I get hit?
Having asthma would be your main worry. If you stop taking steroids if/when you’re diagnosed they’ll be out of your system before they’ll cause any problems. Tbh I don’t get the impression they cause much problems anyway. More that it’s surprising that they don’t help.
 
Having asthma would be your main worry. If you stop taking steroids if/when you’re diagnosed they’ll be out of your system before they’ll cause any problems. Tbh I don’t get the impression they cause much problems anyway. More that it’s surprising that they don’t help.

Is that due to the fibrosis that COVID-19 causes in the lungs?
 
I have a feeling that many Americans are going to learn that they don't actually have the best healthcare in the world. This could actually be the thing that convinces them that a single-payer system is the way to go.
Well, the majority are already in favour, as long as their taxes don't increase.
 
This is nonsense. We didn't stop for Ebola, we would/will stop for some rare flus and we definitely should stop for this coronavirus.

There's no negotiation here. The ones to stop later will be the ones to suffer most.
How did we not stop for Ebola? Which time? We have stopped it and stopepd for it a bunch of times.
 
But surely when that lockdown comes it's going to last for longer, than if you had acted earlier? The rate of infection is a lot higher than the rate of recovery (look at China, they're still weeks and weeks away from getting their total active cases down below 1000 - I.e. the stage we're at).

The ramp up should've started earlier, but as it didn't it needs to be accelerating right now.

In general I would imagine it's all very context dependent? The UK spokesperson today said their implementation of measures was based on data modelling of how best to push back the peak of the virus. Given that different countries would presumably be using different models and different data, you'd probably expect different timings in terms of implementing measures?

For example, let's say we accept that the coronavirus is going to be around regardless of what we do for X months and at some point every country will have to implement the harshest measures. One would imagine the optimal time for implementing the harshest measures within that time frame would vary from country to country depending on the circumstances. So a country like Ireland (with a younger population, more rural and relatively few community transmissions) would probably benefit more from a later implementation of those measures than a different country (say where there's a older, urban population with a higher degree of early community transmissions). It wouldn't make sense for me for them all to take the same "go heavy as soon as possible" approach when the pattern and timing of the illness could vary to such a degree.

Maybe they're also taking into account other factors, like trying to time the peak of the virus within the country for a time when they think there will be lower strain on the healthcare service from other illnesses? Or (if they really do believe that the virus may lull in the summer months) trying to time it so that the harshest measures end as the peak subsides?

I really have zero clue and am just speculating but intuitively it makes sense to me that it would be more complicated than just going hard and early.
 
Having asthma would be your main worry. If you stop taking steroids if/when you’re diagnosed they’ll be out of your system before they’ll cause any problems. Tbh I don’t get the impression they cause much problems anyway. More that it’s surprising that they don’t help.
I had my lungs checked on Saturday and they were clear. I just finished a z pack today, I read somewhere on here about holding your breath more than 10 seconds to check for fibrosis, I got way past that and no pain or discomfort (I stopped before I needed to at about 45 seconds).

I’m kind of resigned to getting this because I don’t think America is prepared. I am just hoping I am one of the recuperate at home people
 
Really? They done feck all for weeks and only at the last minute did they start looking people in their own homes. Also suspect deaths of the whistle blowers? Good on ya China.
They've had to because their denial & initial lack of action put them in this position. Had they not fecked up at the start and started reacting to it even a week earlier than when they did, we would've all been much better off.
Wait, they killed whistleblowers?

I get that the initial response was slow, but since it was a brand new problem I would expect that everywhere.
 
How did we not stop for Ebola? Which time? We have stopped it and stopepd for it a bunch of times.
The funny thing is that Ebola is not that dangerous in the sense that it's unlikely to cause a pandemic: its symptoms are quite clear and it kills very quickly. So it's relatively easy to isolate and contain.
 
Just occurred to me how mental it is that Liverpool Atletico isn't behind closed doors.

Surely they should've done that given the amount of cases in Madrid?
So Madrid has gone into lockdown with schools and colleges closing, La Liga games to be played behind closed doors and Atletico fans are allowed to travel to the UK to watch their team play Liverpool.

Seems legit
It's completely absurd and depressing. You see the reports coming from Madrid, just how bad it's getting there, and then let a couple thousand people from that place visit to sit really really really close together with several ten thousand other people. Who comes up with that shit? It's hard to accept, especially considering the measures being taken all over Europe, for example in the arts and music industry where pretty much everything is getting canceled, which will likely lead to quite a few permanent closures down the line. But the ultra rich football industry doesn't care.
 
@Sarni, you need to inform her manager that she's intending to ignore the self-isolation rule. It doesn't matter if she's mad about it, we all have to protect vulnerable people from stupid, selfish people.
Sure I will, I am actually responsible for BCP for my whole floor for coronavirus so it’s one my responsibilities. Today I had to lecture my whole team on the importance of not randomly going to the shopping mall to check whether there are any good deals available during breaks, and told them they have to take their computers back home every single day in case they get sick because I don’t really care if they ‘feel confident they can beat it at their age’. I will probably force my whole team to work from home from Monday anyway.