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Post by essien on Mar 2, 2020 14:14:38 GMT -5
Interested to get some discussion going on this.
How bad do you think it could get? What are things like in your locale? Has it impacted your day at all?
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Post by Calvinball on Mar 2, 2020 16:04:45 GMT -5
I'm not very concerned about it, the way I see it as more time passes we will learn more and more and can only get better at treating and preventing it. Even if I happen to get it it's mortality rate isn't high enough for me to alter the way I live my life. I think we had a case in Cleveland, I don't know how people are affected by it because I'm just not even talking about it.
In the here and now I'm more concerned of the effects of the reaction, the stock market had a good day but was really not doing well for the past week, and it's not expected to reverse course. I'm more worried about the fear of that affecting my company's sales goals for 2020, and the potential fallout of a stock market correction. (on a side note if bitcoin dips down to 6k I might actually buy some)
It's kind of a cold approach, but even if a worldwide outbreak happens and everyone gets it, there's nothing I can do about it. If it gets really bad in my area there's nothing I can really do about it. Hell I don't know if there's any scenario where there's something I can do about it. And until there is, I'm going to live my life and not let this stress me out.
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 2, 2020 18:06:20 GMT -5
Right, I think we should essentially treat this as a bad flu. And the numbers bear it out: after Wuhan -- where people either were treated poorly or not at all -- the rate of fatality from infection is under 1%, trending to 0.8%. Now, that's still a lot! The "regular" flu is usually around 0.1% fatality (often lower) in the United States, and this virus seems to be spreading when people are barely symptomatic, making it tricky to prevent as people don't even know they're sick yet. And apparently some have been getting very ill who don't have any other chronic morbidities, so that's a little scary.
That said, it's never a bad idea to do all the things the CDC is suggesting: wash your hands (well), don't cough onto things or people or even your own hands, clean surfaces that are publicly used often, and stay home from work or school when you start to feel sick. The numbers are already declining in China, hinting that perhaps the virus can run its course in 2-3 months. Sounds bad, but it's hope that the worst was there and other countries will have deaths for sure but likely nothing to that initial extent.
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 2, 2020 20:38:48 GMT -5
Well, I’m sure you guys can imagine I’d have plenty to say on this, as I have already done a few times back around the time I had appendicitis. Shanghai has quite a lot of cases, but not nearly what Wuhan has, of course. In Kunshan, where I work(ed) (as the government shut down schools immediately and still haven’t decided when to reopen schools) there were about 10-14 cases. No new cases in Kunshan for the past week and a half. But it does not matter here how comforting the numbers may be in some areas, as everyone treats it as if the virus is everywhere. This is something which I see heavily criticized in western news outlets, but I also see some brave Chinese people writing about it on their WeChat moments, as if to prove that they are brave and the virus is no big deal. Well, no matter which stance you take, I know my stance, which is to take extra precautions because I live with a family these days, my wife and son, and her parents. I’m not interested in risking anyone else getting sick. Stats show that the virus mostly severely impact the older population. Youngers usually only experience mild symptoms.
Whether you are on the side which criticizes China’s extreme take on controlling the situation or praises China’s efforts does not matter to me. This time has been very revealing of the truthful reality which is that western news and local news will continue to paint entirely different pictures of the scene. This only creates confusion and total distrust for media altogether for people like me who are caught in the middle. Furthermore, although I am an American, I really don’t appreciate the attempts American media has made out of this to attack China politically. The political agenda of some western publications further create my distrust for media on this.
I have only left the house three times since January 20th, and all three times were for my trips to the hospital. In order to go out of the apartment community and to enter other areas, you are subject to temperature checks. I’m not quite fully sure how they handle the situation when someone shows a fever, although I almost got to experience that coming home from the hospital, as they first took my temperature from my wrist, which gave an incorrect reading most likely because I was wearing a warm glove. When they saw my temperature was in a fever range, their facial expressions quickly changed, and they looked like they were ready for outbreak protocol. But they did one more read on my forehead because my wife told them I was fine an hour ago. And it got a correct read the second time and they were relieved. I believe if I had truly had a fever, they would have brought me to a coronavirus suspicion section of a hospital to confirm my illness, which has also apparently been a way some people got the virus, being put into a place with others who had the virus.
Shanghai is an amazing place. Scratch that. China is an amazing place. Culturally, it is so different, and yet so similar. The people here are so different, but they’re also the same. I love being here, and I in fact love this place. That further creates complications for me in trusting media. But whatever. Nowhere is perfect. I personally think China is doing great work in fighting it. Shanghai has already flown groups of 500 doctors to Wuhan 8 times now. 4,000 doctors, more or less. And more and more army soldiers fly into Wuhan all the time. The bravery of all of these people, knowing they are entering a totally infected city is remarkable. While the numbers of the virus in China are going down overall, Wuhan is still in increased numbers by the day. So no, this isn’t all over or going away. And even more startling was South Korea confirming 800 new cases in one day.
I have no predictions about how long this will last, as information and misinformation spreads like wildfires. In order to go out of the apartment community and be a part of the environment, you have to wear a mask. Without one, you cannot go out. Meanwhile, western news is saying don’t wear masks, also spoken in a news article in my yahoo news email this morning. It creates a lot of stress, but it also brings comfort to people. No idea about any answers. I’m thankful I’m in a good place during these times. And contrary to many of my western co-workers, I believe I’m in a safer place because I am in China, in a city that is taking this very seriously. I think that the US will downplay the significance of this virus, which Trump has certainly done already, lying about how many people had contracted it recently and suggesting it will go away so quickly. I think it’s potentially okay, and yet also a potentially dangerous attitude. Prevention is the safest bet, amidst all the ignorance surrounding this virus, which we still don’t fully understand today. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, I just hope everyone will stay safe and the virus will be gone soon.
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Post by zelio on Mar 3, 2020 3:28:49 GMT -5
First of all, thanks Stringypoo for the insights you provided about the situation in CN, that was extremeley interesting. What I wonder about is were do yall get your food? Do you still go shopping? Do you have it delivered? In my city of 2 Million in Germany we've had 3 cases, I am really not worried, but apparently some people are: there are some reports in the news that people buy and store food and desinfectants so some stores have run out of them. My wife is scared because she has to use public transportation every day but I think that's irrational. I think that now is a good time to buy stock. Regarding what stringypoo said about the media: I feel the same way since I've started reading and watching media from outside Germany. It may be a good idea to consume local and foreign media and then try to figure out what could be reality somewhere in between the 2.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Mar 3, 2020 3:48:45 GMT -5
Hasn't affected me in the UK so far although if we have a scenario like Italy where cases go through the roof within a month then it'll soon change.
How realistic is it that the Euros will get called off? Surely the idea of hosting games around Europe with this going on isn't smart?
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 3, 2020 5:51:43 GMT -5
zelio, I’ve been pretty lucky to live in my wife’s parents’ home, where I never have to think about getting groceries and stuff. But to answer your curiosity, markets are open here and there, although some will close frequently, and basically lessen their open hours. Many of the smaller businesses just stay closed. But my wife’s mom goes out to the nearby farmers’ market every other day and buys groceries then. The markets like that have been pretty reliable. And some of the grocery stores that are bigger and deliver groceries to you also are functioning now. So by foot or delivery, the virus didn’t slow down the ability to get groceries completely, but for some people in certain areas, I’m sure it’s much more complicated now.
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Post by theblackpage on Mar 3, 2020 13:38:23 GMT -5
As of today there are 24 people infected in The Netherlands. They all live like 2 hours away from me so I'm not that worried about them. I live near the german border and the first German that got the virus was in a small town only 20 minutes away from my place. If you add up that carnaval was last week and there were a lot of parades and drinking going on in almost every town/city in the southern region of The Netherlands I'm still surprised that the number of infections hasn't rised yet. I'm not that worried about it but ofcourse you will do extra things like wash your hands a lot more. I work in a hotel and here we now have loads of disinfection wipes and gels and placed them at the reception/toilets and we clean our desks/computers/pin terminal/phones when we end our shifts. So far life just goes on and we all follow the news (I stopped watching stuff about it since the news here are blowing everything up and some websites maintain a liveblog where even the slightest cough will get a mention). I just checked and they made a post about a guy who is not feeling well and how they put him in quarantine and currently doing tests on him to see if he got the virus. stringypoo a little bit offtopic here but I agree on how beautiful China is! Currently there is this Dutch show airing called ''Who is the mole?'' and it's about a group of people who are travelling through China and they have to do challenges and earn money but there is one mole in the group trying to sabotage them and he/she must try and keep the money as low as possible. They use a lot of drone footage in it and with some assignments they also need the help of the Chinese people which leads to very funny situations because they barely speak any English. Here is the (stunning) leader of the show. A little bit offtopic but I just want to know that I'm agreeing with how beautiful China is and I now want to visit it haha. |
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Post by stfubaker on Mar 6, 2020 2:05:55 GMT -5
I was in Japan for 2 weeks. Feb 13-28th. We never really had any problems. A lot of people were wearing masks, and there was soap/sanitizer everywhere. We didn't experience stuff like Stringy is saying. Though, the day before we left, they shut down the schools and a lot of tourist hotspots. They had cancelled an anime convention at the end of March, and started talking about cancelling the Olympics. Also, going in and out of Japan, if you had a Chinese Passport or had a stamp from them in the past few weeks, you were straight up denied entry.
Vancouver haven't had shit, and people out here are freaking the fuck out.
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 6, 2020 17:28:38 GMT -5
Damn.
What next?
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Post by Hooka. on Mar 6, 2020 21:00:36 GMT -5
Not to much has changed here in Australia, media is playing it up and people are panic buying toilet paper to the extent that most of the supermarkets are sold out. Unless you have a weak immune system or a pre-existing condition from what i have read you don't really have to be too concerned.
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Post by essien on Mar 7, 2020 5:19:23 GMT -5
stringypoo a little bit offtopic here but I agree on how beautiful China is! Currently there is this Dutch show airing called ''Who is the mole?'' and it's about a group of people who are travelling through China and they have to do challenges and earn money but there is one mole in the group trying to sabotage them and he/she must try and keep the money as low as possible. They use a lot of drone footage in it and with some assignments they also need the help of the Chinese people which leads to very funny situations because they barely speak any English. Here is the (stunning) leader of the show. A little bit offtopic but I just want to know that I'm agreeing with how beautiful China is and I now want to visit it haha. We need to talk about Nathan's trim:  |
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Post by essien on Mar 7, 2020 5:21:40 GMT -5
This video from Bill Gates is kinda prophetic:
Even if this virus isn't the big one, it does feel like we're super underprepared and that humanity's weaknesses have been exposed.
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Post by essien on Mar 7, 2020 5:33:09 GMT -5
Cases in the UK are steadily on the rise and we've had our first two deaths from the virus in the past week. It hasn't impacted me yet but I think that could change soon. I wouldn't mind self-isolating - I've got a pretty big Netflix and gaming backlog to get through  My work involves employee communications, so we're having to do some scenario planning at the moment. It's given me an appreciation for how big of an impact a pandemic can have on family life, the economy, supply chains, etc. I know some people are of the view that 'unless your body sucks you'll be fine' but that totally ignores the bigger picture. My first world coronavirus problems are that I'm currently putting off booking a holiday/vacation until we have a clearer picture of what's going to happen, and hoping Man City vs Real Madrid doesn't get played behind closed doors because I've been looking forward to it for weeks. |
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Post by theblackpage on Mar 7, 2020 9:17:19 GMT -5
stringypoo a little bit offtopic here but I agree on how beautiful China is! Currently there is this Dutch show airing called ''Who is the mole?'' and it's about a group of people who are travelling through China and they have to do challenges and earn money but there is one mole in the group trying to sabotage them and he/she must try and keep the money as low as possible. They use a lot of drone footage in it and with some assignments they also need the help of the Chinese people which leads to very funny situations because they barely speak any English. Here is the (stunning) leader of the show. A little bit offtopic but I just want to know that I'm agreeing with how beautiful China is and I now want to visit it haha. We need to talk about Nathan's trim: Dude! He is the best haha. He played for the football team I support and he is such a positive guy on/off the field. That's his trademark lol.  Also this haha |
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