Coronavirus - those in China, and general discussion

[Shelley]

This is of course fine if you have a tiled bathroom floor with a drain in the lowest point and is easy to clean. Lots of home in the UK just have an ordinary floor, some like our has carpet tiles on top of lino on top of wooden floor boards.

This however is not the biggest problem if the pet has been left home alone.

[Guest realmayo]

23 hours ago, Dawei3 said:

Even just a handful of people in the stadium could have spread it.  

I understand the sentiment, but by the same reasoning no major city should be currently operating mass transit.

23 hours ago, Dawei3 said:

Even just a handful of people in the stadium could have spread it.  

I understand the sentiment, but by the same reasoning no major city should be currently operating mass transit.

23 hours ago, Dawei3 said:

Even just a handful of people in the stadium could have spread it.  

I understand the sentiment, but by the same reasoning no major city should be currently operating mass transit.

[roddy]

What I tell you three times is true. 

[Dawei3]

20 hours ago, Tomsima said:

every day in the whole two weeks we were in quarantine some one would call our room to check how we were doing physically and mentally, asking if there was anything they could do to help re things needing to be done in the outside world

This is very impressive.  While I would expect Americans to care about each other (hopefully), I wouldn't expect this level of interaction.  It's a nice aspect of Chinese culture.  

[889]

"It's a nice aspect of Chinese culture."

 

Except that Tomsima was talking about his treatment back in the U.K. And contrasting it with his treatment in China.

[Tomsima]

Im afraid I was indeed commenting on the different responses from two very different governments. Yichang has just announced its most stringent measures yet: you are no longer allowed to leave your house, not even to go to your vegetable growing area. Nobody is allowed to interact with anybody at any time, unless officially approved…

[suMMit]

well, i also think china has more on it hands, they arent going to have resources right noe to call people up and ask about their mental state

[Flickserve]

@Tomsima

 

what with Europe getting cases and China improving, it would be a strange quirk if you booked a ticket back to China. 

[dtcamero]

7 minutes ago, Flickserve said:

 

@Tomsima

 

what with Europe getting cases and China improving, it would be a strange quirk if you booked a ticket back to China. 

 

 

i think china’s improvement is probably meaningless and all the work they spent isolating everyone was probably just a delay tactic if the virus spreads to other counties (as it has).

americans and europeans won’t put up with the same level of heavy-handed government intervention. 

once china fully reopens for business it will only take a handful of foreigners to start spreading it again, this time in first-tier cities.

the thing will just have to run it’s course until the weather warms up.

[Tomsima]

it does seem very bizarre that we're finally out of quarantine and now businesses and schools are starting to close due to virus fears. Ive noticed that people here seem to be responding a lot more seriously now that cases in Italy are taking off, doesn't feel so foreign and fast from home anymore it would seem. Definitely not looking at tickets back to china until we see how things pan out at the beginning of summer

 

[Ruben von Zwack]

Tomsima, were people in China in general compliant, and did they think the quarantine and all makes sense? I'm a bit disturbed about my countryfolks who refuse to "believe" any of this. They think it's just a government plot to distract everyone from politics and whatnot.

[Guest realmayo]

3 hours ago, Ruben von Zwack said:

omsima, were people in China in general compliant, and did they think the quarantine and all makes sense? I'm a bit disturbed about my countryfolks who refuse to "believe" any of this. They think it's just a government plot to distract everyone from politics and whatnot

 

Very interested in this remark, it chimes with what I've come across, at least until the last couple of days.

Do you think those of us with more access to news from China find it easier to bridge the "this is some ghastly distant foreign thing, I can't believe it will really affect us" gap?

I mean, I've had lots of wechat with quarantined friends in hubei, seen loads of horrid twitter videos, I worried recently maybe I was too worried or too caught up in it. But something was nagging: this thing screwed up China, China isn't all that far or all that different, what's happening there will likely happen here, at least a bit.

Personally, I'm assuming I'll probably get corona in the UK - I really don't know if my exposure to Chinese media makes me more realistic than others in the UK or more paranoid.

[Tomsima]

My experience might be biased as I was in Hubei when it all began to blow up and have family and friends that work in medical in Wuhan, so most people I have been in contact with have either first or second hand experience of what was happening in hospitals before international media got interested. So yes, from my experience everyone was very supportive of quarantine measures, most if not all calling for a better response than sars (in january most people were saying the virus was the return of sars). Coming back to the uk I'm pleased to say ive not heard much about fake news, cover ups, conspiracy theories etc., its more just apathy and 'that asian disease that won't make it over here because its so far away'. Italy has been a bit of a wake up call, kind of feel like people are almost surprised that non-chinese people are somehow…able to pass on the virus to other non-chinese people…

[abcdefg]

52 minutes ago, Tomsima said:

...its more just apathy and 'that asian disease that won't make it over here because its so far away'. Italy has been a bit of a wake up call, kind of feel like people are almost surprised that non-chinese people are somehow…able to pass on the virus to other non-chinese people…

 

That also seems to be the sentiment here, in my corner of Texas. But some people must be reading the world news, because all the local pharmacies which I have tried have sold out of masks. Hand sanitizer is still easily available. (As of yesterday, 27 February.) 

 

 

[js6426]

Having read that the number of cases outside of China was more than those in China yesterday (although that may be in part due to the way in which they are diagnosing now), along with hearing from an expert who believes it will be under control in China by the end of April, I am very interested to see what will happen in regards to getting back to uni.  The hot-spot right now seems to be South Korea, and half of my class at uni (in Harbin) are South Korean students.  I don't know what percentage of all the international students are South Korean, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out it was in the region of 75% or so.  I wonder if this will further push back the date people can return, even in light of a potentially controlled situation in China. 

[StChris]

I'm due to head back to Europe at the beginning of April. I could be leaving China just at the time when things are returning to normal here, only to arrive in Europe just as things are really going into full scale outbreak mode there. I hope I don't end up getting quarantined in my home in the UK for another month!

 

The difference in Chinese and foreign media responses to the virus is pretty stark. In China you just have a single, official narrative. In western countries, you have as many narratives as their are political/personal agendas:

- the anti-open borders crowd using it as an example of the need for greater border control

- the anti-Trump crowd hoping to somehow pin the blame on him, hoping it crashes the economy in time for the election and/or even hoping he dies from the virus

- the doomsday people taking the worst-case scenarios as fact and salivating at the prospect of a massive outbreak 

- the clickbaiters looking to make a quick buck

- conspiracy theorists talking about how it is a secret weapon run amok

 

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to watch some CCTV for some uplifting stories about how the government has everything under control and about how united everyone is in their battle against this virus.

[ChTTay]

6 hours ago, Tomsima said:

So yes, from my experience everyone was very supportive of quarantine measures

This has been my experience in Henan and in Beijing. I have Chinese colleagues who literally didn’t leave their apartment for 14+ days voluntarily. Not even to go for a stroll, buy groceries etc. Most people stay in as much as possible only going out for provisions. You can’t actually get in anywhere without a mask so 99.9% of people wear one all the time. Even when probably unnecessary to do so. Entering anywhere requires a temperature check and for you to wear a mask. I’ve never seen anyone take issue with these. 
 

My friend took a trip to Tiananmen and said he was the only one there. The guard (in English) told him he should just stay home. 
 

The only thing I see that people struggle with in daily life is lining up and leaving space (1 metre) between people in the queue. Of course it’s this! At the supermarket there are signs but I still had some lady elbowing me when I hadn’t even finished. 

[Dawei3]

Here's a very insightful blog:  Past Time to Tell the Public: “It Will Probably Go Pandemic, and We Should All Prepare Now” https://virologydownunder.com/past-time-to-tell-the-public-it-will-probably-go-pandemic-and-we-should-all-prepare-now/

 

Many US Experts are hesitant to give any recommendations.  CDC recently recommended "preparing for the virus."  When this was discussed in national news (I think ABC?),  the commentator asked the news show's medical consultant "Does that mean people should stockpile food?" and the medical expert said "no."  Both the CDC and the expert gave zero advice on what Americans SHOULD do to prepare.    

[Jan Finster]

15 hours ago, Ruben von Zwack said:

Tomsima, were people in China in general compliant, and did they think the quarantine and all makes sense? I'm a bit disturbed about my countryfolks who refuse to "believe" any of this. They think it's just a government plot to distract everyone from politics and whatnot.

 

Denial is a powerful psychological defense mechanism.

 

To me the reaction here in Germany is a mixed bag: I see people buying shopping carts full of noodles, rice, water and chocolate as if they were preparing for the apocalypse. The local thermal bath on the other hand was packed full of people yesterday as if nothing had happened or as if sauna was the best prevention of coronavirus.

Then there is the notion among younger people that influenza is so much worse and this is all out of proportion. Plus, people believe it only really kills the old and/or diseased (so why should I bother). Then medical experts on TV say that masks really are not effective. Some think there is really little you can do to avoid being infected other  than locking yourself in your apartment for several months. Obviously, you would lose your job, so this is really unrealistic. So, you are pretty much left with "let us keep our fingers crossed".

[Flickserve]

7 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

sauna was the best prevention of coronavirus.

 

This is a really bad place to be in. High chance of transmission of infection. Lots of water droplets.