UK authorities are not even screening at airports yet.  We returned last night, over 300 of us on a plane, all who had been on a cruise ship around the infected areas in Asia.  Should we be screening, or are other countries who are screening over reacting?

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He will probably be fine, especially if he isn't reading this thread.

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It has to be said though that a cruise ship is probably  one of the  best vectors for any contagious disease.  You have a  lot of people sharing a common air con (I bet it doesn't have virus filters)  close living quarters, recreation areas and dining areas.  Lots of people all using the same door handles (etc etc).

 

 

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A British man on his honeymoon is one of 61 passengers on a cruise ship docked in Japan who are confirmed to have coronavirus.

Alan Steele, 58, of Wolverhampton, is one of 41 British passengers on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which is under two weeks’ quarantine in the port of Yokohama near Tokyo. In total there are 3,650 passengers and crew on board.

So far, 20% of those being tested on the cruise ship are reading positive.

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I bet the Japs probably wish they refused docking and sent it somewhere else, like the Italians do to migrant vessels

 

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The authorities have been too slow to react. Colleague of mine in Copenhagen has just emailed to say Terminal 3 there is in lockdown:

"Chinese woman in CPH airport has been taken to isolate for corona test after becoming ill with influenza symptoms during flight

Terminal 3 is in lockdown

And the stupid tulips have no idea where all the other passengers are!"

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Revenge of the pangolin?

"China scientists identify pangolin as possible coronavirus host

The deadly coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins, the world's only scaly mammals, which are prized in Asia for food and medicine, Chinese researchers said.

The pangolin is one of Asia's most trafficked mammals, although protected by international law, because its meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China and its scales are used in traditional medicine, the World Wildlife Fund says."

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But nobody has said ONLY the old and infirm, just that those groups are the most vulnerable.

 

In passing, here in Singapore, aside from more people wearing face masks everything is still quite normal.  They have a very good healthcare system here and are going the same tracing of possible contacts that the UK is doing.

The latest news here is that there are now 28 cases but over half are within five families and some with links to the first case.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/what-we-know-about-the-5-families-among-singapore-s-confirmed-12400658

 

 

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Fiat Chrysler has warned that one of its European plants will be forced to halt its production in a matter of days due to a parts shortage as a consequence of supply issues from China.

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The world’s stock markets are falling because there will be some significant disruption if this crisis continues, as seems likely.

Maybe the UK might have to look beyond Huawei if this gets really serious...

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Good to bear from you Gandalf.  We arrived home last night and I have to say there seems to be more news here in the UK than there was in Singapore and the other Asian countries we visited.  We hardly heard the virus mentioned but were screened for high temperatures at every port where we disembarked for excursions.  It seems odd that there’s more panic in the UK, yet we weren’t screened on our return to Birmingham airport. 

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Yes, we were met at Singapore dock with the news that Chinese companies were losing out on the markets due to the virus.  That was the only news we got really, other than the odd fellow passenger remarking about isolated cases they’d heard about but there was absolutely no panic.  It’s interesting how perceptions and concerns differ across the world. 

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...from record highs yesterday. E.G. the Dow Jones:

https://www.ig.com/uk/indices/markets-indices/wall-street

Doubtless they'll fall again, another good buying opportunity!

(Just like SARS, in that respect. Mass panic = cheap shares.)

 

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Quantum thinks it's out of control in Singapore, so you should panic now.

Yes, I’d say you’re right.  Although the ship we were on had automatic doors, hand sanitiser dispensers everywhere and regular reminders to use them.  In addition to your comments, the plane we came home on had over 300 passengers, all who had been on the same cruise ship, a 13 hour flight, all in close proximity, breathing the same air!  Even more chance of spreading a virus.

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Glad you’re back safely and didn’t have your holiday affected.

We spoke to a number of people on our short cruise who had had their next leg up to Beijing cancelled.  

They were very careful on our ship. The company cancelled the bookings of anyone who had been in China in the previous two weeks and were emphasising the need for regular and thorough hand washing. There were also sanitising fluid dispensers outside every food outlet.

Singapore has over 5.5 million people and 28 is an infinitesimally small proportion- and they’re all traceable to people who have been in or come from China or close contacts.

 

 

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Quantum thinks Brexit is a good idea.  I think his judgement is questionable.

Is he still holed up at home?

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Last I heard he was trying to go into a spaceship in order to survive the virus.

I heard he's looking for blogs which claim the mortality rate is 60%. Minimum.

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I heard he's looking for a Twinkie Bar

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Continue to mock me, it's nice to see people are not taking this seriously.

Meanwhile: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/coronavirus-outbreak-alert-upped-to-orange-as-more-cases-surface-with-no-known-links-more

 

So yes it is going out of control in Singapore.

 

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And why people think the high mortality rate is a source of amusment is something else I don't understand. 10% is a conservative estimate based on some of the literature being put out. There are higher figures being reported. And yes, it may well be the case, there are a bunch of mild cases that may partially or fully ofsett the lag effect but if that is the case it suggests R0 is far higher than the already high value it is estimated to be.

Nothing about this is good or a source of amusment. And the people that panicked unnecessarily about brexit are, ironically, the ones that are not taking this seriously. Alot of reputable medical proffesionals think that a pandemic is inevitable and we can only slow down the spread.

 

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Quantum, that's just boll**ks.  Try reading the link I provide details above: they know about every case and, as far as I can see, they've all got a link to people arriving from China.

Your posts are dangerous, misleading, scaremongering nonsense.

 

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Oh the irony.

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