Off the top of my head I think in this thread we've read:

1) About death rates of 50% or even higher

2) Suggestion that people cancel their holidays

3) Lifestyle changes such as avoiding meeting people in groups

Ignoring the first point as it's ludicrous, the 2 other points you listed there may well be realised...I don't think it's outlandish.

Agree with Crewe apart from the first one probably sound advice. 

Rather than copying and pasting I will point you to this post:

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twocommunity/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1180331#post1180331

Well I believe it's imperative we try to slow this down as summer approaches and hopefully gives us a helping hand. That way we can get through to autumn and winter when a vaccine should be ready. 

This could of course change, but..

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice
The FCO is currently advising against all travel to Hubei Province, and against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China. If you’re in China and able to leave, you should do so. See the latest travel advice for China.

The FCO is not advising against travel to any other country/territory as a result of coronavirus risks.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

So Q has different views and opinions on this subject? So what? He has obviously been concerned about all of this. If his views/thoughts/opinions on all of this are so blatantly out of kilter with your own (not you specifically btw) then just roll your eyes and read along. 

There has been some really quite demeaning posts in here, from one person in particular, that are just not needed. Then on top of that it at times gets personal and becomes a complete character assassination. It really just isn't cricket in my opinion and is why online forums can quickly become echo chambers.

It's a rapidly evolving situation so I would expect more countries to be added soon. But the virus will likely be everywhere soon so stopping people traveling probably won't make that much difference. 

What I've heard is it will take at least a year for a vaccine but who knows really.

I posted a heartfelt, fairly long post in here about how Q made me feel like absolute crap prior to my trip away.

He didn’t even acknowledge it. 

Bullying is never acceptable but as well as this we should all take some responsibility for how our posts come across and the genuine effects they can have on other people. 

I also agree that some of the posts aimed at Q have been unnecessary and OTT. 

Sorry, but this is just ridiculous.  If you've been reading this thread it is impossible to actually believe what you've written.

Everyone has a responsibility towards others when posting online. It was just in my mind we know little about Q, nor others for that matter. We don't know people's mental state nor other aspects of their life. I remember seeing a post from Q where he quite clearly asked a forum member to 'leave him alone'. That was a clear request for a bit of a respite IMO and a clear sign things were getting to him. 

What seems a bit of gentle poking to some is a major trauma to others, I just wanted to point it out.

Yes, I believe what I have written or I wouldn't have written it.

I think Wolfgang Pauli nailed it. "It's not even wrong."

It's still ridiculous.

I made a number of posts and every time Q assumed they were directed at him when there was no basis for that belief.  That aside he has made a series of ludicrous assertions and then rowed back: I was in Singapore for almost three weeks and there is absolutely no doubt that he (and others) wholly and absurdly misrepresented and exaggerated what was happening there.  

If someone keeps telling you that black is white and you keep pointing out that they're wrong that is not bullying.

Thanks for that, Ulric - it has made my day/week/month.

R

That's why IMO it is best to consultant the government website and WHO. I posted direct links to both yesterday but they were roundly ignored. 

Q was posting about the dire situation in Singapore and that they’d lost control etc, yet Gandalf, Joe and I were there and it was nothing like that.   Why would anyone want to make a serious situation even more serious?

Hopefully we can continue this thread amicably with facts and real news.

Or not commented on as (hopefully) most people will, as you recommend, just use these or other equally reliable sources.

More generally trying to predict the spread of a virus especially a new one is nigh on impossible. Caz, GtW and Joe weren’t lucky as such, just not very unlucky. The current chances in most countries of contracting Covid-19 is statistically tiny. In this country currently the risk is essentially insignificant from zero. If the virus does become widespread it may end up being like the flu in one if its forms. It is just impossible to know. In “less developed” countries it is not/will not be possible to restrict the spread of the virus and I’m not convinced many more developed countries could either. 

Common sense and perspective are very important.

I have been following Q's postings with interest. I don't agree with all his assertions by any means, but on the other hand he is not setting out to be a diplomat and pussyfoot around the topic. He does not need me to defend his approach. He is posting items from his many searches that he has judged to be relevant and interesting, even concerning. His style is succinct, even abrupt, and he has sometimes been wrong in his extrapolations. Were he one of my students I would say: "Explain that you are gathering information as part of a "thought experiment"; and the derivative information you find may be of limited value, inadequate or even be wrong. Explain why you find it relevant and interesting - give weight to your judgements. Give your sources and explain what the gaps are in the information." He probably assumes we will take all this as a given - and I am sure he will correct me if I am wrong in my observations here.

I would go on to say that Q's efforts to find and present information are to be encouraged, same goes for all posters here. He need not trouble to butter them up with sweetness and light, or elegant prose, but it would be helpful to have a more critical interpretation of his data, and more of a sense of "But I can't be sure because..." and "I could be wrong", as we can all be confident there is a lot more of this story to emerge, not all of it positive. Were he to do that I believe a good deal of heated exasperation would evaporate from this thread.

Roger

If people want to take extreme measures, that’s fine, but don’t lead others into panic.