active cases have dropped for 11 days in succession

Originally Posted by: speckledjim 

Coronavirus: I have the coronavirus. So far, it isn't that bad

Read it and make up your own mind how serious this is and whether the response so far is proportionate or not.

Originally Posted by: Essan 

Those claiming active cases are dropping in number, are ignoring Iran. Given that there are no credible statistics from Iran, there will doubtless be thousands more than the stats indicate.

Originally Posted by: Maunder Minimum 

To be blunt some people in this thread were rubbishing the Chinese stats once the numbers started falling. I don't know the truth but I doubt the Chinese are blatantly lying.

Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze 

Satellite images have shown a dramatic decline in pollution levels over China, which is "at least partly" due to an economic slowdown prompted by the coronavirus, US space agency Nasa says.

So, it's just a reception area to keep possible Covid-19 patients away from staff and other patients.  Seems like a sensible precaution provided it's signposted and they manage to move the bins....

Originally Posted by: Gandalf The White 

I suspect it is close to the patients' smoking corner, Gandalf!

It will be fine unless a trickle becomes a flood. Let's hope it doesn't.

R.

Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons 

To be blunt some people in this thread were rubbishing the Chinese stats once the numbers started falling. I don't know the truth but I doubt the Chinese are blatantly lying.

Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze 

I trust the Chinese stats to some extent, but Iran are clearly hiding the true extent. Just look at the COVID-19 deaths they have admitted to (the BBC reckons it is 4 times as many in any case), but there are clearly thousands infected in Iran and it should be taken into account in the figures, instead of the published figure.

P.S. just read the following:

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran, believes she has contracted the new coronavirus

Iran official death toll reached 43 as the country prepares to test 'tens of thousands'

Originally Posted by: Maunder Minimum 

 I'm more interested in whether China, South Korea and Italy can control and eliminate the virus. 

Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze 

Most of my transactions involve contactless.

Originally Posted by: westv 

Move along now, virus is so yesterday...

lets have a street party instead

Originally Posted by: The Beast from the East 

Most of my transactions involve contactless.

Originally Posted by: westv 

Same with most people, I'd imagine. Of course, that only works up to £30 a pop!

I wonder if we'll see people taking more of an interest in things like shopping basket handles, door handles, keyboards and so on...

Originally Posted by: Retron 

This is more like the truth - a report by a Times correspondent actually in Tehran:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/tehran-is-a-ghost-town-haunted-by-rumours-of-200-dead-rz8bwcnhd

"For the past week I have watched Tehran become a ghost town after the coronavirus hit. It has infected thousands across the country and killed at least 210, according to the country’s health service.

Museums and schools are closed as the government tries to combat the virus — while being accused of downplaying the risks. Unofficial figures, disputed by the state, suggest that 83,000 might be infected, with more than 200 dead.

..."

Originally Posted by: Maunder Minimum 

Indeed, it must be more than 3 years now that I have stopped carrying cash and rely mostly on my phone for payments.

Interesting what you say about door handles, I've always tried to avoid touching door handles and the taps in toilets (I use paper), it sounds excessive & hypochondriac, but touching them does increase the risk of getting bugs. It's funny seeing people washing their hands and then touching the taps and the toilet door handles, people who don't wash their hand at all are probably better off!

Originally Posted by: xioni2