This is what makes me doubt the Chinese numbers outside of Hubei. For the Chinese to have virtually eradicated it (outside Hubei),  seems almost scientificly impossible. 

They may simply not be testing for it beyond hospital cases. There are probably thousands more that have it but have just stayed at home until they feel better.

ive been looking for comparisons so where is the source for that data?

Astounding number of people from Italy testing positive (both WRT to UK and elsewhere)

I can't believe they  have all been to the restricted area.  maybe time to   tighten the FO advice on Italy as a whole ?

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy

They'd have to be insane to know that, DEW! I'm sure you understand the point I made.

R

I'm still amazed how little testing is going on at UK airports for arrivals from Italy most are just able to walk through freely with maybe an 'advice' leaflet

You meaning measuring their temperature or quarantining everyone that flies in from Italy until they can be tested for the virus? If it the former then it would miss a large number of (almost?) asymptomatic cases, if the latter then good luck quarantining hundreds or thousands of healthy people in case some might have the virus.

fatality/recovered is your number...

Best thing would be for everyone to relax and back off a bit, DrM. No need for anyone to whip up a frenzy. Advice given so far is sound, given there are not a lot of options.

Roger

The numbers don't stack up for Italy - here is the comparison with SK from this evening:

                     TOTAL NEW  DIED NEW DEATHS ACTIVE RECOVERED CRITICAL

We are supposed to believe that Italy with half the number of infected people has twice the death rate of SK?

Pull the other one.

Given the extraordinary numbers who visit Italy and then return infected, the general level of infection in Italy is presumably that much higher than in SK.

The UK government should have advised against all but essential travel to Italy.

More than 50% of positives are asymptomatic - what sort of testing could the airport effect for detection?

The death toll in Italy is skewed by the high percentage of elderly who are admitted as critical cases with hypoxemia and ARDS. From confirmation to outcome (death) is hours or a couple of days. Pressure on specialist beds will probably mean some drastic triage is taking place - the 'Three Wise Men' have an unenviable task.

In all honesty this is probably the best way to go as in reality that's what will happen anyway as there is no vaccine/cure.The govt are NOT concerned with the virus but they are shitting themselves over the economy and nhs collapsing!!

There is no avoiding it altogether, but the responsible course of action is to take every measure to delay the full onset for as long as possible (spring/summer would be an easier time to deal with it) and to try to keep the flow of new cases as uniformly low as possible, to prevent the health service from being completely overwhelmed.

We are currently in the containment phase, but once home grown cases start to increase exponentially, the authorities will have to move into a mitigation phase.

We are told that humans are not immune. What's the dfference between that and people who carry the virus but have no symptoms?

I would not be surprised to see foreign travel curtailed quite soon, with restrictions on domestic travel following.

That would be the sensible thing to do,sooner rather than later esp foreign travel.