Sounds like it could be a bit of a chest infection coming on NickR. Have been there (and am there currently) many times. Hacky cough, tight, painful chest, feels like you are inhaling cobwebs when breathing in and a general feeling of intense fatigue, but all without much sign of fever. No harm in popping into the doc just to make sure. 

Wizz Air is the latest carrier to suspend flights to Milan - this is why:

My fully-boarded flight from London to Milan. #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/VlOYnLFElJ

— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) March 3, 2020

Yes, my forthcoming trip to Romania next week has now been cancelled by my employer

The NYT is reporting the following, but it is impossible to read the full article because it is behind a paywall:

"Coronavirus Live Updates: Global Mortality Rate Reaches 3.4 Percent

The World Health Organization confirmed that Covid-19 is deadlier than the seasonal flu"

 Yes that is difficult as there always many viruses around causing similiar type symptoms. From what i have read the virus starts with a raised temperature , then 2-3 days of feeling off but not necessarily feeling too ill to work and then it attacks the lungs giving a tight chest , shortness of breath and general lethargy.

The point will come when the risk here is much the same as most places, hot spots aside.  

We’re going to have to deal with another Coronavirus circulating in the population.  To think it was someone selling a wild animal illegally in a market in some unremarkable distant city just three months ago that has triggered all this growing chaos.

All rather sobering, IMO.  All these threats of which people are mostly oblivious.

 Doctor on t.v. just now said that figure is skewed and it is nearer 1% at the moment. I am afraid i did not hear all of it.

That was reported and discussed here last night.

That figures includes Wuhan and excludes unreported cases: the reality is much lower, particularly outside vulnerable groups.

The figure quoted last night for the UK was 1%; still high and concerning.

Exactly!

Lies, damned lies and statistics - and scaremongering.

No temperature still, no development or worsening of chest. General lethargy is a given since about 2008.

Over the Feb half-term, my eldest had a cough, dry throat & temperature, and she was laid low for about a week. It's more or less cleared up now.

Looking likely that Glastonbury will be cancelled this year - the organisers are saying that they are uncertain that it will go ahead.

P.S.

THE European Defence Agency (EDA) in Brussels has confirmed one of its employees has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), as the spread of the deadly disease continues to accelerate across the world.

Following the positive test, the EDA has taken the precautionary measure of cancelling all scheduled meeting at its premises until March 13.

-------------------------

Trying to stop this is p*ssing into the wind.

The sooner authorities accept that it's here and many people will catch it, the better. We can then just get on with living our lives without the inconvenience of events being cancelled and people running round like Chicken Licken.

There's certainly no stopping a major outbreak, but I think the issue is trying to ensure a gradual rise in cases rather than a dramatic take-off that would really put a massive strain on the Health Service and the economy - hence (as the chief medical officer has already said this morning) we'll be moving into the "Delay" phase from the "Contain" phase very soon if not already.

Precisely the point Arcus. The task for the authorities is to delay and smooth. Delay as much as is possible, to allow spring/summer weather to start to help, and smooth, to allow an overstretched health service to deal with the cases it needs to. ICU beds with ventilators will be at a premium, since experience shows that those who are worst affected suffer from pneumonia like symptoms.

If the NHS does struggle, it's vital that Labour, the Lib Dems & SNP shout and  loud and often as they can about NHS cuts by the Tories.

Fingering will still be legal.

Pathetic! Any western healthcare system would buckle under the strain caused by this pandemic.

Italy is experiencing severe issues already - the Baggio military hospital is being prepared to provide care for patients because the civilian system is not able to cope.

P.S. there are now concerns over shortages of required drugs - many of the globally available generic drugs are manufactured in India and the Indian government has today announced restrictions on export, so they have them available to treat their own. This suggests that India is heading into the same territory as Italy, it is just slow to update its own test numbers or to carry out testing - Indian numbers are likely to rocket in the coming weeks (same for Pakistan).

When this is over the CFR could well be less than 1%. I think what happened on the Diamond Princess may be relevant here:

• ~20% of the passengers were infected


• 0.8% died (old people with underlying conditions)


• the cruise ship sample isn't representative of populations, but that probably skews the CFR higher (mostly old passengers, healthcare provided wasn't good etc.)

It will take a long time to know, but as Doc said the benefit of the hindsight will be interesting. My uneducated guess is that it will end up significantly less bad than many people think or fear.