Yes I thought that was the case. Mild can mean bedridden for days or weeks. 

It can I guess, but I imagine most people would fare better. The most common symptom was fever, followed by coughing (usually dry). A slight difficulty in breathing has been reported, while runny nose was very rare.

That is one way of describing GTW's contributions... IMHO, GTW's comments all the way through have been measured, calm, rational... in what is  serious, fast evolving situation...I fear the hysteria is only going to get worse.. and yes it is serious and lives are at risk.. I actually think that 24/7 news and the Internet are actually bad for people's health.. when we keep getting news flashes that xx number of people have now died in Denmark, or Croatia or wherever... the psychological impact  of following all this news all the time, especially if you are on your own, cannot be good for anyone's mental health...

That's the biggest factor.

I was speaking to someone who knows that Aintree Hospital doctor who tested Covid-19 positive. He's been criticised and derided, and is apparently p*ssed off that he's been hung out to dry. He returned from a skiiing holiday in Italy, contacted 111 and his bosses to relate this, asked to be tested to ensure he wasn't infected, but was told unless he showed symptoms he wouldn't be tested and he should return to work (where he'd visited was at that time outside of a known hotspot)

So he returns to work, develops symptoms, and only then is he allowed to have a test. It's positive.

Knowing that the virus is contagious well before symptoms develop, the 'powers that be' still allowed someone at much higher risk of being infected to return to work treating patients without having a test.

I know the number of testing kits is finite, but there has been a cavalier approach to testing, and the people at 111 are woefully under-trained, under-resourced, under-experienced.

Not entirely sure of this. It’s clear there are age, gender and underlying condition metrics but I’ve seen reports from N Italy of many younger people needing CCU level care. But of course that could be just the much higher numbers reporting of which a small percentage don't fit the demographic.

On a general note the tone and content of this thread is largely congenial and for those who use the thread for awareness and constructive information it would be great to see it stay that way.

Agree 100%

I mentioned a couple of days ago in the last thread that other than having IBD which I take ongoing daily medication for which suppresses my immune system to at least some extent (I am 40). Some might say that owing to having slightly compromised immunity, I am more at risk of contracting coronavirus. However, am I at as much risk as someone who has for example, heart disease, asthma or diabetes?

Yes, I’ve seen some of the stuff on Twitter from Italian doctors about young people on ventilators. Clearly, the picture is confused and it is hard to know what to prepare for.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D3x6RPJOkTs

Gandalf The Quartermaster.

From FT

If it was normal flu I wouldn't be advising people to write their will. 

I don't class being bedridden for weeks as "mild". Sounds a bit like the medical profession describing pain as "discomfort".

From what I read (from a Twitter account from an Italian doctor) those who are old or who have underlying conditions present first, but then younger and fitter people - a proportion of them start presenting with severe symptoms later. I don't know what the time lag is.

But take Nadine Dorris - she said she was starting to feel better yesterday, but perhaps for many people, they have a lull followed by more severe symptoms.

I don't either, but I believe the medical professionals do. 

Yes, this is a mistake and we are probably going to pay for it in a few weeks time. This is also against WHO guidelines.

That makes it crystal clear that measures taken at the first sign of the virus are what make the difference. HMG must know this and must have made a conscious decision to ‘take it on the chin’

Never underestimate incompetence!

For my personal approach if I could do things again I would do it differently. I have learnt alot from this experience and fatigue is a real thing. If I had the time again I would change a few things around and try to transition more smoothly. But it was my first time doing this so I wasn't going to get all the details right. I definitely don't regret starting early and getting into the right mindset though. And stockpiling early turned out to, defintetely, be the right move and avoided all the crowdes and panic later one.

Still, while I agree that timing is important, I'd also enphasise it is impossible to know when things will take off because of the week or so lag. Italy took off without warning and that could have happened in the UK. One thing I will enphasise is although personal precautions can only go so far there is alot the government could have done if it had prepared much earlier.

Yes, assuming the increase in testing began yesterday we should see a marked increase in the numbers announced today. 

I obviously don't know what is right and what's wrong and I may have been a tad harsh on you, but this is one of the things I was telling you back in late Jan, take it seriously by all means on a personal level, but don't panic and don't overreact so early. You were right to highlight the dangers though (the virus is already affecting my brain! )

Anyway, nobody really knows what will happen, but IMO it looks more likely than not that we'll see a much higher number of deaths in the UK by this time in April.

Breaking: Iran have reported 1075 new cases and 75 new deaths in the past 24 hours