The second paragraph is bang on. Self-limiting illnesses like the cold and flu spread like wildfire but they don't do you any real damage. They knock you down for a few days, but you're OK in the end, unless you are old, very young or have some underlying health problem. High lethality diseases on the other hand are hard to contract. Ebola for instance, has a 60% lethality rate but you need very close and sustained contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person to get infected yourself.

Some hellish combination of the two (the infectivity of COVID-19 and the lethality of Ebola) would be the largest crisis humanity has ever faced. If such a thing ever did develop, I'd imagine by now there would be a complete shutdown of all international travel (even daily life would now be severely restricted, to be honest).

As for COVID-19, there's now a reason for the Italians to be concerned, but not worried. Even on a European scale, I'm not concerned at this stage. I'm pretty sure the Italian authorities will put a lid on it fairly quickly, especially with school and workplace shutdowns being called.

4 cruise ship passengers flown to Britain yesterday have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 13.

It’s worth noting that a return flight from Manchester to Singapore on Tuesday (2 week holiday) with Air France is £361 at the moment. Via the Kayak app.

Because of this virus there will be some absolute bargain flight prices over the next few weeks and possibly months, especially if you book last minute. 

Every cloud and all that. 

hahahhahahaha.

In all seriousness, it could be a very cost effective time to book a last minute holiday in Asia. 

You might not even need a return  

Cruises in the region should have been stopped at the outset - dereliction of duty on behalf of the WHO that did not happen.

Well, things are spiralling towards a full scale pandemic - South Korea, Iran, Italy. Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanstan have all closed their borders with Iran, but it is going to be too late - I simply do not believe that the virus is not already established in Pakistan and as for Iraq - no hope. Once the virus gets into Syria, then it will spread throughout the refugee camps like wildfire and then be spread via people heading elsewhere.

Austria and France are seriously considering suspending Schengen and closing their borders with Italy.

Get a grip man!

Funny response to a factual comment.

The chances are you'll survive this pandemic

Brexit? I wouldn't be so sure! 

I most likely shall. However, gratified that you recognise it is becoming a pandemic:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/china-coronavirus-outbreak-latest-updates-200222222743195.html

Nothing remotely 'factual' in your opening sentence; just the usual misguided and ill-informed nonsense

"Cruises in the region should have been stopped at the outset - dereliction of duty on behalf of the WHO that did not happen."

The WHO doesn't have the power to do that and it doesn't indulge in the sort of dramatic overreaction prevalent amongst some contributors. Nor does it, or anyone else, have the benefit of hindsight.

Yes and I know what a pandemic is too. It isn't necessarily scary...

Saggin', Shaggin' or Flaggin'?

R.

Why does Gandalf always have to stick his oar in? This is fact: "Austria have refused entry of a train from Italy tonight."

Amusing comment from Retron regarding cruises - as I stated previously, I would have to be paid handsomely to go on a cruise myself.

Seems to be dying down in China. However things really taking off outside. Within a week we can expect the number of daily cases in the rest of the world to exceed the daily cases in China (which is now in the hundreds rather than thousands).

I guess I ‘stuck my oar in’ because you were talking nonsense. You’re the advocate of free speech, or are you putting limits on it suddenly?

Facts are fine, of course. But that’s different to misinformation and misunderstanding, of which you have been guilty a number of times in this thread.

The lockdown has obviously worked over there...the thing is will we be seeing the same thing happen across European countries etc to try to prevent this spreading further than it needs to?

Boris will possibly have some big decisions to make.

In the US alone more than 300 people die in the workplace each year through electrocution. It must be thousands in China.

True, but lacking the horror-laden resonance of older folk-memories, Brian. Here's an interesting read.

https://www.newsweek.com/black-plague-death-height-women-shorter-708068

Bring out your dead!

Roger

With respect, that is completely besides the point. The issue is the disruption to commerce, daily life and travel caused by a pandemic. Raw number of deaths is not the issue - hospitals being overloaded, factories and schools shutting down - that is the issue.

More people will have died in lightning strikes than the 27 who have died outside of China during this period.