Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

[David]

A useful guide here:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... s-symptoms

Long story short, no need to panic at this stage. It's obviously a bad thing to catch, but the mortality rate is somewhere below 3%, and only a very few isolated cases have been reported outside of China so far (four here in Australia).

You trust figures provided by the CCP?

I guess so, yeah. Do they have a track record of downplaying the extent of these kind of situations? My impression so far is that they've been pretty transparent and collaborative with other countries in trying to track down the source of this and stop its spread.

[Wokko]

I guess so, yeah. Do they have a track record of downplaying the extent of these kind of situations? My impression so far is that they've been pretty transparent and collaborative with other countries in trying to track down the source of this and stop its spread.

Umm, yeah that was kind of the whole SARS thing.

[David]

Fair enough! I guess that was a bit before my time. (All I remember about that outbreak is being at the local supermarket and overhearing some other teenagers sniggering about the "diet sars" bottles.)

[K]

China coronavirus: The lessons learned from the Sars outbreak

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51221394


"Prof Heymann told the BBC that Chinese authorities appeared to have been much more proactive with the new outbreak, including providing the WHO with information on a regular basis. This week, the WHO's director general praised China's response."

[stui magpie]

virus traced back to some filthy market selling all types of critters for consumption.

Wish they'd tell them all you can catch it really easily from consuming rhino horn and bear bile!!

Since the Wuhan virus was first identified in December, Chinese and international scientists have been studying it intensely, tracking its origin and working on a vaccine to fight it.
Officials from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday that they had successfully isolated the virus in environmental samples taken from a seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan believed to be the source of the outbreak.
Thirty-three of the 585 environmental samples collected from the Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market were found to contain the nucleic acid of the coronavirus, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
Of those samples, 31 came from the section of the market dedicated to the sale of wild animals, the CDC said.
Chinese authorities announced Sunday that the trading of wild animals would be suspended nationwide, as experts lobbied for the government to put in permanent restrictions or even a ban.
Any form of wildlife trade will be strictly prohibited on platforms including marketplaces, supermarkets, dining places and e-commerce sites, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said in a statement. All sites were wild animals are raised will be quarantined.
Considerable attention has been paid on both the Chinese internet and in the western tabloid press to the eating of wild animals in parts of China -- particularly bats and civet cats, a mammal native to Asia that was previously linked to the 2003 SARS outbreak.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/26/asia ... index.html

10's of millions of people in lockdown quarantine. Even if they manage to control the virus this could get messy.

[Morrigu]

^ You reap what you sow!

[Pi]

a bit more on Chinese wet markets

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/wuha ... ?r=US&IR=T

[David]

[luvdids]

a bit more on Chinese wet markets

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/wuha ... ?r=US&IR=T

I'm led to believe this link contains images that may be distressing, I'll therefore avoid looking at it and warn others of the potential.

Agree with Morrigu, you reap what you sow. If you're going to keep/breed/sell/eat wild/live animals and cross contaminate live & dead meats & animals, there's bound to be a consequence. Heck, I don't even use the same utensils - one lot for raw/preparation, another for during cooking, another for once cooked. I thought that was common sense.

[think positive]

[Pi]

a bit more on Chinese wet markets

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/wuha ... ?r=US&IR=T

I'm led to believe this link contains images that may be distressing, I'll therefore avoid looking at it and warn others of the potential.

Agree with Morrigu, you reap what you sow. If you're going to keep/breed/sell/eat wild/live animals and cross contaminate live & dead meats & animals, there's bound to be a consequence. Heck, I don't even use the same utensils - one lot for raw/preparation, another for during cooking, another for once cooked. I thought that was common sense.

To be honest I didnt think the images or descriptions were that bad, Business insider is fairly mainstream, its not like its a new revelation.

is this what I should have written?
Warning may contain images of people doing what is the cultural norm in their country. (and no it doesn't excuse unhygienic food handling practices.)

[think positive]

different things trigger different people

[roar]

Yes TP, and different people have different customs so calling for the closure of markets because they upset your sensibilities is hardly a compelling argument. So what if they eat bats, snakes and rats? Who are we to tell them what they can and can't eat??

[Pi]

Like everything its kind of complicated:

have a listen to these guys if you want a reasonable take on how china is from an outsiders perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5XkhUKMDM

Warning: it will contain images of people doing things and preparing food in ways that would not meet health standards. Essentially its the kind of markets Europe would have had in the middle ages, set along side someone using the latest Iphone. .................Perhaps just listen rather than watch.

Its not about accepting cultural practices but rather attempting to understand them.

[stui magpie]

FWIW I didn't find any of the photos in the Business Insider link distressing or disgusting, many of them were more than 10-15 years old and were used for examples anyway, but the hygiene levels were not my cup of tea, no chance I'd be buying food there.

Chinese typically have eaten stuff that would make a billy goat puke, I read a chinese quote once that was "If it's back faces Heaven it's edible" and despite their "government" working hard to increase levels of affluence, you don't change centuries of habits in the blink of an eye