Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

[watt price tully]

Unsurprisingly the media reporting is well ........

Studies published.....

Not published in any reputable peer reviewed journal either

You mean it’s not in the Bettota Advocate?

[watt price tully]

."Australian Stuck In Wuhan Thanks Government For Generous Evac Offer But Say’s She’ll Hang Tight....This comes as the government faces criticism for its plan to evacuate Australians from Wuhan and dump them on Christmas Island.

“Obviously the island has a great history of medical excellence from its days of housing people trying to seek asylum so it’s not that I’m concerned about, ...".

https://m.betootaadvocate.com/world-new ... ang-tight/

[watt price tully]

Friggin iPhone

[K]

"Australians trapped at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak will have to pay $1000 to be evacuated from Wuhan to quarantine on Christmas Island."
...

How much would a normal return flight be? $1000 might not be such a bad deal for a private flight!

stuff.co.nz reports the kiwi evacuees on the Air NZ chartered flight will be charged $500 and:

"The ministry says New Zealanders, Pacific Islanders and Australians will be eligible to take the flight, but must have the correct documentation and pass the health assessments."


If Australians can grab leftover seats, they can save money!
(Seriously, this sounds like the far better option, if they can get seats.)

[stui magpie]

So they save $500 but still have to get a flight from NZ to Aus.

[K]

If they live in Vic or NSW, the domestic flight is probably about the same price.

Their unnamed NZ quarantine place (if they also have to join that) might be a lot nicer than the Christmas Island detention centre.

[think positive]

It wouldn’t be much cheaper and there is the added stress if changing flights just pay the money!

[think positive]

Hmm. Would travel insurance cover something like this?

I reckon the fine print might catch people out. No question it's an unusual situation.

I read my policies pretty thoroughly, you would be covered unless it a real cheap and nasty policy, which is always false economy

[David]

https://www.businessinsider.sg/wuhan-co ... ay-2020-1/

So far, the virus does not seem to be as deadly as SARS, which killed 774 people from 2002 to 2003. SARS had a mortality rate of 9.6%, whereas about 2% of people infected with the new coronavirus have died. But the number of people infected after one month has already surpassed the SARS outbreak’s eight-month total.

Many patients with coronavirus have already made full recoveries. According to Chinese officials, most of those who’ve died were elderly or had other ailments that compromised their immune systems.

Public-health experts say that for the most part, panic over the Wuhan coronavirus outside of China is unproductive and unwarranted. The public should take precautions to avoid getting sick, but the most effective preventative measures are everyday actions like increased handwashing and not touching your face.

[Morrigu]

https://www.businessinsider.sg/wuhan-co ... ay-2020-1/

So far, the virus does not seem to be as deadly as SARS, which killed 774 people from 2002 to 2003. SARS had a mortality rate of 9.6%, whereas about 2% of people infected with the new coronavirus have died. But the number of people infected after one month has already surpassed the SARS outbreak’s eight-month total.

Many patients with coronavirus have already made full recoveries. According to Chinese officials, most of those who’ve died were elderly or had other ailments that compromised their immune systems.

Public-health experts say that for the most part, panic over the Wuhan coronavirus outside of China is unproductive and unwarranted. The public should take precautions to avoid getting sick, but the most effective preventative measures are everyday actions like increased handwashing and not touching your face.

Oh well that's a relief that statisically it isn't as deadly - only a reported 259 people have died in 2 months (vs 774 in 9 months) if you believe the Chinese figures!

(China says Sars outbreak is 10 times worse than admitted: https://www.theguardian.com/society/200 ... china.sars)


What are they suggesting that countries outside China not worry about restricting travel movements or quarantine etc because it appears to be "less deadly"? Telling the general public that it is not "as deadly" as the last time i.e. SARS so no need to worry should work a treat.


Personally I hope there is strong sustained backlash against China - enough so that they finally address animal welfare attitudes and practices in their country! May even be enough to save a few species threatened with extinction because of their practices *fingers crossed*

[stui magpie]

This virus may have a lower mortality rate but it seems more highly infectious. People are infectious before they show any symptoms and it only takes 15 minutes in close proximity to catch it.

Anyway, it seems hundreds of people have decided to take up the offer of the flight back.

A QANTAS plane loaded with hundreds of Australians evacuated from the Chinese province which is at the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic is expected to arrive in Darwin on Monday morning.

The airline last night sent a crew to Hong Kong. They will then continue to Wuhan tomorrow to pick up the passengers.

Once they arrive in Darwin, they'll have to be decanted onto a different plane as the runway at Christmas Island can't take a 747.

And it is crewed by Qantas employees,

Speaking on Triple M radio on Friday, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said crew would don face masks and lay out meals and drinks on seats before the flight departed, to avoid direct contact with passengers.

He said he was “really proud” at the large number of employees who had put their hand up to crew the flight.

“We’ve had over 50 cabin crew volunteer which is enough to man it five times over,” said Mr Joyce.

Good on em.

But back to how bad it is:

According to NSW Health advice, people are now at risk of catching the virus if they spend a quarter of an hour in close contact, such as a face-to-face conversation, or two hours in the same confined space with an infected person.

And now Chinese health authorities have confirmed that, contrary to earlier belief, patients are contagious even before they develop symptoms.

This means that potentially thousands of people could have been exposed to the coronavirus in Australia by the country’s 10 confirmed patients alone.

And those people could have infected thousands more.

A mortality rate of 2% might be better than SARS but if you get tens or hundreds of thousands of people infected there's going to be a lot of dead people and more sick ones than any health system can cope with.

https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/coronavi ... swBXqaASt0

[Morrigu]

Australians told not to travel to mainland China, border restrictions tightened considerably.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has advised Australians not to travel to China due to the "escalating threat" of the virus, while asking those who have returned from the country to self-isolate for 14 days.

Mr Morrison said DFAT had recommended the implementation of additional border measures, which would deny entry to Australia for people who have left or transited through mainland China from today.

Exceptions will be made for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family, as well as air crews who have been using appropriate personal protective equipment.

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-02- ... s/11920742

[ronrat]

A 100 bed hotel near me usually has 6-10 busses parked. The guests are mostly Chinese with the odd westerner and some Thais. A stay normally includes a ticket to the Muay bThai televised boxing stadium 100 metres away. For 3 days I have not seen one bus. I spoke to the boys sitting out the front when walking the dog last night and they say no Chinese are there. 5 cars which 3 were from Thai guests. The 2 girls on reception were asleep on the lounge chairs and the service staff in the restaurant went home early.

[K]

It wouldn’t be much cheaper and there is the added stress if changing flights just pay the money!

They have to change flights whether they take the NZ/Air NZ or Australian/Qantas option. For the Australian option, they'll be dumped on Christmas Island. Then two weeks later, they'll be dumped in WA. They'll then need to fly home. There's more stress, not less stress there!

...
I read my policies pretty thoroughly, you would be covered unless it a real cheap and nasty policy, which is always false economy

Okay, I will ask your advice when I need this type of thing!

[stui magpie]

7 news did a quick tour of the detainment facilities on Christmas Island.

Not exactly 5 star hotel, but not Alcatraz either.

Very large, quite spacious, lots of facilities like common rooms, library, gym, outdoor areas.

Choice of being locked in a flat in the middle of a viral infection or spending 14 days there, where do I sign? I'm considering booking a holiday there.