Wuhan virus.

[miasmum]

Hope she is ok Frank, sounds like she is level headed and coping well

[Workingman]

Thanks everyone.

The residence block she is in has mainly Europeans and other westerners and many do not want to go back home. Some would be going to places with more cases than Vietnam and others, like the Aussies, would go straight into quarantine.

So they stay, support each other, and just bumble along.

[Suff]

Sorry to hear that WM. She sounds like she is coping well and the authorities are doing the right thing.

She could be in Italy and that would be bad. Nearly 5,000 cases and the death rate is nearly 5%, way higher than China.

We are going to a ball in FIFE tonight where there will be over 120 people. As you touch everyone to dance, non contact is out. There is a case in Tayside and 11 in Scotland overall. Wee shall see what the result of that is. Scottish Country Dancers tend to be over 60 on average. More than half, in Scotland, over 70.

I've just read about Germany and France banning export of medical protection gear. Looks like when the chips are down it is everyone for themselves....

[Suff]

Just as a thought, something I learned quite a while ago.

If you feel the need to sneeze, in a public place, push your tongue hard to the roof of your mouth until the feeling passes.

Best not to be a pariah if possible. I have used this already this week.

[Suff]

Interesting viewpoint on Iran and how they may be massaging death figures.

If this is true, the country should be isolated immediately until it is correctly identified and contained.

It only needs one country to deny and hide for this thing to become worse than a pandemic with international travel the way it is.

[Workingman]

Radio Farda is an arms-length organisation of the CIA / US government so must be trusted.

Meanwhile back in the Good ol' US of A its CDC has stopped publishing Cov-19 testing figures; its numbers have often been thought to be at odds with reality.

The simple fact is that we cannot know for sure who is telling the truth and who is telling porkies - deliberately or otherwise. Conspiracy theories are out there. I read the other day an estimate that roughly half of those with the virus have symptoms so mild that they just go about their business as normal without even mentioning it. If that is true then the numbers who have it or have had it are twice those reported. We cannot ever know what the true numbers are, we just have to get on with life.

When it gets in the wild, and it probably already has, we can forget the Contain, Delay and Research phases of the UK's plan and go straight to Mitigate. Some places will be able to do little more than let it run its course. That could be for the best.

[Suff]

We shall see then. Italy now has the highest death rate in the world, per diagnosed person.

So either a hell of a lot of infectious people are going undiagnosed, or Italians are more susceptible than the average.

Meanwhile Iran is in a world of hurt. As this evolves we will see the truth of it in the event. After all, we are dealing with a regime which tried to hide the fact that they had shot down a civilian airliner.

Eventually the consequences will be impossible to hide.

Today the new case number stands at just over 2,000, without the UK or Italy; China only contributed 99 of them.

[Workingman]

Fingers crossed that cases in China have hopefully peaked and that they eventually drop away to nothing or at least to easily manageable figures.

But let us not forget that it has taken about 12 weeks just to get to this stage; and look at the draconian measures China had to put in place to get where it is. Very few places, even those with absolutely autocratic regimes, will be able to do the same or even similar.

The virtual and voluntary shutdown of western capitalist economies is not going to happen.

But don't worry, we're on top of it.

Footballers will not be doing pre-match handshakes, because..... They will then spend the next 90 minutes pulling shirts, tackling and jostling each other, heading the ball someone else just touched and, of course, spitting. Another bright idea is to stop the over 70s attending matches.

[Suff]

Today we got the latest Italy figures. Still rising by over 1,000 per day. Italy is 60 more cases than Iran, both just short of 6,000 cases.

Iran has 145 deaths, Italy has 233....

[Workingman]

Italy has one of the world's oldest populations and the average age of those who have died is 81, with 72% of them being men.

But back to the silly stuff:

The BBC has run an ever so helpful Q & A page. Here are a few.

Should I disinfect my phone? Yes, says the expert, but don't use sanitiser gel or alcohol as it can damage the screen film and render it useless, use soap and water, but first check that your phone is water resistant.

My answer. It's your phone and if only you use it then carry on, but do wash your hands you do not know where they have been.

Can I catch it from money? Expert.... err, China is disinfecting its bank notes, but a contactless card reduces the risk, however, these cards can also harbour germs and viruses. If you use one wash your hands.

My answer. It's your card and if only you use it then carry on, but do wash your hands you do not know where they have been.

There is a helpful video if you do not know how to wash your hands. Unfortunately it is set in a clean room with swing taps and foam and paper towel dispensers. It is not your bog standard bathroom with twist taps, bar of soap or liquid soap and lovely cotton towels.

I was talking with my ex when I took some money round for her to send to Becks in Vietnam and this takes the coronabiscuit.

She was in the Co-op and the woman in front was paying by card. She put her card in the reader then wrapped a tissue round her finger to tap in her PIN, she then threw the "used" tissue in the bin just outside the door as she was leaving.

These people are allowed to vote!