Clappy

My work colleagues from Hong Kong are panicking. One of them told me that her mother-in-law in Hong Kong has been unable to buy face-masks so she has been to several places around Auckland trying to obtain some but they are sold out here too.

Bo-Jangles

Seems they will be being traded like Gold before long:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12304960

I know that it's quite common to see Asians wearing surgical face masks, quite often they wear them when they themselves are unwell to protect others but I have started to notice the trend is increasing over past week or so. Most $2 shops sell them but have to wonder how effective they would be, if at all

I heard all the big DIY stores such as Bunnings and Mitre 10 were fast selling out of dust mask too.

Mishclark

Omg I feel.for her, how awful!

I'm back in Nz no probs. The irony is I am still cleaning out and unpacking stuff from my shipment, my late husband was the world's biggest hoarder and I'm cleaning out stuff going way back to the 90's that was boxed up. It's taken me 8 years to get through this, looks like I know what I'm doing for the next 8 years!
There are a load of little blue face masks that he got when he was sick and never used them and I'd just chucked them out a few weeks ago before I went to Oz.
Not that I would have sold them, I'd never do that!

Charismatic

Appears the US and Australia have now implemented travel restrictions on people who've been in China recently.

ETA: There's a dashboad here tracking data.

Justcol

I cannot believe that anyone is even giving this second thought. It's ridiculous

Charismatic

Travel bans or the virus? I don't understand the lack of immediate quarantine, time is not your friend when trying to isolate transmissible diseases. It's an order of magnitude easier to stop or slow the spread of a disease early when you have a geographically localised population of infected people. Failing to do so has now made this far more serious than it ever should have been for a flue with a 2% death rate (likely an overestimate.) As expected early reports seem to indicate that the first fatality outside China was in the Philippines and was a Chinese man who left the epicenter of the outbreak after the disease was announced but prior to the implementation of travel restrictions.

New Zealand travel ban finally announced, along with several other countries. The US CDC is considering implementing further travel restrictions from areas outside of China where the disease is known to have spread.

Justcol

the level of panic being displayed by some people

A4Ron

and I can't believe some people are taking it so lightly, to be fair.

When the mortality rate for seasonal flu is 0.1% and this is 2.5-3%, it pays to do some research and do some preparation. Have you actually read any of the studies?

Justcol

If I print out the studies can I fold the paper into a face mask.
if you get it you get, if you die you die, that's the way it is. We're all equally at risk, but some choose not to run around life our hair is on fire

A4Ron

I didn't know reading studies and being aware of the topic constituted to running around with your hair on fire! Learn something new every day...

Mishclark

Cruisesship docked in Japan (?) quarantined, 2 Aussies have tested positive to the virus.

I'm just going to get on with it. I'm back in Oz for a few weeks in March for training and going to Wellington (first time ever ) in April.

I've been home sick for a few days but just a bug. Feeling miserable though and want my mum..😓

Charismatic

The bad news is that it doesn't look, to me, like the Chinese have managed to rate this virus is spread inside the country.

The good news is that there have been early promising signs using a drug called Remdesivir made by a company called Gilead Sciences and there are a few other options still in testing.

Mishclark

That's good news about the drug..

Charismatic

Last few days of data looks promising, from the 04/02/20 onward the number of new infections reported looks to be flat. After a slow start and an initially inept government response those beautiful hard working buggers on the front line in China might just have started, inch by grueling inch, to drag this down.

Robbie2010

Doesn't look like its slowing down to me!