Pandemic Thread (CoronaVirus etc.)

Since YW requested a new thread...why not?

I believe there have been no deaths outside of China yet from this virus...is that accurate?

This thread title sounds way too calm. I’d much rather prefer a “we’re all gonna get sick and some of us might die! (A novel corona virus thread)”

Didn't the NYT or one of the big (pay-walled) dailies have a section dedicated to the latest confirmed developments. I don't know if it's been updated but the R0 for 2019-nCoV had been between 2 and 3 last week, so while serious, this particular event sounds like a panic more than an epidemic.

It is slightly more transmissible than influenza, but deadlier.

This Coronavirus crap reminds me of SARS. Thankfully Toronto is not the North American epicenter of this disease like we were with SARS. That was a very bad time. I think there’s only one confirmed case of Coronavirus here. The guy is quarantined nicely.

I think within a week we should have a much better idea of the situation

Oh shit just read that a second case has been confirmed, but it’s the wife of the first case. So quite contained, presumably. Hopefully there are no more cases.

I don't remember if China locked any cities down back then during SARS outbreak.

Either the government is acting more responsibly this time and trying control the situation better this time... or...

Anyway, just try to stay warm, wash your hands often, stay away from crowds if possible... and regularly consume whisky as IMOA recommended. ;)

If China did lock down any cities back then, with the difference in availability of media, we might not even have known

Just heard on the radio that we have 19 cases pending. Only two confirmed. This might be SARS all over again. I can remember back then people saying a lot of nasty things about Asians and diseases, and suspect it'll be even worse now given the modern day toxic racialized environment we find ourselves privileged to live in.

I am ethnically chinese from taiwan, even I can't stand some of those mainlander chinese. In some respect I can't blame them, because they're the product of cultural revolution and a society of one child families. Cultural revolution was communists attempt to rile up the working class in order to remove or kill any one who has too much money or too well educated. Later on the one child policy ended up producing a generation of spoiled brats.

Naturally not all chinese people are like that, my main beef against China right now is with it's authoritarian regime.