The Covid-19 Thread

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Shewie

Shewie

Chief Slackpacker
Staff member
Dave and I have chatted and agreed we need a place to discuss what’s going on at the moment across the world, it’s scary times and I’d like to hope our members can feel a sense of community here.

Emotions are running high right now but can we ask you not to bicker and please keep politics out of it, the reason I’ve always asked for this is threads invariably get out of hand, personal attacks start and it just gets nasty. If this thread starts down that route again we’ll lock it.

This thread should be informative and beneficial to the members, not one for throwing blame

So let’s see how it goes, be kind, keep safe & stay at home
 
Michael_x

Michael_x

Section Hiker
Covid-19: Researchers launch app to track spread of symptoms in the UK

Lead researcher Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, told The BMJ, “It’s pretty obvious to anybody—you don’t have to be an epidemiologist—to see that we’re trying to fight this war in the dark. The government doesn’t have any good data on what’s going to hit us in two weeks, other than what’s happened in Italy and China.

“The focus has been on the number of deaths with no indication of how many people have the disease in the UK. The lack of testing means we have no clue about the prevalence in the population or about the proportions of mild and severe cases. Estimates of how many cases are symptomatic range from about 5% to 60%.”

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1263

Looks like a good idea. Obvious privacy concerns but for once may be an acceptable trade off.
 
Rog Tallbloke

Rog Tallbloke

Thru Hiker
I've reported via the app. Data is needed, and I encourage other to do so as well.

As soon as an antibody test is available I'll try to get one. I had a serious chest infection in December, similar to pleurisy, but no fluid in my lungs, just chest pain like I've never had before (and hope I never have again). If I'm immune, I'll help via the Royal Volunteers charity. Until then, I'm being careful so I'm able to help my aged parents.

https://volunteering.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/nhs-volunteer-responders
 
JKM

JKM

Thru Hiker
I must admit I am still confused by the airborne ability of this spreading. AFAIK it has to be on someone's cough, sneeze etc, but is the heavy breathing of joggers etc a risk? Or just walking past people.
I assumed the 2m advice was in case someone coughed on you.

Sounds a bit silly but many of the footpaths round here are narrow in places and 2m distancing is impossible on them. Riverside towpaths etc.
It's quite breezy at the moment which helps disperse things which could be both good and bad I suppose.

I was not particularly concerned about this before but I have heard my stepbrother has now contracted it, he had been social distancing for 10 days already and was only going out for exercise. Each day he would cycle from the Hague to the seaside at Sheveningen and run on the beach before cycling back. He may have just had a long incubation, or picked it up on a run/ride or maybe someone jus touching his bike.

Any links studies on transmission appreciated.
 
Shewie

Shewie

Chief Slackpacker
Staff member
I wondering if it’s surviving longer on surfaces than we think?

I saw advice yesterday about leaving footwear outside, saw widespread spraying of roads and pavements in Italy (I think)
 
Jim_Parkin

Jim_Parkin

Section Hiker
Interesting video showing simple modelling of epidemics with changes to different assumptions.

Social distancing works but needs a lot of compliance to make much difference. Central places, like shops need to be protected if social distancing is to work. Testing and isolation is effective. But you need somewhere to isolate the positive cases

 
EM - paul

EM - paul

Thru Hiker
I'm firmly of the opinion (no scientific evidence) that surfaces are a primary vector. It just seems to be spreading so easily to be just a respiratory vector. We are treating anything that comes into the house as hot. All clothes worn outside are left in the porch which is our airlock. We leave nom temperature sensitive foods in the garden to get good uv exposure. Bottles and plastics get a wipe over with bleached water. seems a lot but it doesn't take long and I feel better for doing it. Love to all.
 
cathyjc

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
The virus is now so well spread across the world that I don't see it being "wiped out" now. It will become endemic - like Flu and colds.
Whether an effective vaccine can be developed ?? But it's likely we will all get it at some point.
My feeling is I'd rather put that off until health services are in a better state to care for me if I get seriously ill.
 
Foxster

Foxster

Section Hiker
I'm not sure why, considering the effort that must be going into it, but it's still not quite clear how it spreads. So I'm assuming its long-lived on surfaces and carried in a miasmic cloud around people.

We are doing as others are and using bleach+water to wash down anything coming into the house. We are avoiding the big supermarkets. I'm running every day but in a quiet spot and if anyone appears then I'm giving them a very wide berth by crossing to the other side of the road.

The other "interesting" theory I heard is that it is transmitted by thought! So cleverer people (and blokes for some reason) are more susceptible. Sounds as good a theory as any I suppose.
 
Clare

Clare

Thru Hiker
I'd just like to say, without being inflammatory I hope, that re Gixer's point about political partisanship, I did really hope that a crisis of this scale would bring out a leadership that would be cohesive and put the nation first, regardless of previous divisions around the B issue, and regardless of political affinity. I did hope for that. I wanted that. In fact I assumed that would happen. I can't express how disappointed and angry I am that the Government has not participated in the European Procurement Programme to get PPE and Ventilators, I can't quite honestly believe that they are turning to Dyson, with no previous medical experience, to make ventilators. I'm deeply shocked. I don't think my shock is a result of my political affiliations outside of this crisis. I really deeply resent the suggestion that it is. All of us want, desperately want, the best leadership for our country, for our parents, for ourselves, for our friends, at this time. Gixer, your suggestion that our criticisms of the handling of this crisis is partisan, diminishes us, and diminishes our anxiety.
 
Clare

Clare

Thru Hiker
edh said:
Gixer post.....?
Click to expand...

sorry, it's gone. Can't find it. A locked thread. Or I'm five sheets to the wind. was basically saying that people will only see things from their own prior position and will criticise the govt. come what may, if that is their prior position, which will never change
 
Michael_x

Michael_x

Section Hiker
At a time like this there is a need to occasionally explode with anger and frustration.

Gixer has a point. Really, only when the history books are written by a future generation will it be possible to truly judge. Perhaps not even then. We may be too close to events and we may need to see how they turn out.

Still it is our duty as citizens in a democracy to hold politicians to account or we will wake up one day to find we are no longer in a democracy. Waiting until years from now isn't good enough for that. At least that is my point of view.

Currently quite a few of our leaders are in isolation. One might infer that they acted as if the rules didn't apply to them. Old habits can be hard to break. Seems SARS-CoV-2 doesn't respect their privilege.

The time to scream about getting PPE sorted is now. Also to ask why it wasn't all there in warehouses waiting with a detailed tested distribution plan.

It's easy to be mean. When Trump announces that Boris phoned him asking for ventilators deep down I'd love it if the answer Trump gave was "Which bit of America first did you not understand?" (We only have Trumps word on this, may not be true).

But let's keep admin happy and not have our rants and explosions becoming friendly fire and causing casualties at home.

If you voted Boris/Corbyn, and I criticise Boris/Corbyn, I am not criticising you. Etc...
 
B

Brendan

Ultralighter
Lovely day here in Beijing. :)
One thing I can't understand is the mentality of people in Australia (my original home country) or the UK (missus home country) with regards to the run on supermarkets etc.
Not once have we run out of anything, and I mean anything. Including imported food stuff. What we've seen on tv throguh the BBC looks like humanity at its worst.
People have behaved rationally and acted accordingly. I cannot comment on what it was like in Wuhan other than through the experience of a chinese mate of mine whose wife is in Wuhan. Hopefully she will be back in Beijing this weekend.
 
Michael_x

Michael_x

Section Hiker
Brendan said:
Lovely day here in Beijing. :)
One thing I can't understand is the mentality of people in Australia (my original home country) or the UK (missus home country) with regards to the run on supermarkets etc.
Not once have we run out of anything, and I mean anything. Including imported food stuff. What we've seen on tv throguh the BBC looks like humanity at its worst.
People have behaved rationally and acted accordingly. I cannot comment on what it was like in Wuhan other than through the experience of a chinese mate of mine whose wife is in Wuhan. Hopefully she will be back in Beijing this weekend.
Click to expand...
Journalists, television, the media, have a desire to be showing humanity at it's worst. Competing for the most extreme examples. Not always representative.

At my local supermarkets I've only seen humanity being silly, selfish, thoughtless, rude. Not that there hasn't been panic buying and empty shelves where I live, there have been.
 
P

pendodave

Summit Camper
Michael_x said:
Journalists, television, the media, have a desire to be showing humanity at it's worst. Competing for the most extreme examples. Not always representative.
Click to expand...
This is definitely the case. Because of my job, I've had to travel into London this week and then from Euston to the north west of England. All the mainline stations have been pretty much empty except for staff, even at normally busy times of the day. Even heavily reduced inter city services have barely had double figures on them. Most people are doing what's been asked. I don't think that makes for exiting stories on MSM or social though.
Because it's essentially a numbers game, hopefully this will be reflected down the line (!).
 
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Baldy

Baldy

Thru Hiker
Indian TV news has been showing the riots and looting on the streets of London. My FiL sent me some clips and they are of the Duggan riots of 2011.
 
WilliamC

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
There's a thoughtful article about backpacking in the time of Covid-19 on BPL. I'm not sure if it's behind the paywall.

This extract might strike a chord: "It might seem trite to be talking about backpacking, and examining the implications of the pandemic on this year’s crops of thru-hikers, in light of the severe financial and social impacts of Covid-19. But we backpack because it meets some deep-seated need in all of us, and in times of stress the urge to sling on a pack and escape from the world can become even more pressing."
 
Clare

Clare

Thru Hiker
I’ve been way too slow off the mark. It’s only just occurred to me to buy a couple of kettle balls. Totally sold out, everywhere.

Was going to do swings, snatches and Turkish get ups. What can I do instead? Apart from handstands?


Sorry this should have gone in random thread rather than here.
 
Odd Man

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Clare said:
I’ve been way too slow off the mark. It’s only just occurred to me to buy a couple of kettle balls. Totally sold out, everywhere.

Was going to do swings, snatches and Turkish get ups. What can I do instead? Apart from handstands?


Sorry this should have gone in random thread rather than here.
Click to expand...

I've kettlebells and I also have TRX. Looks like all TRXs are sold out, but copycat models are available. TRX is a great way to do a workout wherever and YouTube is full of TRX workouts.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=trx&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
 
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