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Coronavirus discussion thread

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fuzzyduck79 Dec 2022 8:30pm, 30 Dec 2022 1,572 posts	Quote Pin fuzzyduck79 The more I think about it the more it seems like a rational response if you are elderly, symptomatic, possibly unvaccinated and have the money to get out of the country which could explain why the rate of positives coming in to Italy was so daft Even at the height of the biggest waves in the UK I think we've barely broken 7-8% of the population positive, and when that many are infected the wave burns out after 2-3 weeks. Sure you could go past that in a population with low immunity that suddenly drop all restrictions, but I still don't believe 40%+ of China suddenly caught Covid simultaneously, the sample from the flight looks to me like sick people trying to escape because the hospitals can't meet need.
DingDocMerrily Dec 2022 8:38pm, 30 Dec 2022 46,955 posts	Quote Pin DingDocMerrily An interesting thought fuzzy
Grast_girl Dec 2022 12:48am, 31 Dec 2022 2,853 posts	Quote Pin Grast_girl It may just be that they're not happy with China being more supportive of Russia and want to send a warning shot. I agree with jda that it's probably not a high risk, but the NHS really doesn't need any extra pressure at the moment. I think others on twitter have pointed out that it spreads so quickly, any testing should be applied to everyone, or it won't have any real effect on stopping a particular variant being transmitted.
fuzzyduck79 Dec 2022 12:55pm, 31 Dec 2022 1,573 posts	Quote Pin fuzzyduck79 Yes I think there are some political/diplomatic considerations going on as well. Think Sunak knows that if a handful of Chinese visitors end up in hospital over here it will be painted as beds being blocked by (gasp) foreigners and make the Tories look like they haven't got a clue about keeping anyone out/protecting taxpayers from public services being abused, which isn't a great look when the NHS is already in full meltdown, with an ongoing narrative about illegal immigrants invading across the Channel. I would imagine those Chinese who have got to the US already and might present at hospital are prepared to pay up front (no other way), so I'm thinking these people fleeing China are willing and able to pay their way and just don't want to get stuck dying for lack of treatment.
um Dec 2022 1:07pm, 31 Dec 2022 6,857 posts	Quote Pin um It's been reported as 'information gathering' rather than directly a health protection measure in The Times, The prime minister stepped in amid frustration that the lack of reliable data was hampering efforts to track potential new and dangerous variants. ... Ministers including Mark Harper, the transport secretary, who led opposition to Covid restrictions from the back benches, had questioned the approach because scientists said that there was no evidence it would stop the spread of the virus. However, he was persuaded that the move was necessary because of a lack of transparency from China. Scientific advisers continue to tell ministers that compulsory testing of arrivals from China will not make much difference to the course of Britain’s epidemic and is not a priority. But they have also said they are concerned that China is not sharing enough genomic analysis of its cases to tell whether the millions of infections in recent weeks have led to the evolution of variants.
jda Dec 2022 1:21pm, 31 Dec 2022 14,029 posts	Quote Pin jda They could just ban foreigners from using the NHS. Mind you they've pretty much banned Brits from using it already.
Tim of Fife Jan 2023 9:44am, 4 Jan 2023 3,865 posts	Quote Pin Tim of Fife Popped into a Morrisons Cafe for a wee Scottish Brekkie. Was surprised at how many people were masked, especially in such a huge and airy store. To be fair though, the store was in a biggish town, not a wee seaside burgh.
Bob! Jan 2023 9:48am, 4 Jan 2023 4,027 posts	Quote Pin Bob! Probably following the advice of Scotland's national clinical director. bbc.co.uk
Grast_girl Jan 2023 5:52pm, 4 Jan 2023 2,860 posts	Quote Pin Grast_girl It's not just covid anymore. I had a minor viral infection (literally one day of feeling a bit ill) that turned into a 5 week long chest infection and cough, which took 7 days of amoxicillin to clear and another 4 weeks or so for the cough to go. Still have a bit of a tight throat ~12 weeks later.
Lip Gloss Jan 2023 6:05pm, 4 Jan 2023 66,887 posts	Quote Pin Lip Gloss I have finally got an appointment for a barium swallow to hopefully throw some answers to the Lasting cough and choking. Still waiting for a MRI scan of the chest/lungs. 10 months in .