Schools across China are closed and teachers are conducting online lessons. Safe and effective.
And not really, isolation was a few weeks ago, now it’s more protective measures as people are at work.
Yet you want people to blindly listen to what you’re saying.
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I’d be very surprised if WWDC goes ahead, too.
This is a proper popcorn thread!!
Based on things I’ve read (from the internet so must be true):
Most masks (the type that are selling out) do bugger all to stop an airborne virus from what I’ve read (hey you with the mask on, how are you managing to breathe?! Ohh because air is allowed through the mask… I see).
Anti-bacterial gel won’t kill a virus.
Taking sensible precautions, wash your hands properly, cover your mouth when you sneeze etc etc are important (this is not NEW advice surely!).
Ohhh and while we are at it, the number of people who died after being in a traffic accident yesterday is still greater than the total number of people that have died due to this virus.
The impact for isolation is largely monetary for some people (worse in the US).
So my popcorn question to all the experts is…
What else is the government up to as clearly this mild mass panic they are rousing is to cover something else… right?
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Maybe there’s another way to look at it, rousing up mass panic to cover up a lack of doing anything else meaningful
Maybe there isn’t anything meaningful to do except tell people to be aware?
P.S. I was joking. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, nor do I claim to be an expert in anything. I was just repeating things wot I read on t’internet.
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Pleased to see we have so many world renowned epidemiologists on the forum this morning.
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Washing your hands properly is genuinely the best thing you can do to protect yourself against viruses. Coronavirus is an enveloped virus - it has an outer membrane of oil and fat. Soap will explode this membrane and render the virus ineffective.
So, yeah. Wash your hands properly, everyone. And while alcohol hand gel will do in a pinch for cleaning your hands, it’s not as effective (the alcohol needs to be strong enough, for one; and if it’s antibacterial gel then that’s not having any extra effect because Coronavirus is an, er, virus), so take care not to touch your face (eyes, nose, mouth) until you can wash your hands properly.
ETA: I have been reminded that it’s bullshit that “wash your hands!” is the only advice and measure that the UK government are taking, but. They could be doing more to reduce the potential spread by reducing large gatherings, encouraging ill people to self-isolate, but nope. That’s the wrong way about it, and it is materially affecting people. It too far longer than it should have to cancel the London Book Fair, for example - and even then it was only cancelled because so many big publishers pulled out, not because the UK government said “Large gatherings like this are a bad idea”. Presumably this will have insurance implications for the organisers of the fair, who may have to eat a large loss rather than being able to claim anything.
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There seems to be a sudden surge of them the world over!
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Masks.
Do.
Not.
Stop.
You.
Getting.
The.
Virus.
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This is just ridiculous. Masks with appropriate filtration can easily stop viruses coming through the filter.
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Which, as I’m sure you’re aware, is NOT what 99% of the people wearing masks are wearing. You know this.
I also read recently that the most common masks that can stop viruses are single use, only last a few hours and are desperately needed by medical professionals to, you know, treat people.
Any super high tech mask is NOT readily available, and certainly won’t have the production numbers to cover the entire country if not globe.
So: wash your hands remains the single most useful piece of advice that everyone can do with no impact to anyone.
I actually will give the government credit; relatively speaking the plans in place remain realistic and relative to the issue at hand. The virus is far less common than general flu, and most people recover. So let’s not panic right away.
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Most masks available over the counter do not have filters which prevent viruses. Worth noting that Virii are much smaller than particulates whilst they may filter for spittle / virus carried on phlegm if this virus is truly aerosolised or supports transmision through the air they will not protect you.
Because it’s a new illness, we do not know exactly how coronavirus spreads from person to person.
Similar viruses are spread in cough droplets.
Summary
Masks may help, they may not. Keep up to date with advice and don’t panic.
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What a great word 
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I haven’t seen any English people wearing masks in fairness. The only masks I’ve seen people wearing are correct spec ones and they’ve all been on asian people.
I’ve no idea what kind of masks people have been buying but they’re readily available as I bought some the other day.
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Probably going follow the advice of experts vs some guy on the internet, for better or worse
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Generalising is a terrible thing to do.
People in the UK have been doing shit like this:
Meanwhile, there are plenty of asian people wearing ‘masks’ like these, none of which are effective:
Generalising helps no-one. The panic-buying of standard face masks can harm doctors and patients if this causes a shortage in supply, as their primary use is to stop them getting germs on their patients, especially in operating theatres.
And finally, the average man on the street, even if they’ve purchased a virus-level face mask, they’re probably not using it properly:
- You have to know how to fit it properly to prevent leaks. (Anyone with facial hair is fooling themselves)
- You’re supposed to change the filters regularly (people never change their filters!)
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Yep, hipsters are the first to die
Trust guidance is to be clean shaven during
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Masks don’t need to be ‘fitted’ to be effective - they’re not tailored and I’ve never seen one with a changeable filter because they’re quite rightly single use and disposable.
3M N95 spec masks are simple to use and very effective.
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I’ve literally never seen any Asian person wearing the same type of mask you put up before. And I spend a good 4 months a year in Asia for the last 8 years.
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