This type of virus will mutate over time in the process of entering humans. The mutation can mean it becomes much more virulent OR much less virulent. There is no way of predicting that either way. So bottom line, it's perfectly logical for governments and people to take this situation very seriously. 

1 minute ago, DrTuner said:

I just noticed the JHU dashboard does not automatically get the figures from dxy, looks like they enter them manually a few times a day. Yours are more up to date.

Yes, I  eventually noticed that too. dxy seems to update by region randomly throughout the day. Hubei is usually in the morning.

3 hours ago, spiekerjozef said:

What's a mask gonna do?

Make u look Asian.....or a surgeon...

10 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

I've seen a number of different opinions on this including some from people with a medical background saying masks are useless but that seems to be based simply on theoretical reasoning related to the size of virus particles, rather than actual scientific studies.

 

However according to the Healthline article referenced below, a number of studies have shown that wearing a mask - if combined with frequent hand washing, can reduce the chances of contracting a viral infections by between 70 and 80%.

 

Studies show masks do help

 

It should be noted however that at least one of the studies, "found no reduction in symptoms for mask use alone. This finding suggests that the use of masks should always be paired with regular hand washing."

 

 

I would give this task for Mythbusters, otherwise I won't believe. 

Masks....will they result in a Jesse James syndrome increase? More robberies?

A good time to go on the Alaskan cruise I want to go on !  No chance of catching the virus there.  

Long overdue well thought out perspective.  Thanks.

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Makes some of the ‘double-baggers’ look more approachable ????

I just spilled my coffee laughing at that! ????????

Wow, reading the OP it's like they almost copied the entire post I made yesterday in another thread !

Masks WILL help. Why ?

Because the most common method of infection is breathing in the tiny droplets of moisture people expel when they sneeze or cough. You are FAR more likely to breath in such droplets than get them in your eyes (due to the volume of air you inhale compared to the tiny size of your eyes and the constant blinking and tearing you do).

Infection through the eyes/tear ducts most often comes from people touching something (door handle, beer bar counter, or other hard surface) that has infected droplets on it and then touching/rubbing your eyes. 
Yes. You do it. All the time and don't even realize it.
 If you have open cuts/sores/abrasions and come into contact with infected droplets you could (possibly) get infected as well. (Or have sex with an infected person.)

However, keep in mind that you would need to touch a substantial amount of infected droplets in order to become infected, and they would have to be relatively "fresh" (as in, still wet) because the virus can't live outside a host for more than a few hours at best and if the moisture (infected droplets) dry, the virus dies.

And tiny little droplets of expelled moisture don't take long to evaporate.

Also keep in mind (like I wrote yesterday) that the virus affects the (very young, as in infants), the elderly and people with other serious conditions. If you THINK about it, that is why the death toll in China appears to be so high.
The Chinese who are travelling (and the visitors coming back from infected regions) are usually not in one of those categories. Which is (probably) also why there have been no deaths reported outside of China from this virus.

However, in Wuhan and surrounding areas what do you have ? Over 11 million people including huge numbers of elderly, infants and people with serious medical conditions. Duh ! No wonder they have more deaths.
As I (also) wrote yesterday, most of the deaths involved people over 60 except for 1 woman with diabetes and one 36 year old man that they aren't sure of (if he had anything else wrong with him at the time he was infected).

Why is that ? Well, the very young (infants) haven't developed the ability to fight off serious diseases. The elderly are often too weak to fight off infections. People with serious medical conditions (like AIDS or cancer) also have weakened immune systems that may not be able to fight off an infection.

Normal, healthy people will still be affected of course but in the vast majority of cases they will be able to fight it off just like they do every year during flu/cold season.

And, as I mentioned yesterday, the total death toll from the MERS/SARS/Ebola outbreaks in the last 7 years is roughly equivalent to the number of deaths on Thai roads in 40 days.

If you are going to start panicking about this virus already, you probably shouldn't go anywhere near a Thai road because you are far more likely to die there than from this virus.
 

thai people generally don't wash their hands, even after taking a s...  you can see that in the toilet of even famous shopping malls with people wearing restaurant (cook) clothes ...

 

in many places like schools, there is no soap

 

people sneeze, cough without covering their mouth

 

those surgical masks are only a polite way to not make other people sick, they don't protect you at all

 

bacterial gels kill 99 percent of germs, also the good one's on your hands to kill the bad one's

 

you just killed 99 percent to let the super bugs grow

A pandemic virus is not about PERSONAL THREAT.

 

Its about the threat of a society breaking down. Many Thai Visa users lament having to sit in their house/condo for 3 days during songkran - try being quarantined in a city for months like Wuhan. How long would you last? 

 

 

14 hours ago, spiekerjozef said:

What's a mask gonna do?

Make it easier to blend into the crowd after you rob 7-11

13 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

these are the masks I brought from the USA in 2014 when I moved to Thailand.

note the soft rubber that fits to your face and the hard plastic case and straps like a scuba mask. filters are replaceable.  

 

these are N100 masks.

 

M 8233, N100 HEPA Particulate Respirator 3M 8233 N100, HEPA certificated, have a minimum filter efficiency of 99.97% of particulate mater of less than 0.3 micron. This is the best rated filter by the CDC and WHO and is recommended for ultimate protection.

3m 8233 meet the CDC recommendation for protection against Ebola virus.

Unfortunately 0.3 micron will not stop a virus, whether recommended by the CDC or not, but I do wear an N95 because the air quality sucks at the best of times. What masks will do is prevent you from directly touching your face with your fingers as you transit around heavily trafficked areas, touching various surfaces with your hands. Unless the virus can be absorbed through the skin (which it cant), i don't see the advantage of gloves, whether your hands are bare or gloved unless you have open wounds, if you pick it up on your hands, you pick it up. Regular hand washing, alcohol Gel, keep your fingers away from your nose and mouth.

 

With a reported 2 week incubation period, thousands of Chinese entering Thailand since late December, whatever will happen is going to happen at this point. I don't see enough people using simple precautions as detailed above, we'll know for sure in the next 4 to 6 weeks how this will all play out.

 

In the meantime, i would suggest Bangkok knocking shops are the safest place to hang out. The coronavirus doesnt stand a chance against whatever those girls are carrying, it'll be strong-armed on the doorstep and kicked to the curb ????

washy washy????

So scuba diving equipment is all you need

1 hour ago, jaiyen said:

A good time to go on the Alaskan cruise I want to go on !  No chance of catching the virus there.  

Until you find its been block booked by the Wuhan Ladies International Spitting Team

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Not necessarily. Quite often people don't use them properly and get infected by handling the masks. 

Nobody needs to have a degree to put on a mask, put nothing is only stupid

14 hours ago, KimSamui said:

My Doctor yesterday told me to wear a mask, so I will follow his advice.

About 3 months ago my missus went to the hospital with a runny nose, cough, rising temperature etc... about 5 hours later she came home with a "saline bottle and a hypodermic syringe", the doctor told her she needed to flush her nose out 4 times a day?....

I went to the local pharmacy 5 minutes away and came home with antibiotics for her... threw the bottle in the bin.

I don't always believe what doctors say.

 

41 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

Nobody needs to have a degree to put on a mask, put nothing is only stupid

I recently read that about half the people use them incorrectly. 

For anyone worried, pollution masks do nothing against airborne viruses, because they can enter via the eyes. 

 

You would need to add some goggles. Since pollution masks do not fit airtight to the face, indeed a respirator would be the safest option.

 

Don't forget to add gloves for your protection, studies have shown the corona virus attaches live up to 4 days on plastic, glass and other materials.

 

Happy shopping!

Just now, Jingthing said:

I recently read that about half the people use them incorrectly. 

And many of them probably had degrees.

The air is so bad in Chiang Mai since middle of December, we also die from pollution if we dont wear a mask..... Thank you for all the burning nobody cares !!!

According to the world health its not the place to be. Thailand..

20,000 from Wuhan arrived in January. 

 

Preferred tourists...

I am playing it safe.... 

13 hours ago, zydeco said:

Wumao

is that in China?

31 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

About 3 months ago my missus went to the hospital with a runny nose, cough, rising temperature etc... about 5 hours later she came home with a "saline bottle and a hypodermic syringe", the doctor told her she needed to flush her nose out 4 times a day?....

I went to the local pharmacy 5 minutes away and came home with antibiotics for her... threw the bottle in the bin.

I don't always believe what doctors say.

 

Normally paracetamol is all you get.

Insert one tablet in each nostril...

13 hours ago, rabas said:

... most patients with severe illness were healthy to begin with, including a 30-year-old man who recently died

That would apply to any situation. The very definition of getting sick I would have thought.

22 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

About 3 months ago my missus went to the hospital with a runny nose, cough, rising temperature etc... about 5 hours later she came home with a "saline bottle and a hypodermic syringe", the doctor told her she needed to flush her nose out 4 times a day?....

I went to the local pharmacy 5 minutes away and came home with antibiotics for her... threw the bottle in the bin.

I don't always believe what doctors say.

 

Antibiotics for a virus?  Maybe you should be listening to the doctor after all.  Not to mention that self prescription and wrongful use of antibiotics are two of the main reasons that bacterial infections are increasingly becoming resistant to them.

34 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

About 3 months ago my missus went to the hospital with a runny nose, cough, rising temperature etc... about 5 hours later she came home with a "saline bottle and a hypodermic syringe", the doctor told her she needed to flush her nose out 4 times a day?....

I went to the local pharmacy 5 minutes away and came home with antibiotics for her... threw the bottle in the bin.

I don't always believe what doctors say.

 

Use one every day ,as i used to get a blocked nose ,best advice i ever had ,never even suggested when i went to see a specialist in England 

What is being done in Thailand?

 

Brown envelopes make the rounds and nifty pseudo false assurances from so called expert government officials....

 

 

Should you panic?

 

Most definitely,.... You should be very worried about the sneaky "Face-Ty" first attitude in the name of Chinese Tourism revnue, that the ruling regime is trying to milk at any cost.

 

 

Practice precaution, not paranoia

 

Yeah.... No outdoor activities. Sit home and eat cheetos all day, get fat.....  if you value your life.

 

 

Should you wear a mask?

 

Haha,... Do we have any other choice??