DON'T PANIC.... well, maybe a little bit.

Game Plague inc.

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I bet that if my parents would have the ‘normal’ regular flu ? (not a cold), then at least one of them would die. As so many others in that elderly group. The resistance as of a certain age is just too weak. Luckily they get a yearly shot, but even that’s no guarantee...

For those that don't know: Plague Inc is a game where you play as a disease. Your goal is to exterminate human kind. You have to balance between being lethal and being infectious. Too lethal and you could wipe yourself out (by running out of hosts before you can spread to other countries), not lethal enough and health authorities could find a cure before you succeed.

One of the hardest place to wipe out was Greenland, because it does not share a land border, and only has one port, which once it is shut down, means the disease can no longer spread to Greenland, and you (the disease) would lose.

So if you see references of moving to Greenland, this is why.

As for the actual real life virus, I think so far it's a huge overreaction.
 
For those that don't know: Plague Inc is a game where you play as a disease. Your goal is to exterminate human kind. You have to balance between being lethal and being infectious. Too lethal and you could wipe yourself out (by running out of hosts before you can spread to other countries), not lethal enough and health authorities could find a cure before you succeed.

One of the hardest place to wipe out was Greenland, because it does not share a land border, and only has one port, which once it is shut down, means the disease can no longer spread to Greenland, and you (the disease) would lose.

So if you see references of moving to Greenland, this is why.

As for the actual real life virus, I think so far it's a huge overreaction.

Madagascar was also a b*tch to infect. Good fun though.

Highly recommended on Android and iOS.
 
As our film develops, Dustin Hoffman as a TV journalist has reports that the new vaccines (now there is a race to produce a vaccine within six months... Think of the profits) which have been rushed out in the millions are actually having terrible side effects ranging from epileptic fits to death. This is being hushed up and as Dustin hones in on the story he is drugged, kidnapped and wakes up to find himself strapped down and about to be administered the suspect vaccine.
 
I guess the world is lucky that the outbreak happened in China, imagine if it happened elsewhere, can they lockdown cities? Only China can do it, locking down a city with more than 10 million people, first time in history. Let's just pray non of the infected is currently in Indonesia...
 
Nonetheless it is a bit like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. It will at least slow down the spread and perhaps allow more time to understand how best to treat the virus but there would seem to be enough cases spread around for it to keep spreading until it reaches its maximum potential and we learn how serious a disease it will mutate into.

The impact on markets is already being felt and with so many industries now reliant on tourism the total losses will be enormous. I think it was CNN mentioned the name of a hotel in Singapore where a case was found. Now that will really hurt. Imagine how many bookings they will lose as that information spreads. Meanwhile the economic affects are also being predicted as serious for Australia dependent upon China for trade and tourism and is cited as a reason why the Aus $ has fallen now to 9.284 Rupiah. Ouch!
 
As with any other (influenza) vaccine, 5 more months to have it fully tested, full roll-out end of the year...
 
Virus reached Europe now, too. 3 cases in France...also the number of infections and deaths in China increased dramatically within the last 24 hours.
 
Meanwhile the economic affects are also being predicted as serious for Australia dependent upon China for trade and tourism and is cited as a reason why the Aus $ has fallen now to 9.284 Rupiah. Ouch!

In 2020, the rupiah has been quite strong so far. Increase of value compared to most of the 'Western' currencies...I think there are more relevant impacts than this virus on that, at least until now. I read that many investors demanded high amounts of IDR lately.
 
This new virus is more dangerous than SARS due to the following reasons;
1. It is more infectious (spreads faster).
2. Some of the infected had no fever symptoms (thermometer at airports is not 100% effective).
3. Incubation period is longer at 14 days (in comparison, SARS is 2-7 days).

So infected persons can enter another country because the virus is still under incubation (so no symptoms at all) or had no fever or cough symptoms (undetectable).

 
Our school holidays here in HK have been extended until 17 Feb., and we're staying away from crowds more than we normally do. (I despise large crowds!)

Face masks/procedural masks are sold out all over, but we had a few extra boxes so tidak masalah. We ordered a few more masks and more hand disinfectant from Amazon - probably faster than local shops without the price gouging that's going on now.

Otherwise, we're just emphasizing to our kids to wash hands regularly and to try not to touch the face/mouth. We wear masks on public transport.

We'll try to keep up our immune systems with proper sleep, good diet (including supplements), low stress levels...oh wait! the kids are home until 17 Feb. Well, two out of three ain't bad! o_O

Yes, we're concerned, and as you all know, the number of infected is sure to rise over the next few days.

One also assumes that Hong Kong will see a larger presence of mainland troops. They wouldn't miss this opportunity would they?
 
Having lived in HK, I know their sense of "over doing" things.
Still I think the medias are just adding to the fear....

Although this thing of course need to be taken seriously, I think there is a bit of over panicking here...

For example, pneumonia killed over 8,000 people in HKG in 2017. That's 22 per day. In complete silence.


"Pneumonia was the second leading cause of death in 2017. In 2017, the number of deaths were 8,032, accounting for 17.5% of all registered deaths. The crude death rates for male and female were 128.5 and 91.8 per 100,000 population of respective sex."

And concerning the paper mask thing.... in 8 y I never wore one, and I wouldn't start now.
 
The news we got earlier this evening is that there is a suspected case of the Coronavirus in Bandung (but not yet confirmed- more tests needed).
I believe the patient has been put in an isolation unit until tests are complete.

*The hospital statement below is asking people not to panic and to wait patiently until Monday for more news. They do not want people to listen to rumours and create hoax/panic situations within the community... (My paraphrasing - not verbatim)

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Just some perspective:
WHO estimates that seasonal influenza may result in 290 000-650 000 deaths each year due to respiratory diseases alone.

:tea:

Yes, we need to stay away from the sensational news and the 'doom and gloom' websites.

Still, a concern of ours here in Hong Kong.
 
The news we got earlier this evening is that there is a suspected case of the Coronavirus in Bandung (but not yet confirmed- more tests needed).

The one in Jambi, just like three in Bali (two Chinese kids and Mexican), were all negatives.
 
It also seems the virus is a bit similar to the others, the influenza types, that it prefers lower temperatures and humidity levels. So from that perspective.....
 
This new virus is more dangerous than SARS due to the following reasons;
1. It is more infectious (spreads faster).
2. Some of the infected had no fever symptoms (thermometer at airports is not 100% effective).
3. Incubation period is longer at 14 days (in comparison, SARS is 2-7 days).

So infected persons can enter another country because the virus is still under incubation (so no symptoms at all) or had no fever or cough symptoms (undetectable).


Where does the guy say the virus is more dangerous? He says it MAY BE more contagious than SARS.

Going by the number of reported cases, from the news that this is a lighter variant of which most probably many cases go undetected and clear-up on their own, taking this into consideration with the number of confirmed cases vs confirmed deaths, comparing those with the regular flu on a yearly basis; I would say the common flu is more dangerous than this Wuhan thing.
 
The one thing that this disease does have going for it is that it seems to be contagious from the moment of infection, thus even before symptoms start to show.

But then again, that is also only based on media reports. Too many uncertainties.
 
How many of you are in the age group or have Indonesian parents in law that would be vulnerable to influenza type diseases AND do get a yearly vaccine?

People who work often get it offered via the employer. But obviously they are not in that ‘risky’ age bracket.

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