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Post by 3piggles on Jan 28, 2020 14:44:14 GMT
I was wondering if you and yours are safe, and if so, how do you stay safe?
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Post by Bean on Jan 29, 2020 9:58:47 GMT
One of our main airlines, BA, has suspended all flights to mainland China. We're hearing lots about businesses closing down for a period of weeks.
Let's hope it's all effective in helping to contain it.
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Post by shades on Jan 29, 2020 13:59:01 GMT
shades, I was wondering what your perspective is on the coronavirus outbreak? There are an increasing number of unverified reports from people in China suggesting that the situation is much worse than is being reported to us, especially in relation to the number of fatalities. As the country isn't known for freedom and transparency in the media, I was wondering if there was anything in it, or if it's just the sort of panicking that people always do when something like this happens. it's probably a bit of both. Culturally, nobody wants to share bad news even though some things just happen where nobody's to blame. And social media can make things even worse once "news" gets out. In my experience, there are a lot of gullible/naive internet users out there. Rumours can easily grow arms and legs. I haven't seen any panic buying but I'm not in the eye of the storm. It's a strange time as well because almost all businesses are closed for Spring Festival, so most people are stocked up for this period. The only thing people are panicking over are face masks.
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Post by shades on Jan 29, 2020 14:09:41 GMT
I was wondering if you and yours are safe, and if so, how do you stay safe? There's not much I can do other than stay away from crowds - no shopping malls, etc. In the holiday period, we visit family every day. That's normal. That's pretty safe, I hope I don't mind staying at home as long as the internet isn't cut off We're about 500 miles from Wuhan, so the risk is relatively low but not one to ignore. The authorities here are very proactive to protect everyone. Communal areas are disinfected and everyone is reminded about good hygiene. I feel positive that things will be back to normal pretty soon.
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Post by shades on Jan 29, 2020 14:26:10 GMT
One of our main airlines, BA, has suspended all flights to mainland China. We're hearing lots about businesses closing down for a period of weeks. Let's hope it's all effective in helping to contain it. I think you're hearing a lot from those who don't really understand Chinese life It still makes me smile when I see a photo captioned "some Chinese people wearing face masks... " as if it's unusual. They been wearing them for a while because of the cold and the air pollution. Only the dumb foreigners don't have a ready supply on hand It's Spring Festival and it's not unusual for businesses to close for a while because their workers might go home for a month, or might not even come back. It's virtually impossible to find any tradesmen in the month after CNY. Having said that, private training schools are currently closed indefinitely and there's a plan to extend the school holidays if necessary. I expect some businesses will close until it's safe, especially those who do business with the affected areas. But it's not in the country's interest to stop business activity everywhere. Luckily, it's been possible to lock down several cities to minimise the spread, although some cases have emerged elsewhere. The carriers obviously slipped out before the lockdown. Just for reference, Wuhan is about 5 times bigger than London, and Hubei province is bigger than England.
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Post by Bean on Jan 29, 2020 16:46:23 GMT
I agree that social media really doesn't help - one badly worded or slightly inaccurate article can soon take on a life of its own.
I saw one article about how effective face masks were against the virus (the eyes would be a big weak spot with an airborne virus!), but it was soon pointed out that a lot of people in cities wear them anyway because of the poor air quality. I think that's pretty common knowledge here.
The news article talking about businesses closing down did mention the holidays and that these aren't businesses that would usually close over that period. But of course most of us have no idea what's normal. It sounds like lots of proactive measures are being taken anyway, but that people are still cracking on with their lives.
Hope you're enjoying the holidays. If all these family gatherings revolve around food, I hope you're managing to join in while carb-dodging!
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 29, 2020 22:10:25 GMT
Some of my friends are having mini panics, as the virus has reached the US, but it's almost as if, being in a group of people who are having mini panics, it becomes the thing to do. As you said, social media is not helping get the correct information out to the public. It's probably doing just the opposite. I'm glad you're all okay, and hope you stay that way. Do you need a care package of face masks: We have them in stock
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