How serious is this?

[Derek]

Hi
I read that there have been 19 cases of Coronavirus in the Valencia area including Benidorm and Torrevieja resulting in one death so far. I have flights booked for the 17th of this month but I am staying at home instead as it is not in my view worth the risk. The air condition on planes spread germs around the plan. Surely this will ruin the holiday trade if others also play safe.

Derek

[Stuart159]

Oh dear.

[NickiH]

We are coming over on Sunday for a couple of weeks. Will take some precautions like a mask on the plane. Will turn off the air con above the seat and won’t eat or drink on the plane. Other than that I can’t see any more risk than staying in the UK. You would have to be very unlucky to find someone on the plane going from UK to Spain with the Virus. The UK media has gone mad over this. It’s getting silly now. Although a serious virus the risk is pretty low at the moment. Personally I would still go.  A couple of hundred people throughout the country with a population of about 47 million. If you were staying in a hotel I could understand but your own place should be absolutely fine.

[Derek]

Yes but tonight's news is 3089 cases in Italy with 107 deaths. All schools and colleges are being closed. Israel have placed restrictions on people travelling there from Spain.

Surely this action would not be taken lightly.

Derek

[NickiH]

Yes that’s Italy not Spain. Spain has less than 200 at the moment. I’m sure it will rise like the UK will rise. You will just have to see what the situation is a few days before your travel dates.

[Derek]

Agree but Italy had 200 cases before they had 201 and now they have thousands.

[John H]

We have hired a villa in Majorca in May, the balance was due to be paid today.....we cancelled the booking.

We will reassess the situation closer to the time and if conditions are more favourable we will look for a late deal.

As it stands at the momen there is no way I want to be in close confinement with180 other folk on an aeroplane.

I phoned our travel insurance company and even if the Government advise against travel we still wouldn't be covered for cancellation costs.

Life is more important than a few weeks in the sun

Regards all

John

[chris and jackie]

I think people need to stop listening to the media driven hysteria, there's c 100,000 infections out of 6.5bn most still in China.
500,000 die from flu every year but you don't see people not traveling because of this, you have more chance of being killed by a car on a quiet county road thanthe virus ! And masks don't stop you getting virus!

[Derek]

Hi

Well it is nice to know certain forum members here know sufficiently more about this virus than the Chief Medical Officer,

It is reassuring that there is nothing to worry about and I will rebook my flight later this morning. Amazing that there is no more risk than crossing the road and that a 10% death rate dosn't really matter because of road accidents.

No more hand washing either will result in money being saved on gel.

I think the big difference between normal flu and this virus is that those that are vulnerable, like the young, sick and elderly, can get protection by receiving an annual vaccination.

Derek

[kevinb]

 I read that between 13 and 17 thousand people die of the flu in the UK every year.

[BeachLife]

This microsite fed with data by the WHO is the one to use if you are interested...

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/special-focus/covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak-latest-information-news-and-updates/

The status as of yesterday below

I know its stats but more people recovered yesterday than new cases

[Derek]

"I know its stats but more people recovered yesterday than new cases"

Could that not be that people are taking precautions to avoid catching it? (rather than as above suggesting there is no greater risk than walking on a rural road).

Derek

[BeachLife]

Yes, of course it could be that I guess Derek

Could that not be that people are taking precautions to avoid catching it? (rather than as above suggesting there is no greater risk than walking on a rural road).

Derek

[chris and jackie]

The U.K. chief Medical officer has not suggested you don't travel or go on just take holidays just take precautions like hand washing. This extra cleanliness is having an impact on all illnesses as flu statistics are also down.

IF you look at the deaths they are nearly all people with serious illnesses anyway, 2 of Spain's deaths were a 99 year old woman and an 82 year old man with serious health issues!

I still think it's hysteria whipped up by the media and people are panicking such as clearing supermarket shelves of toilet rolls etc and cancelling flights and losing money

[Ash]

 Cannot believe the hysteria that that the virus appears to be causing
People bulk buying in shops as if Armageddon is on its way
Basic hygiene appears to be the order of the day, hand washing which I would have thought was a basic requirement for most people
At the present time two people have died in the UK both of them had underlying medical issues
We are talking about less than 200 people in the UK who have contracted the virus which compared to the amount of people that contact flu every year is minuscule.
We now have people wearing masks which do nothing to stop the spread of the virus and if anything increase the risk of infection due to the moisture they hold
People just need to adopt a robust attitude to this and carry on their day to day lives 
Obviously if you are susceptible to these sort of infections then the risk increases slightly
But common sense appears to be the order of the day