How serious is this?

[Derek]

No I don't claim to be someone that I am not. On this subject I would really have liked the "Health Professional" to have been correct.

[gaveteran]

After reading 11 pages and not venturing outside for two weeks, I just thought I would take the time to answer Derek's original question. "Derek, it's quite serious".

[BeachLife]

My neighbor in Coventry is a A&E nurse and bizarrely our big UCHW Walsgrave hospital IS very quiet.

Tells me something else - people were coming to A&E for stuff that could have been fixed at a Pharmacy, GP or 111 - but thats not for today

Also, the wards are very quiet as a result of all the cancelled surgery - Its all in prep for the expected cases that are coming in.  In Coventry we have not been hit hard (yet) at all - relatively with only 3 deaths all people with very significant underlying conditions. But if you look at the hotspots in North London in particular with over 150 dead and many more in ICU, I wonder where it will end.

We are isolating as much as we can (missing the kids and grandchildren) even though we are relatively young and fit - its the right thing to do.

If anyone gets a chance - have a look at the Sky News  (catchup) article tonight on CV-19 from Oxford Uni. So many (thousands) of us in the UK may have already had it and not know - we need (as does the world) cheap and effective testing kits really fast. It would change behaviors and stop the spread

Mother in law was taken into hospital a week ago,non virus , she passed through the A&E waiting room during the morning and there were only five people waiting, unheard of.

[Derek]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/spain-coronavirus-response-analysis

Read how Spain got is so wrong.

[kevinb]

As I've been doing errands for an elderly neighbour I've been to a doctor's surgery and multiple chemists and some food shopping as despite the guy being 88 and his wife just come out of hospital having had a cancer op they couldn't get a chemist delivery and food deliveries are backed up, I'm now trying to find someone else to take over as a few days back started a dry cough and felt under par, no other symptoms yet though.

[Gemstone]

Sad news, lady died last night from the virus in Calle Canaries, up by Unide, husband in quarantine.

Stay safe everyone.

[bertdove]

This site gives the statistics for the progress of Covid-19 in Spain:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/spain/

Bert

[wilson]

Quote //My neighbor in Coventry is a A&E nurse and bizarrely our big UCHW Walsgrave hospital IS very quiet.
Tells me something else - people were coming to A&E for stuff that could have been fixed at a Pharmacy, GP or 111.
Beach life you are spot on, my wife works in A&E at another large midlands hospital, for several years they have failed inspections on a&e waiting times, corridors full, ambos queuing outside, now the department is at 30%, few ambos, little to no walk ins, no gp referrals, no care home referrals. So where are they all you ask. all the staff have thought and said for years that so many attend needlessly which this now proves. That said many others that regularly attend hospital on pointless occasions are no doubt clearing the shelves. When the dust settles they will emerge from under they’re toilet roll and pasta mountain and normal business will resume.

[kevinb]

Have read today that the reason that Italy and Spain has such a high death rate ironically is  due to the healthy Mediterranean lifestyle both countries  have a very large elderly population and it is this group who are the biggest casualties of the virus.

[chris and jackie]

Also the fact there are more smokers in both particularly males who have twice the death rate as females will contribute and the habit of both countries of kissing both cheeks in greeting would have helped spread.

[BeachLife]

Hi Kevin - is there any info that you have seen that backs up the demographics claims for the higher rate of Italian and Spanish fatalities - I absolutely not doubting you just trying to see that data country by country

Have read today that the reason that Italy and Spain has such a high death rate ironically is  due to the healthy Mediterranean lifestyle both countries  have a very large elderly population and it is this group who are the biggest casualties of the virus.

[kevinb]

Hi Beachlife, I read it in the Mail, it might not be true as it came from a newspaper but it does have credibility. The question I ask re UK deaths is how many people would have died anyway, an average of 1500 people die every day in the he UK, I can't seem to find a running total at the moment, I know that does not sound nice. It seems that the percentage rate of deaths in the UK is distorted as confirmed virus cases are only recorded in hospitals so as people being hospitalised are likely to be serious and many will subsequently die, the percentage rate of deaths will be high , likely ther are many thousands of infections in communities where people quickly get better but these cases go unreported so the theory is that the percentage of deaths recorded is many times the actual real mortality rate.

[Derek]

WHAT A MOVING POST

I was going to wait until tomorrow but I don’t feel that I can. Please share this post far and wide. People need to understand just how serious the Coronavirus/Covid-19 is.

My brother David went to hospital by ambulance on Sunday afternoon displaying the symptoms of covid -19. He walked into the ambulance unaided. At the hospital they immediately put him into a deep coma on life support. The test came back positive. On Tuesday his kidneys failed, then his lungs became under attack and although he really didn’t stand a chance, we as a family were hopeful. He was a big, strong man and my big brother. We all knew that he would fight and fight to stay with us. Covid-19 decided differently.

This afternoon the decision was made by his consultant that they could do no more and that he couldn’t come back from this. His life support was switched off and he passed peacefully at 2pm. We are all devastated and can’t really believe that this has happened to him.

He was a loving partner, dad, brother, grandad, uncle, great uncle and a friend to so many people. The next few days will be so difficult.

What people may not know is that because of covid-19 he could not have anybody with him except the ICU nurses who were absolutely wonderful. No visitors. Nobody from his family to sit with him. No family could travel to be with him as we wouldn’t be allowed in. His partner, isolated, not allowed to say goodbye.

We are all being asked to follow the rules.

Just do it.

My brother is not just a statistic in the news.

Save yourselves from the pain and heartache that we are going through.

Please, please share.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3724240840982132&set=a.170426206363631&type=3&eid=ARBzbYnwuJcMeW6IlD4ewQjte4oOZQIODUnMHxjnUaIOFNcrEfYvmaNinDFW0c8Uhjf-6AIuC872UTwF

[Derek]

Follow up from a brave young lady.

Thank you to each and every one of you who have shared my post about my brother. The shares have reached 69,175 which is amazing.

Word is getting out there to follow the rules, stay indoors, social distance and if you are a key worker, like my friends working in schools, take all the precautions you can.

Thank you for all your kind words to us as a family as we try to come to terms with losing a lovely, gentle, kind and loving man.

Please keep reminding your friends and family not to take any chances. Stay away from each other and stay safe.

Love to you all 💔

[John H]

So so sad Derek

My sister-in-law, early 60's, in fine health, not a social mixer, spends her time in her gorgeous garden and reading started with breathing difficulties last Sunday, I'll cut through to the chase, on Friday she called an ambulance, within fifteen minutes she was in an isolation ward, shortly after she was on a ventilator and put into an induced coma, which she is still in. The Doctors are 99% convinced that she has Covid 19, the test results are apparantly taking three days to come through so we obviously cant be 100% sure. All the Doctors will say is that she is very very poorly.

Everyone in the family is gob smacked, we all realised that there was a fair chance that this happen to a loved one, but Janet was the one we all thought was the least likely to catch it, thats why Ive posted this, as several folk have said on this thread listen to advice being given and follow it to the letter......dont be the smart arse who thinks they know better and think that it wont happen to them.

Stay safe

John

and just to add, if anyone in the family has to catch this awful virus we are so thankful that they got it now and not in a few weeks when the NHS will be under unbelievable pressure