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"like nothing is going on" - Most people assume they'll be fine. And they're right. Even those that get it, the vast majority will survive it, like they survive

"like nothing is going on" - Most people assume they'll be fine. And they're right. Even those that get it, the vast majority will survive it, like they survive most illnesses. It's just not that scary unless you're in an at-risk category. I say this as a British male in my 30's. I'm not changing anything unless I get ill. And then, it will only be to stay away from at-risk people and large gatherings. If I worked in an office, I'd work from home, but I work from home already. I'm certainly not going to barracade myself in my house for weeks/months. That's just my perspective, and one which may explain why you're seeing this behaviour from other Brits. [edit] Yeah, I thought this comment might be controversial. General response seems to be that I should be more scared than I am, and that I should do more than I am to stop the spread of the disease. I'm still not scared, and I still feel my response is proprotionate at this time.

yread 7y ago
Even young people end up in ICU like this 16 year old: https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5056536/sehraz-breda-coronavirus-16-intensive-care-besmet-covid19 https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5056536/se... As the classic asks: Do you feel lucky, punk?
- baby 7y ago
  They probably would have ended up there after catching the flu.
  - allannienhuis 7y ago
    but they're no where nearly as likely to catch the flu as they are this virus, which no one is immune to.
  - wila 7y ago
    The boy was never sick.
- mike-cardwell 7y ago
  Every time I eat something or go somewhere, or don't eat something or don't go somewhere, I'm taking a risk with my life. What matters is what the level of risk is, and what the cost of reducing that risk is. I feel lucky.
zozbot234 7y ago
> Most people assume they'll be fine. And they're right. Even those that get it, the vast majority will survive it, like they survive most illnesses. This assumes that you can get comprehensive treatment from the healthcare system. If you can't, the numbers get very scary, even for the young (relatively speaking). If we really want the "herd immunity" strategy to work, we should still start containment now in order to flatten the curve, accounting for long lags due to the incubation period. "Wait and see" is not a viable approach, and other countries were mistaken in trying it.
allannienhuis 7y ago
> I'm not changing anything unless I get ill. The whole point of the social distancing strategy is that it's not just about you.
greedo 7y ago
Roughly 20% of people who get infected require hospitalization. For multiple weeks. And though a majority of those being hospitalized survive, they often incur damage to their lungs and organs.
tilolebo 7y ago
Do you realize that: You might still need intensive care and not get it? You might be infected and not know it? This is really a huge gamble you're making, for your health and others'
nerfhammer 7y ago
The idea of being contagious and spreading the virus to others doesn't bother you?
- mike-cardwell 7y ago
  I drive a car. Some day I might kill somebody because of it. It would bother me if it happened of course, but I'm not going to stop driving just in case.
  - nerfhammer 7y ago
    Car accidents don't kill an exponentially increasing number of people once set in motion.
    - mike-cardwell 7y ago
      You wrote: "The idea of being contagious and spreading the virus to others doesn't bother you?" - To me, the point you seemed to be making was: if you do something that applies some level of risk to others, then that must mean you don't care about the harm. So I addressed that by pointing out that most people risk the lives of others, but do care about the potential harm. Now you've gone off on a tangent, and made an entirely different point, but presented it as an argument related to your first comment, or my response to it. It is neither. I understand your position to be: Something bad is happening, and anything other than the most extreme response is to be criticised. Which is usually the response to be expected on Internet forums, so I'm going to move on now.
CaptArmchair 7y ago
Okay, let's make this a bit more graphic. Suppose you caught it. It means you may get sick for several days. Sucks, but hey. However, it also means you'll be contagious for the next couple of weeks. Before you get sick, but also after you got better. Anyone who comes in contact with you runs a risk of catching it from you. What does that mean "contact"? Simple. You're basically shedding viral particles. An invisible cloud of them hovers around you. A cough, talking, touching anything ranging from toilet seats to doorknobs to tables,... You basically leave a trail of particles that has the potential to infect others long hours after you've passed by. And you wouldn't even realize you're doing it. Because this is exactly where you'll get a demonstration of power laws in action. Suppose 1 person infects 2 others over the course of those weeks, those will go on to infect 4, 16, 32,... you'll get what's going on here. Basically, you're that first match in a stack of matches that got lit, and before you know it, the entire stack has burned down. Why is that bad? Because maybe two or three hops from you, there's a specialist, a couple of nurses, a few people who are designated to help out elderly people and maybe a couple of people with health conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure,... You didn't just got sick, you also provided a gateway for the virus to jump to all those people as well. Meaning all those who got sick can't provide healthcare anymore; and a ton of people end up in an already strained healthcare system. And that's discounting people who have bad luck and end up having a heart attack, a stroke or a bad accident. If the ICU's are overloaded with COVID patients, stark choices will have to be made on who gets to live and who is left to die. That's where they are in Italy right now. We aren't just talking about "patients", we are talking about your and other people's loved ones. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends,... That's what we are discussing here. Wrapping up. If you think that barricading yourself in your house for weeks/months is a "no go", well, you're not gonna like what's going to happen next either. Stay in your home. Avoid contact if you can. Follow the WHO recommendations. Be responsible about this. That's how you help saving lives.
- threedots 7y ago
  He's following the advice of his government and its experts. The two most prominent of which have spent their entire professional lives studying infectious diseases. You are a guy on the internet with opinions. Why should he listen to you and not them ?
d0mine 7y ago
Even if you've decided that the risk to yourself is acceptable, think who you might infect (there can be around a month between the infection and the first symptoms) who [they may] have less chances for survival (if you are against social distancing, at least don't be around old people or places they have to visit).
cycrutchfield 7y ago
If you, in your ignorance, are contagious before you decide to self-quarantine and end up transmitting the virus to others who will suffer and die for it, will that weigh on your conscience? Given your apparent self-centered attitude and lack of empathy, I would guess that it will not bother you one bit.
- mike-cardwell 7y ago
  I understand the risks. I wouldn't expect/want every body else in the country to hide away in their houses to protect me from getting Coronovirus either. That would imply a self-centered attitude and lack of empathy that is probably better applied to people such as yourself.
  - DanBC 7y ago
    > I understand the risks That's not possible, because we don't yet have enough information about covid-19. We're still trying to work out what the death rate is! > It's just not that scary unless you're in an at-risk category. I say this as a British male in my 30's. So far we think your chance of death if _you_ (30 years old, no comorbidities) get covid-19 is between 0.5% and 1.5%. And that's if the hospitals are not overwhelmed. One thing that will overwhelm the hospitals is people like you spreading disease.
    - mike-cardwell 7y ago
      Risk analysis doesn't require complete information. I understand the risks given the current information that is being provided. By the sound if it, your risk analysis (also based on incomplete information) has lead you to believe that I should take some measures that I am not. That does not concern me.

yread 7y ago

Even young people end up in ICU like this 16 year old: https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5056536/sehraz-breda-coronavirus-16-intensive-care-besmet-covid19 https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5056536/se... As the classic asks: Do you feel lucky, punk?

baby 7y ago
They probably would have ended up there after catching the flu.
- allannienhuis 7y ago
  but they're no where nearly as likely to catch the flu as they are this virus, which no one is immune to.
- wila 7y ago
  The boy was never sick.
mike-cardwell 7y ago
Every time I eat something or go somewhere, or don't eat something or don't go somewhere, I'm taking a risk with my life. What matters is what the level of risk is, and what the cost of reducing that risk is. I feel lucky.

zozbot234 7y ago

> Most people assume they'll be fine. And they're right. Even those that get it, the vast majority will survive it, like they survive most illnesses. This assumes that you can get comprehensive treatment from the healthcare system. If you can't, the numbers get very scary, even for the young (relatively speaking). If we really want the "herd immunity" strategy to work, we should still start containment now in order to flatten the curve, accounting for long lags due to the incubation period. "Wait and see" is not a viable approach, and other countries were mistaken in trying it.

allannienhuis 7y ago

> I'm not changing anything unless I get ill. The whole point of the social distancing strategy is that it's not just about you.

greedo 7y ago

Roughly 20% of people who get infected require hospitalization. For multiple weeks. And though a majority of those being hospitalized survive, they often incur damage to their lungs and organs.

tilolebo 7y ago

Do you realize that: You might still need intensive care and not get it? You might be infected and not know it? This is really a huge gamble you're making, for your health and others'

nerfhammer 7y ago

The idea of being contagious and spreading the virus to others doesn't bother you?

mike-cardwell 7y ago
I drive a car. Some day I might kill somebody because of it. It would bother me if it happened of course, but I'm not going to stop driving just in case.
- nerfhammer 7y ago
  Car accidents don't kill an exponentially increasing number of people once set in motion.
  - mike-cardwell 7y ago
    You wrote: "The idea of being contagious and spreading the virus to others doesn't bother you?" - To me, the point you seemed to be making was: if you do something that applies some level of risk to others, then that must mean you don't care about the harm. So I addressed that by pointing out that most people risk the lives of others, but do care about the potential harm. Now you've gone off on a tangent, and made an entirely different point, but presented it as an argument related to your first comment, or my response to it. It is neither. I understand your position to be: Something bad is happening, and anything other than the most extreme response is to be criticised. Which is usually the response to be expected on Internet forums, so I'm going to move on now.

CaptArmchair 7y ago

Okay, let's make this a bit more graphic. Suppose you caught it. It means you may get sick for several days. Sucks, but hey. However, it also means you'll be contagious for the next couple of weeks. Before you get sick, but also after you got better. Anyone who comes in contact with you runs a risk of catching it from you. What does that mean "contact"? Simple. You're basically shedding viral particles. An invisible cloud of them hovers around you. A cough, talking, touching anything ranging from toilet seats to doorknobs to tables,... You basically leave a trail of particles that has the potential to infect others long hours after you've passed by. And you wouldn't even realize you're doing it. Because this is exactly where you'll get a demonstration of power laws in action. Suppose 1 person infects 2 others over the course of those weeks, those will go on to infect 4, 16, 32,... you'll get what's going on here. Basically, you're that first match in a stack of matches that got lit, and before you know it, the entire stack has burned down. Why is that bad? Because maybe two or three hops from you, there's a specialist, a couple of nurses, a few people who are designated to help out elderly people and maybe a couple of people with health conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure,... You didn't just got sick, you also provided a gateway for the virus to jump to all those people as well. Meaning all those who got sick can't provide healthcare anymore; and a ton of people end up in an already strained healthcare system. And that's discounting people who have bad luck and end up having a heart attack, a stroke or a bad accident. If the ICU's are overloaded with COVID patients, stark choices will have to be made on who gets to live and who is left to die. That's where they are in Italy right now. We aren't just talking about "patients", we are talking about your and other people's loved ones. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends,... That's what we are discussing here. Wrapping up. If you think that barricading yourself in your house for weeks/months is a "no go", well, you're not gonna like what's going to happen next either. Stay in your home. Avoid contact if you can. Follow the WHO recommendations. Be responsible about this. That's how you help saving lives.

threedots 7y ago
He's following the advice of his government and its experts. The two most prominent of which have spent their entire professional lives studying infectious diseases. You are a guy on the internet with opinions. Why should he listen to you and not them ?

d0mine 7y ago

Even if you've decided that the risk to yourself is acceptable, think who you might infect (there can be around a month between the infection and the first symptoms) who [they may] have less chances for survival (if you are against social distancing, at least don't be around old people or places they have to visit).

cycrutchfield 7y ago

If you, in your ignorance, are contagious before you decide to self-quarantine and end up transmitting the virus to others who will suffer and die for it, will that weigh on your conscience? Given your apparent self-centered attitude and lack of empathy, I would guess that it will not bother you one bit.

mike-cardwell 7y ago
I understand the risks. I wouldn't expect/want every body else in the country to hide away in their houses to protect me from getting Coronovirus either. That would imply a self-centered attitude and lack of empathy that is probably better applied to people such as yourself.
- DanBC 7y ago
  > I understand the risks That's not possible, because we don't yet have enough information about covid-19. We're still trying to work out what the death rate is! > It's just not that scary unless you're in an at-risk category. I say this as a British male in my 30's. So far we think your chance of death if _you_ (30 years old, no comorbidities) get covid-19 is between 0.5% and 1.5%. And that's if the hospitals are not overwhelmed. One thing that will overwhelm the hospitals is people like you spreading disease.
  - mike-cardwell 7y ago
    Risk analysis doesn't require complete information. I understand the risks given the current information that is being provided. By the sound if it, your risk analysis (also based on incomplete information) has lead you to believe that I should take some measures that I am not. That does not concern me.