Have you spotted coronavirus profiteering?

You might want to reconsider your post!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/05/hong-kong-warns-residents-not-to-kiss-pets-after-dog-contracts-coronavirus

The link includes: “hong-kong-warns-residents-not-to-kiss-pets-after-dog-contracts-coronavirus”, yet there is nothing in the Guardian article that suggests pets can contract coronavirus or be carriers, any more than a used handkerchief or plastic bag could be a carrier.

If there is evidence of a real risk we are likely to find out soon.

Frankly, given where the average pooch has its nose a lot of the time, can’t imagine why anyone would seriously consider kissing any dog?

Quite. There are some unpleasant diseases you can catch from dogs.

I hope that no pets are abandoned by owners as a result of unsubstantiated information in the news.

Agreed. It is far more likely that someone with Corona Virus will handle a pet, leave traces of the virus on that pet’s coat, which is then picked up by someone else touching/kissing the pet.

I am going out for a decent walk each day and everyone is keeping a respectful distance from each other, but not everyone keeps their dog on the lead. 🙁

If someone Covid-19 positive kisses an animal then it is theoretically possible for the next person to kiss the animal to catch it, but the WHO is quite definite about it. Cats and dogs cannot catch Covid-19.

According to another news report (Sorry, I don’t remember where, I didn’t think I needed to) the test was unreliable and registered a false positive, A proper test revealed the animal to be virus-free.

Blame the media for exploiting the situation to create sensational news. Empty shelves, interviewing the opposition to stick the knife in, NHS bashing . . . Panic buying is down to them and the way they negatively present news, sticking to the one subject. Then their next sensational news stories will be all the starving people who couldn’t afford to stockpile with more government-bashing interviews.

The TV news channels have a lot to answer for.

Em – Beware of Lyme Disease.

Alfa – I think the BBC News might have been trying to counter the sensational reportage last night by putting the coronavirus outbreak in proportion by reference to previous and far more deadly epidemics, by de-escalating the sense of panic, and emphasising the need for sensible hygiene routines using ordinary soap and hot water.

There is no general need for people to use sanitising gel or anti-bacterial handwash so a run on such products is not justified.

Soap and water is fine if available but alcohol-based products can be used when out and about.

Their only function, such as it is, is to prevent the already infected from spreading the disease. Corvid 19 seems to have benefited from so-called ‘super–spreaders’. But if I were an evil mastermind, bent on world domination, this is the virus I would have engineered. Can be carried by some for a long time before symptoms appear, is extremely infectious and kills the old and the ill.

But the eyes remain unprotected, and they’re often the main route for infection.

Never heard of Plague Inc, George.

It is possible that NHS resources have been allowed to decline in response to the growth of the private health sector. That is irresponsible.

While the numbers of beds in different categories per thousand population is interesting I would prefer the metrics to be based on the general health of the population. I suspect that would tell a far worse story.

Despite the promises about more staff, facilities and other resources, and the billions that are, allegedly, being poured into the NHS, it never seems to be able to turn the corner. In my opinion it does a superb job for the patients who present, but it is clear that a lot of people are not accessing it because they know they will have a long wait or will not be able to get the treatment they really need.

Ian – Could you give a source for the rankings you have quoted? I should like to learn more. There seem to be several conflicting reports of the NHS’s international ranking and there are inconsistencies in the measures used for the comparisons. There seems to be a general view that outcomes are more important than inputs and better indicators of achievement or effectiveness.

This looked at ICU care in particular, John, and the precise quote from the Guardian about being 23rd out of 31 European nations was mis-tagged, so I don’t have the origin document.

“Compared with other European countries the UK ranked 23rd of 31 in terms of ICU beds per head of population and 29th of 31 for all hospital beds. Germany has approximately four times as many ICU beds per capita as the UK and the USA perhaps 10-fold as many.”

This at the very time when the NHS is supposed to be getting £350m per week extra (remember the bus?) and at a time when the government can’t say it wasn’t warned.

SARS emerged initially, followed by MERS and now SARS Covid 19. We’ve had ten years to ensure the NHS was ready for a pandemic, so is it?

MERS is horrendous.