Villarocker

It does seem a really random virus. It's supposed to be a killer of the elderly but there's been stories of really old folks getting over it.

I called my GP to discuss my concerns but couldn't get past the woman on reception who simply said the doctors were too busy and were not giving out any notes or documentation to do with Coronavirus.

When I'm over this I'm going to have another problem. Basically, my Asthma medication puts me in the "high risk" bracket and therefore should shield myself for 12 weeks as per the government’s guidelines. However, the government hasn't sent any communication. I followed the NHS111 advice and contacted my GP asking for a note to prove I'm entitled to shielding but they said they're not giving out any medical notes relating to Coronavirus. So, how do I get my bosses to understand that I should be shielded?

For people wondering if this virus really is all that bad ask yourself this. Do you think, in the same time frame, there would have been so many deaths and people in ICU across the UK from just the flu this year? Then, for those questioning the severity of the lock down measures, imagine how many more infections and deaths there would be without it! I think that, even if they've been over cautious, the risk is too high not to have been so drastic.

That's really shitty of them. The government introduced that package to compensate companies to pay their staff 80% wage in order to protect jobs. Aren't holidays also supposed to be protected?

Also found out that my brother-in-law's grandad died in hospital whilst being treated for the virus. Another elderly victim

Has anyone else gone more than the advised 7 days of isolation whilst having the virus? Today is my 8th day. I was hoping to get out of here but still have the nightly sweats and a cough.

And the world is scared of Coronavirus!

My missus is fully working from home. She's our son's teacher and for the last week been my distant nurse as well cook and cleaner. She's in self-isolation because of me having the virus and it all got too much for her over the weekend so Saturday she got in her car and drove around the streets for 10 minutes to get away from the house. She got in and out of the car on our drive. What harm has she done there? I think the police need to be careful.

I've had none since last Tuesday or Wednesday

See, this is my worry. Imagine if it kicks off there and people are getting essentials that people are struggling to get here. How soon before the idiots start it here? If that happens, don't bother with Police, send the army in and shoot them.

I've got a bottle of JD in the cupboard but no point drinking any because I have still got no taste or sense of smell.

Who took the pics and grassed to the Sun? Gotta be a bluenose. Looks to me like he's popped around to a mate's house, had too many beers then realised he needs to go home. Drove thinking it would be ok in his state plus few cars on the road, the morning air got him and the booze kicked in and he banged into a couple of cars. He didn't flee the scene without leaving details but felt it better not to drive any further so dumped the car.

This is what people need to realise the most. People coughing over people or spitting at coppers etc. They have the potential to pass something on that could kill and when they willingly and knowingly do that they should be punished very severely.

Spot on! If death toll gets too uncomfortable, people would only be asking one thing and that is why the government didn't do things sooner.

That woman makes my blood boil. Her hubby makes me want to be violent.

My symptoms started a week ago tomorrow and I still have the fever at night where I wake up sweating profusely. I have a cough but nothing bad yet, thankfully.

Yeah, and the Tories cannot argue about not being warned that the NHS was under-funded and broke, they have heard it every day since they took power! I have a friend who is an anaesthetist in her native Germany. She has had two tests so far - both negative thankfully. She cannot believe that I haven't been tested yet. She said that over there she got tested, together with her whole family at home in the household, because her hubby attended a fire (part time fireman in the village where they live) and the guy he fought the fire with was since diagnosed with the virus. She said you get given a code number if the doctor thinks you may have it and you claim for your testing kit for you and everyone in the household. We are supposed to be a world-leading country yet we seem so primitive sometimes.

In that documentary I saw last night, from 2005, the guy who developed the Tamiflu and Relenza drugs stated that a future worldwide pandemic could easily see 2 million people die. Another guy in the show also said that such an event would probably require a lock-down across the globe for 6 months to have any chance of controlling the spread. That sort of fits in with what others were saying about reservists being told not to make any plans for several months. In that same documentary, a guy mentioned that a future pandemic could destroy cultures and devastate parts of the world that have very basic living standards and medicine etc - such as Asia and Africa. If modern countries like us, Italy, Spain etc are struggling, how would the impoverished countries possibly cope? I don't think the devastation is anywhere near where it will end up. If this gets out of control in Asia and/or Africa, that 2 million deaths might be an Understatement.

I just spoke with my GP and asked him if I would still need to be shielded for 12 weeks if I have had the virus, he said that there is no proof to suggest we can't get it more than once so it would be best for me to self-isolate at home for the 12 weeks. He said there is also the fact that I haven't been tested so can't take that risk that this wasn't the virus although, he says he's pretty certain it is as I have the symptoms. I asked the GP to prescribe me a drug called Relenza. The creator of that drug did so with a pandemic in mind but you can only get it on prescription. The GP said he cannot do that as they do not just prescribe antivirals willy nilly. I asked how people are supposed to get it then and he said it depended on individual circumstances. That sounds dodgy to me.

I'd like to know what advice to follow so if anyone can help me please feel free to. Asthma UK states that I should isolate for 14 days if I have Coronavirus but the UK.gov website says 7 days. Which am I supposed to follow? I'm supposed to be one of the shielded folks due to the inhaler I take for my Asthma - as per the Asthma UK website. I've heard nothing. If I've had Coronavirus does that mean I don't need to be shielded? I haven't had a test so what if I don't get shielded, that puts me at risk, right? Surely I should be shielded until its proved I had the virus? They need to be more clear with the advice.

I understood your emotion Mark but, like him or loathe him, he's the head of the government and we could do with him being healthy to get this thing sorted. Having confusion and lack of control at the top won't be any help to us all so for that reason I understand him getting tested.

Now I know why everyone was clapping last night.

Who didn't listen to his own advice then

What makes me laugh is how police are out in vans with loud-speakers and flying drones to spy on people walking their dogs, telling them it's not a holiday and to go home, yet when there's gangs of thugs on the streets they are nowhere to be seen.