And to hasten along sinophobia, let's classify social media chatter as "Chinese whispers".

And in Sydney, Chinese restaurants closing from lack of business, Chinese businesses reducing hours for the same reason, and a rise in resentment towards Chinese.
Not a good time to be Chinese in the world ATM.

Dan

Oh No!

Like the spread of too many Bushfire articles on OLO.

There will be an endless spread Coronavirus/COVID-19 articles.

The repeditive Coronavirus/COVID-19 article spread being the most dangerous symptom for most readers.

A virus that can live for a week on your phone, has the potential to kill 90,000 Australians? Is 20 times more lethal than the seasonal flu, which can and does kill some folk every year, is not to be taken too lightly! Face masks if worn, must cover the nose! Something you'd think the medical profession would have drummed in from day dot!

Washing hands properly under running water and making sure all bedding including mattresses, gets a full day out in direct sunshine (UV) is some of the things ordinary folk can do? Take your mobile phone out of your pocket and leave it out as much as possible, wipe with alcohol wipe daily.

Learn really deep breathing from the bottom of your longs to absorb maximised oxygen. Sneeze into a tissue or your inner elbow. Ditto your cough. Drum all this into your kids who are mobile virus factories that spread it everywhere.

Ask your Doctor for HIV/aids antivirals if you catch this contagion and have a compromised immune system through cancer or some such. Many Doctors will know bet and all the reasons you shouldn't have these more efficacious antivirals, well we don't have very much in our medical inventory and they're expensive, due mostly to price gouging by pharmaceutical companies.

Get a daily dose of full sunlight for no less than ten minutes and consume a couple of teaspoons of olive oil. Remember that the vitamin D you absorb from sunlight is an oil-based vitamin and needs some oil to be absorbed and fortify your immune system.

Lastly, avoid like the plague folk who think this is overhyped and they won't succumb, know all the reasons not to take common-sense precautions!
Alan B.

Dearest Al

One you missed, don't consume alcohol. Alcohol suppresses the immune system.
It's why drinkers are prone to cancer.

Apart from that omission, the rest were interesting.

Dan

Alan B: While you are right to be genuinely very concerned about the wuflu* (covid-19) some of your advice is rather pointless.

For example:
- "take your mobile phone out of your pocket and leave it out as much as possible, wipe with alcohol wipe daily."
Standard use of a personal mobile phone is not very likely to give you the wuflu. Because in normal use it is only the owner that handles it so unless you already have the virus, or you let someone else with it touch it, it is not very likely to be contaminated.

- "make sure all bedding including mattresses, gets a full day out in direct sunshine"
Typically random strangers never touch someone else's bedding. So there is little risk (basically nill) from the general public here but only specific risk based on your household circumstances. And in most households only those who are already in regular close contact with each other will touch another's bedding so the chances of getting it from bedding are considerably less than other ways that exist. For example, kissing is way more dangerous.

- "Face masks if worn, must cover the nose! Something you'd think the medical profession would have drummed in from day dot!"
I've never seen a face mask that is designed to only cover the mouth and not the nose. However, most masks people buy (eg. protective masks from bunnings) are actually dust masks. They should not be relied on to stop the virus from being inhaled. However, these masks do reduce droplets (which contain the virus) when you exhale which helps reduce the overall spreading- so the good that they provide is mainly for protecting others not yourself.

*Yes, I know it's not really a flu and that some people may find associating the virus with the place of first detection non PC. But I've been calling it "wuflu" since before the "covid-19" label was invented and couldn't be bothered changing just for technical/political correctness.

Right on Dan, and thanks for the assistance/reminder.
Cheers, Alan B.

Thinkabit:

Putting bedding out in direct sunlight destroys bed bugs who aren't able to tolerate direct sunlight. Don't know how a pristine house and folk who practise good hygiene get bedbugs but possibly the same way head lice are transferred?

Bed bugs can carry many contagions and are not selective or discriminatory about what they might transfer. nobody but you uses your phone.

But your hand's, even if gloved share many surfaces with other folk countless times daily and then it's those same hands that pick up your phone. Usually like most folk, without tinking?

It's called cross-contamination and you can protect yourself by leaving your phone out, not carried around in a nice warm pocket and nirvana for viruses.

And don't forget to wash your hands and wipe the dammed phone, it won't kill you or take more than a couple of seconds.

I don't know, how many alleged surgeons I've seen wearing their mask over their mouth and leaving the nose uncovered. That's just plain ignorant!

Then we wonder how these contagions are spread in hospitals. The nose is a contagion paradise and where some of the nastiest pathogens take refuge and breed.

Me? I'd order them, the ignorant "doctors." out of the operating theatre and the hospital until they'd done a refresher course in med school.

Stick with something you actually know something about!
Alan B.

Plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

I look at the wuflu map and there's only one thing I can say.
They do not have this thing contained.
Anyone being complacent is a fool.

- It's better to be prepared, it may save your life -

When schools start closing, panic will set in and Coles and Woolies will get stripped bare.
I think everyone should plan for at least a month+ supply of various tinned foods and water and whatever else they need, NOW.

- Just in case -

Also now is the time to eat healthier get all your essential nutrients and get multivitamins as well and strengthen up your immune system.

Vitamin C: Strawberries, broccoli, oranges, pineapple
Vitamin D: Salmon, Sardines, Egg Yolks, Mushrooms, Orange Juice, Yogurt
Vitamin B6: Chickpeas, Liver, Tuna, Salmon, Chicken, Potatoes
Magnesium: Spinach, Avacado, Leafy Greens, Bone Broth, Dark Chocolate
Zinc: Legumes, Seeds, Yogurt, Red Meat, Seafood

Make sure you have lots of bottled water.
- Even if you refill other bottles and put them away.

I've been filling up 2L bottles of filtered water from my water filter jug.
Make sure you have Panadol and Neurofen or anything else that you think you might need should we be quarantined in our homes for an extended time.

Buy a respiratory mask on eBay if you have to.

If you smoke, lay off the ciggies, get patches, spray and lozenges as Wuflu is a respiratory infection, and you'll want your lungs in their best shape.

I'm told Kaloba is good for lung infections.
http://www.blackmores.com.au/products/kaloba

[Cont.]
Queensland hospital staff quarantined as coronavirus crisis escalates
http://7news.com.au/travel/coronavirus/staff-members-at-brisbanes-mater-hospital-placed-in-quarantine-over-coronavirus-fears-c-731517

Two more people diagnosed with coronavirus in Queensland, bringing state to 13 cases
http://7news.com.au/travel/coronavirus/two-more-people-diagnosed-with-coronavirus-in-queensland-bringing-state-to-13-cases-c-731441

First case of human to pet coronavirus transmission
http://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/first-case-of-human-to-animal-coronavirus-transmission-c-731550

- It's only toilet paper this week;
But what will it be next week, and the week after, and the week after that?

The writing's on the wall.
Get prepared and protect yourself and your loved ones NOW.

Well AlanBS you've convinced me. I can now see that compared to your near infinite wisdom and sagacity mixed with that omniscient knowledge that I just don't know anything!

So now I understand that all the stuff I've been doing for the last 2+ months have been a complete waste of time.

For example the following have been really stupid things to do:

-Selling a sizeable portion of my stock portfolio (we're talking a few million here) since the start of the year to just last week. And converting some of it to crypto along with looking around for more land to buy (should be signing some contracts in the next couple of weeks)

-Investigating options where to live for the next 6 months to 2 years. A while ago I thought Iceland would be a good choice but it turns out now when looking at the current infection rates that thier government is just as useless as ours at protecting it citizens. The best option I now believe is islands in the south pacific but I decided to stay here because of family connections. I believe that by preparing well I can protect myself and immediate family well enough.

-Building up my reserves of long lived food each time I go shopping. Eg: buying some extra canned food each week.

-Preparing and planting out my vege garden.

-Bumping up my emergency stash of cash that I keep in the house. Normally I keep a about $1000 for immediate emergencies but have bumped that up quite a bit. I figured that the time to store cash is now while it is still clean and virus free.

-Telling my family (ie: mum, dad, siblings, aunty, etc.) constantly to the point of them complaining that this is potentially a crisis. By-the-way ever since China went full lock down in Wuhan it's been obvious to even to blind freddy that this really is a very, very, serious threat.

-Very soon, once the infection numbers increase, I will likely start using only my debit card to pay for things and not handle any currency (unless it's my emergency reserve). Normally I pay cash for as much as I can because I hate having the bank/government know my business, but these will be exceptional times)

-Other smaller things like a dentist checkup. Moving my regular yearly skin check forward to a fortnights time. etc..

So yep you've convinced me: now I see that this was all in vain. All I had to do was wipe down my mobile daily!

@Alan B.

And stock up on toilet paper matey. For you perhaps 388 rolls.

Please follow this toilet training video closely http://youtu.be/0-0iYZ6tHrM

Oh, I should add that there is something else I mean to do but haven't yet: Update my will.

On another note. What's been very interesting about this whole caper is how the various countries have been reacting to it. I've been following this closely now since the beginning of the year. What is most remarkable is that some governments that I thought would be complete failures at protecting their citizens have been stand out exceptions. For example, some of the third world ones like Papua New Guinea, Vietnam have realised this for the potential disaster that it is and reacted very swiftly in closing borders, etc. While other countries were it is trivial to *completely* protect themselves such as wealthy first world island countries like ourselves, New-Zealand, etc., have blown their opportunity to remain virus free by just bubbling along half-hearted . And surprisingly others which are wealthy enough to make a very good effort just haven't given a f..k (such as USA, most of Europe).
But unsurprisingly most of Africa, South America and the Middle East have acted as expected and done basically nothing to protect their citizens.

Many reports say the virus recurs a second time.

Coronavirus symptoms — Australian couple from Diamond Princess explain what it's like to have COVID-19
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-05/coronavirus-covid-19-what-its-like-to-have-the-virus/12026902

>>Ms Honey's symptoms eventually disappeared and she returned a negative result, but she recently tested positive again.
That is consistent with reports from China and Japan of patients being discharged and then testing positive for the second time.
This could mean the virus is biphasic, where the virus lurks around undetected before recurring.
With no cure and no vaccine, the Honeys can only wait until their bodies defeat the virus.
"It's just got to run its course," Mr Honey said.
"You've just got to build your immunity to it. There's nothing the doctors can do."<<

Coronavirus: The "Cures" Will Be Worse Than The Disease
http://youtu.be/9HB6cmk9nN4

And why the hell are all the Coronavirus media articles paywalled?
The corporate media's more interested in capitalising off the crisis than doing the responsible thing and keeping the public informed.
Typical BS

THE FUNNY SIDE OF CORONAVIRUS - TOILET PAPER FEVER QUIP:

No. 1: Are people preparing for an anus horribilis?

No. 2: Is toilet paper a new currency? Buttcoin?

No. 3: I'm thinking of putting my toilet rolls on eBay! Make big bucks!

No. 4: Who will create the Toilet Paper Near Me app?

No. 5. Whats new on da streets? Crack? Meth? No, toilet paper, sheet by sheet!

Lots of good thoughts but here is one you might not have thought about.
After being on the toilet do you wash your hands before pulling up your
pants and buckling up your belt ?
Do you have a contaminated Belt and zipp ?
Hmmmm.

Armchair Critic: I don't understand why someone would think it is not right for the media companies to make money from this? As long as their reporting is factual then what harm does it do if someone makes a non-coerced decision to use their own money to pay? There are plenty of free alternative sources anyway.

Plenty of companies and professionals will make money off this. Eg, funeral homes, makers of medical equipment, lawyers for wills and probate, etc. They wouldn't be providing their needed services and products if they didn't make money.

Individuals will also make money. For example as long as I survive, I personally am excepting to make at least a few hundred thousand and if it gets bad enough maybe a million or two because over the past few months I've been reallocating my more vulnerable wealth (basically a good chunk of my share portfolio) to what I think are safer investments. And everybody who has bothered to keep abreast of events and stay informed has had the opportunity to do this*. So it is perfectly fair that people make money in this fashion because it is the rewards of rational investing.

(*For example, the Wuhan lockdown should have been ringing alarm bells in everyone's head. Any sensible person should have asked themselves questions like: "Why would a country like China lockdown a *whole city* if this wasn't very,very serious issue." So at this point at the latest people should have been preparing themselves. And yet even at this stage you still had idiots, some here at this web-site even, saying that it's just a small no-issue like another yearly flu and it will have no real consequence.)

Hey thinkabit,
"I don't understand why someone would think it is not right for the media companies to make money from this?"

I don't have issue with businesses making money, and I don't necessarily expect anyone to provide a product or service for free.
I suppose I think that sometimes businesses need to set profits aside for the greater good, and sometimes doing that is just the cost of doing 'good' business.
Right now I think this is one of those times, where everyone should have access to 'reliable' up to date COVID-19 info, regardless of a subscription.
The cost of a couple hundred bucks an article is a small price to pay for a billion dollar media empire to show the general public you're taking the issue seriously for the communities best interest.
I do understand however that we're a capitalist society and I've got no right to tell others how to run their businesses.

Probably the biggest reason why I personally don't have news subscriptions already isn't because I can't afford it, it's probably more to do with the fact I find many of their stories aren't reliable and don't give the full picture on geopolitical issues and they just sell a narrative, and I get better sources of news online.
For that reason I don't really rely on corporate media for my news and only read some articles sometimes.
I'd be happy to pay for 'today's paper' for example when I find an interesting article I want to read, but online subscriptions don't have non-recurring payment options.

The articles I was whinging about aren't paywalled anymore now anyway, and I do genuinely get better info online, just not on local stuff.
If you check out the last few links I've added you'll see I do.

New Evidence Shows Coronavirus Started In The US, Not China
http://youtu.be/XnXAyj31hTA

I also think people who have been complacent are being foolish for being unprepared.

So wheres all the safe money going anyway?
And how are smart investors going to capitalise on the crisis?
(I'm not being facetious btw, I'm genuinely curious)