Coronavirus

[Trend]

Has Azamara implemented any screening processes for this emerging virus?

[MNgardens]

Really? What do you want them to do? A person can be contagious without showing any symptoms. Other people may think they have just a cold.

https://www.sciencealert.com/wuhan-coronavirus-can-be-infectious-before-people-show-symptoms-official-claims

 

Influenza kills tens of thousands of people every year in the US and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html

CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018–2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza (Table 1). The number of influenza-associated illnesses that occurred last season was similar to the estimated number of influenza-associated illnesses during the 2012–2013 influenza season when an estimated 34 million people had symptomatic influenza illness⁶.

Edited January 27, 2020 by MNgardens

[MNgardens]

I realized that in my rant I neglected to clarify that the info about the influenza is offered for creating some perspective. When the corona virus reaches that level of societal infection, at that point I will start to feel a slight concern.

[Trend]

Yea well you obviously were never affected by SARS but here in Toronto we were.

[Trend]

Our airports have already put in extra screening question.

[MNgardens]

What do they ask?

 

You may find this article to be helpful. It compares the SARS case to this virus and takes about the changes in the public heath response.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-canada-toronto-update-1.5440853

...We are in a very, very different place than when we were responding to SARS," said Dr. Peter Donnelly, president of Public Health Ontario.

"One of the things that is very different is that we know what the virus is. We have a fast, reliable test and that really is a game changer."...

 

[florisdekort]

The mass hysteria is truly incomprehensible but I guess it attracts readers/viewers and thus sells advertising space. 
 

The airport checks are useless and only there so authorities can make themselves look good in the eyes of the mass public.  As mentioned above, the incubation period is up to 16 days and moreover, of every 100 people the screening flags as having a fever, 99.9 will have that fever for other reasons than the coronavirus. 
 

All cruise lines can / should do is immediately confine passengers who get sick to their cabins, as they have been doing for the norovirus for a very long time. 

 

Floris 

[MNgardens]

Here is a great infographic for infectious diseases. One side of the graph is for deadliness and one side is for how contagious it is. It really helps to put it all into perspective.  2019-nCoV is the coronavirus. Don't get too alarmed that it is underneath the Spanish flu.  Modern medical science has a whole host of treatments that weren't available in 1918.

 

https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-microbescope-infectious-diseases-in-context/

[Grandma Cruising]

I would imagine Azamara will continue with their usual health questions. Not a lot else they can do, given that at present medics seem to think you can be infectious for 14 days before you feel or show any symptoms. I guess they could ask you questions about where you’ve travelled in the last few weeks, but given there are soon likely to be cases in most countries, I’m not sure that would help. I don’t think they did anything in relation to SARS.

[uktog]

Big impact for me, next month’s contract in Wuhan and beyond is cancelled for some reason 😂😂😂 knackers the 2021 cruise budget 😂😂😂

And to think when I used to tell people where I was going no one had heard of it. (It was always my least favourite place and I’m hardly surprised bugs grew there). 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Big impact for me, next month’s contract in Wuhan and beyond is cancelled for some reason 😂😂😂 knackers the 2021 cruise budget 😂😂😂

And to think when I used to tell people where I was going no one had heard of it. (It was always my least favourite place and I’m hardly surprised bugs grew there). 

Sorry to hear that. 

[Lottie A]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Big impact for me, next month’s contract in Wuhan and beyond is cancelled for some reason 😂😂😂 knackers the 2021 cruise budget 😂😂😂

And to think when I used to tell people where I was going no one had heard of it. (It was always my least favourite place and I’m hardly surprised bugs grew there). 

Oh dear. Well I’m glad you aren’t in Wuhan now anyway! 

[uktog]

45 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Oh dear. Well I’m glad you aren’t in Wuhan now anyway! 

It was a near thing, none of my team were out for a completely different unrelated reason but they should have been.  I am so sorry for the academics from the unis who are stuck out there.  It is truly terrifying for them, not because of the risk of the virus but because they cannot access information, news, emails etc.  I have been there in a lockdown time for another reason and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

[Trend]

Our airports have already put in extra screening question.

My son works for Sick Kids in research and they sent out alerts and info yesterday.

what can they do? Ask if you have traveled to Wuhan or surrounding area.

I also have been there several years ago on business, Now our factories in Dongguan are closed for holidays and will not open on order of govt till March.

Not trying to scare but there are precautions that can be followed on a contain ship.

[florisdekort]

5 hours ago, Trend said:

Our airports have already put in extra screening question.

My son works for Sick Kids in research and they sent out alerts and info yesterday.

what can they do? Ask if you have traveled to Wuhan or surrounding area.

I also have been there several years ago on business, Now our factories in Dongguan are closed for holidays and will not open on order of govt till March.

Not trying to scare but there are precautions that can be followed on a contain ship.

Ask if you’ve been to Wuhan would be as effective as the airport check in staff asking if you’ve packed any explosives in your suitcase. These measures don’t actually increase safety, they just make the general public feel better. 

[oddjob16]

40 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

Ask if you’ve been to Wuhan would be as effective as the airport check in staff asking if you’ve packed any explosives in your suitcase. These measures don’t actually increase safety, they just make the general public feel better. 

That's when they see the twitch in your eye, and it is "No Soup for YOU".😉

[Trend]

Thank you oddjob16 all I can say is at the TO airports people have self reported and it has helped them as well as containing it.

[nordski]

12 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I would imagine Azamara will continue with their usual health questions. Not a lot else they can do, given that at present medics seem to think you can be infectious for 14 days before you feel or show any symptoms. I guess they could ask you questions about where you’ve travelled in the last few weeks, but given there are soon likely to be cases in most countries, I’m not sure that would help. I don’t think they did anything in relation to SARS.

Has that 14 day infectious period been confirmed by the authorities?

 

At one time it was speculative.

[nordski]

40 minutes ago, Trend said:

Thank you oddjob16 all I can say is at the TO airports people have self reported and it has helped them as well as containing it.

Although that process is not a sufficient step, it is a useful and necessary one.

 

We can certainly expect that public health authorities have learned useful lessons from the SARS episode.

Edited January 28, 2020 by nordski

[Cruise Junky]

We've started a global policy that if you visit China or Hong Kong, you work from home for two weeks. Went into affect today.

[Trend]

Yes as you can see right now they think two weeks but that can change.

So my question about AZ just got answered somewhat, I just got an email reming me of the AZ fist pump. Never had an email before a cruise with them like that, it even shows a video of the fist pump.

[Lottie A]

Brush Airways have today suspended all flights to mainland China due to concerns about the spread of Coronavirus. 

The British Government are arranging to evacuate British citizens from Wuhan and are arranging for anyone returning from there to be quarantined for 14 days with all necessary medical treatment. This will be at a U.K. military airbase.  

[Haworth]

We are scheduled to do a China trip in March, with a river cruise that is due to visit, Wuhan, difficult times ahead waiting for a definitive answer to what will happen

[Lottie A]

Sorry to hear that John.
I’m sure your river cruise company will be reassessing the Wuhan visit. I think from a medical point of view, any travel there in March would still be ill advised.  As for China as a whole....well it’s probably too soon to judge that, but maybe you should have a Plan B in mind just in case? 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Haworth said:

We are scheduled to do a China trip in March, with a river cruise that is due to visit, Wuhan, difficult times ahead waiting for a definitive answer to what will happen

Given the Foreign Office is now advising against all but essential travel to China, I guess your cruise may well be cancelled. Even if it’s not you should be able to cancel & get your money back or buy an alternative.