Be careful, be ready!

[alfstone]

Since the beginning of this Coronavirus nightmare, here in Italy there have been 2 different mainstreams, even between the specialists: those who said "Don't worry, it's just a little more severe flu" and those who said: "No, it's something extremely worrying and serious".

Now, after 2 weeks, it's clear to everybody that this one is really an extremely hard situation, for several reasons.

1) It's something very, very very fast to spread.
2) in 12% it causes a pneumonia requesting hospital care
3) in 5% it requires Intensive care and artificial ventilation, with a letality of more than 3%, and that is a really HUGE amount.
4) There is no medicine, and the only way to hope not saturate Intensive Care Units "alltogether" (see point 1) is stay at home, no travel, no social events, if possible not going to work, nothing.

Now, we have discovered that simply we weren't ready: no enough doctors and nurses to replace those in quarantine or the ill ones. No enough ICU beds and artificial respirators (the worst thing in absolute!!!). In Italy there are actually 3000 respirators. If this thing goes on, the estimate is that soon 10000 patients could need artificial respiration. So, for 7000 there would nothing to do. The older ones, probably the ones over 60yo, would be excluded. (I'm 64    but since I'm a GP, of course I cannot stay at home, so...wish me well)

Then, NO MASKS at all. I had to buy 4 FFP3 at an absurd price from Germany, and a couple of FFP2 from UK (very expensive too).

No enough Covid tests: now only the ones with serious pneumonia have tests, so actually it's impossible to understand how much Covid has spread. Actually it "seems" that the few Sicilian cases are all Lombardy-origin linked, but who knows...And think that if the rich and efficient Lombardy cannot face the epidemia, what will happen if and when it will arrive in the poor and not-so-organized south of Italy? What if Africa and Middle East will have to face it? Every nation should prepare itself to this WAR right now: more hospital beds and artificial ventilators, more doctors and nurses, more protective masks.

Actually Italy has the worst situation in Europe, but I think that the cat is out of the bag. Italy actually is a laboratory, an experiment. So please be very very careful, and be ready. Of course I wish you all in other Nations will not have to face this scary situation, but in case, the only things you may do are:

- STAY AT HOME!!!!!

- try to buy, if possible, FFP3 and FFP2 masks.

All the best to you all, and excuse my English.

Alfredo

[Mike_S]

I think as you say Alfredo, the cat is out of the bag. Or in a similar phrase - the horse has already bolted. I don't see how countries can stop this virus from doing what it wants to do. Obviously on an individual level each one of us can do what we ca to try to stop getting it, but it's not going to be easy. Everyone still has things to do every day.

It is starting to kick on a bit in a lot of countries. Stay safe and look after yourself Alfredo and indeed all Soncrafters.

Mike

[alfstone]

Dear Mike, I've hesitated for some time if to open this thread was right or not, but I see that everywhere else in the world everybody is making exactly the same mistake we've made here in Italy when we began to know about  a strange virus in China, just a couple of weeks ago...what have we to do with China? Definitely it won't has anything to do with us....And see now...the fact is that it seems to me that unless we are LIVING something scary, we keep on thinking that it cannot happen to ourselves. Exactly for this reason I keep saying: Be careful, and if and when you will have to face it (of course I wish you will not have to face it), the only way is staying at home as more as possible.

Alfredo

[Mike_S]

I think it's a good thread Alfredo... in fact I was even thinking of posting a "stay safe songcrafters" or something like that too. It's good people talk about this and share thoughts. It really is better to be cautious when we still don't know how this situation is going to develop. Clearly from another thread non of us is getting any younger so we all need to take care. In fact it has been on my mind a bit as I got pneumonia a few years back and want to stay clear of the bugger!

Anyway I think I might grab a guitar and try to put my mind to a another use for a while

Mike

[chapperz66]

I suspect I'm pretty much buggered. I'm 61 and a chronic asthmatic.  I had better get a few more pieces of music finished.

[chapperz66]

And quickly...
Still - on a positive note,  I  managed to get some toilet rolls in Sainsbury's.
It's a good thing that 64 started his age poll when he did.

Forgive me being flippant.  In reality I've just had a stiff gin and tonic.

[Greeny]

This is a really important thread, Alfredo. Thankyou for posting and thankyou for being on the 'front line' of this terrible situation. It seems like Italy is around 2 weeks ahead of the UK right now, but even though we can see what's happening there, nobody is taking it particularly seriously - in London at least. Lots of hand washing but absolutely no change to commuting, working, socialising or sporting events.

I'm not as old as some, but I am type 2 diabetic, which is an 'at risk' category. I don't care about myself, but I do care about my parents and other people's parents.

I hope you all stay safe, and that we can all get through it intact.

[alfstone]

I'm not as old as some, but I am type 2 diabetic, which is an 'at risk' category. I don't care about myself, but I do care about my parents and other people's parents.

Yes, you're right. Older people are at very high risk, and the ones with several underlying pathologies, and it seems also those who suffer with hypertension AND in therapy with ACE-inhibitors

[chapperz66]

Yes,  thanks for sharing this, and be as careful as you can out there Alfredo.

[Flash Harry]

Hypertension - that's me buggered.

I wasn't aware of that one.  I'll be keeping a close eye on the spread, the UK government seem to be treating this as a way of fixing the pensions deficit.