Lot of fuss about nothing. Why don't we self isolate every winter for 2 months as flu kills thousands every year in this country?
Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Whilst I'm not running around in a panic all day, I am concerned. Mainly not for myself or my immediate family in particular but I have several elderly relatives that may become highly vulnerable if this spreads widely across the UK (which it looks like it has already).
Take Italy as an example; 133 people died from COVID-19 or related illnesses on the SAME day. That's certainly not comparable by any measure to seasonal flu.
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(Though Italy does have quite a high elderly demographic ~25% I believe).
As Rob has already mentioned, you can't really compare this to seasonal flu, mainly because
a) As it's new, we have no herd immunity to COVID-19, therefore highly infectious
b) Mortality rates seem to be around x 10 higher than seasonal flu
c) An effective vaccine is around 12-18 months away (minimum)
I don't see any harm in taking some precautions - i.e. washing hands more frequently, limiting contact/handshakes, avoiding crowds* and even limiting visiting elderly relatives - the latter may sound quite harsh but better safe than sorry.
*this is very hard to do, especially if you have to travel on the public transport network - I often commute on the Tube and it's a nightmare at the best of times!
Stay safe, stay well.
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