Is It Ethical to Ask Someone Who Just Came Back from China Recently to Not Come to Work/School?

Taro Milk Tea on 28/01/2020 - 11:18
Last edited 29/01/2020 - 16:01

Corona virus is definitely a big issue at the moment. It also creates some ethical issues among many of us.

My mate told me today in his workplace, his colleague who just came back from China were "confronted" by her peers asking her to leave the office immediately because they are afraid she might have the virus.
Long story short, she left from the office, obviously not in a good term.

This makes me thinking, is it ethical to do so? At the same time, the fear is understandable. But if I were that person, I would be kind of offended even though I know I might be just fine…

What do you think guys? Is it normal and ethical to do so?

Poll Options

  • 804
    Yes
  • 190
    No
Health & Beauty

Comments

    • richadam on 03/02/2020 - 11:04

      Source?

      Here's what other have said on another thread:
      "Mortality rates so far in the 40-59 age category is 0.2%, and that those under 30 have basically not died. (e.g. a 13 year old and a 2 year 11 month old have been recently discharged from a hospital in the Guangdong province.)"

      • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:21

        Source: made up panic

  • Zachary on 30/01/2020 - 21:19

    I've been living under a rock, what's this virus you're talking about….?

    • jelko on 30/01/2020 - 21:36

      Turn on the TV or read a newspaper. Better still use Google.

      • Zachary on 31/01/2020 - 09:40
        -3

        Thanks for your helpful reply….what's your opinion of it then?

      • Zachary on 31/01/2020 - 09:47

        So it's basically the common cold and flu, just with people dying instead of getting sick with sore throats, blocked noses, dry coughing, etc.,?

        • snook on 03/02/2020 - 00:20

          it's a viral lung disease and if you get it and survive, your lungs will be damaged.

          • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:23

            @snook: That is SARS. We don't know about this one yet. It isn't just Coronavirus. Even if you survive ebola younger after effects.

            • Zachary on 06/02/2020 - 11:21

              @netjock: What's SARS?

            • snook on 10/02/2020 - 20:21

              @netjock: They have said that about this because the pneumonia is so severe it's going to leave scaring. Remember, they can see this just with an xray.

          • Zachary on 06/02/2020 - 11:17

            @snook: How damaged…?

            • snook on 10/02/2020 - 20:20

              @Zachary: You know, ALL of this information is freely available on the internet. That's where i found it and read it. It's a novel approach, but you could do that too.

              • Zachary on 13/02/2020 - 10:16

                @snook: ….or you could tell me yourself……

  • lostn on 30/01/2020 - 22:44

    No. They would have been screened at the airport already.

    Panicking is not helpful. This is an emergency in China. The rest of the world have the infection under control and are well prepared.

    Even if you told employees not to come to work if they've been there, will you also tell customers, clients, suppliers, and other people you deal with to stay away?

    This could get complicated pretty quickly. If they don't volunteer info that they went to China, how will you know? Are you going to ask everyone that's Asian looking if they went to China recently? What if they're not actually infected? Are you going to just assume that everyone who's been in China is automatically infected and and should banned from going to work?

    This would be like banning every man with a brown skin and a long beard from boarding a plane at the airport just in case they are a terrorist. We have security checks in place to prevent this. When you touch down, people board the plane to check on passengers. You'll be screened and your temperature checked. If you've been to China at all, they will know because it's tracked by immigration department and you will be monitored as a person of extra interest. They will check you out and quarantine if necessary and advise you to see a doctor the moment you feel sick.

    • CalmLemons on 02/02/2020 - 19:46

      I think the panic is really just on internet forums. In the general public everything seems just normal. There are evidently less asian people out though, as asian people by nature will be more paranoid of this than white people.

      It's just funny though that white people are paranoid of it but don't wear masks like they do in asia when they themselves have a cold or if it is cold and flu season in china everyone wears a mask.

      It's good to see though suddenly everyone is an infectious disease expert now.

      • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:26
        -2

        They should start quarantine people from the internet. People speaking like they are experts, forwarding news that is obviously fake, two self proclaimed experts discussing conspiracy theories and making merging their two into a more far fetched one.

        I'm going to die from laughter before I die from the real disease. Might die from cardiac arrest from hysterical laughter.

  • Serapis on 30/01/2020 - 23:53
    -3

    They should pay her and not take it from her leave or leave her unpaid if it is THEIR decision to have her stay at home.

  • luffyex2010 on 31/01/2020 - 01:50
    +1

    If WHO doesn't declares an international crisis today. It is best they change their organisation to WHO-CARES

    There are 5 million people who left Wuhan before it got quarantine and the infection ratio is 1:2 or 1:3 so I got a bad feeling the number is going to jump by a lot in between these 14 days since Wuhan got quarantine on the 23rd of January.

    Here are the countries that have so far confirmed cases of the new coronavirus:

    Australia - 9 7
    Australia has confirmed nine cases of the virus. Which 2 has been discharged with no more sign of the virus.

    Cambodia - 1
    Cambodia confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country on January 27.

    Health Minister Mam Bunheng said the patient was a 60-year-old Chinese national in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.

    Canada - 3
    A man who arrived in Toronto with his wife on January 22 after visiting Wuhan was confirmed to have the coronavirus. The couple were wearing masks on their flight from Guangzhou and took their own transport home from the airport. His wife has also tested positive for the virus.

    One case was also confirmed in British Columbia.

    Meanwhile, 19 suspected cases being investigated by health officials in Toronto.

    China - 7,711
    As of January 30, at least 7,711 people have been confirmed infected in mainland China, most of them in and around Wuhan.

    At least 170 people have died, nearly all in Hubei province, but officials have confirmed at least eight deaths elsewhere, including one in Beijing and one in Shanghai and two in Henan.

    Coronavirus
    The city of Macau, a gambling hub hugely popular with mainland tourists, has confirmed seven cases.

    In Hong Kong, 10 people are known to have been infected, with hundreds of suspected cases reported.

    France - 5
    There are five known cases of the coronavirus in France, the first European country to be affected.

    A 48-year-old man is in hospital in Bordeaux. He had recently travelled to Wuhan and returned to France via the Netherlands.

    Two others, a Chinese couple in their early 30s have been hospitalised in Paris.

    All three had recently travelled to China and had now been placed in isolation.

    France's health minister has said it is likely that there will be more cases and that authorities are surveying all the people that the patients have come into contact with after arriving in France.

    Finland - 1
    A Chinese tourist who was admitted to hospital for tests has been confirmed as having been infected with the coronavirus.

    The patient is said to be a 32-year-old female from Wuhan.

    Coronavirus timeline 29/01/20
    Germany - 4
    Germany confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on January 28 in southern Bavaria.

    "A man in the Starnberg region has been infected with the new coronavirus," a spokesperson for the ministry said, adding that the patient was under surveillance in an isolation ward.

    The ministry gave no further details on how the patient came to be infected but said he was in a "medically good state".

    The ministry said it considers the risk to the general population to be "low".

    India - 1
    India reported its first case of the coronavirus on January 30 in the southern state of Kerala, the government said in a statement.

    The patient - a student at Wuhan University - has tested positive for the virus and is stable and in isolation at a hospital, the statement added.

    Coronavirus symptoms
    Japan - 11
    As of January 29, Japan has at least 11 cases of coronavirus. It is unclear if the number already includes the three new cases announced on Thursday.

    The three new cases involved nationals who were evacuated from Wuhan on Wednesday, January 29.

    The country's first case was reported by the health ministry last week: a man who had visited Wuhan and was hospitalised on January 10, four days after his return to Japan.

    Malaysia - 8
    Malaysia confirmed its eighth case of coronavirus infection on January 30. All were eight cases involve Chinese nationals.

    The latest patient is the wife of the seventh person who contacted the virus. Both persons are from Wuhan.

    On Wednesday, the government announced three more cases, who were among the patients under investigation group. Earlier, the government confirmed that a 40-year-old man was being treated in hospital.

    A 65-year-old woman and two boys, aged two and 11, were also being kept in an isolation ward at a public hospital, Malaysia's health minister said.

    They are the wife and grandchildren of a 66-year-old man who was found to be infected in Singapore.

    What we know so far about the new coronavirus (1:32)
    Nepal - 1
    Nepal said a 32-year-old man arriving from Wuhan had tested positive for the deadly disease.

    The patient, who was initially quarantined, recovered and was discharged. The government said surveillance has been increased at the airport "and suspicious patients entering Nepal are being monitored".

    Philippines - 1
    Philippine health officials confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus on January 30.

    A 38-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in the country from Wuhan on January 21 tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a news conference.

    Duque said the patient, confined in a government hospital, is currently asymptomatic.

    Singapore - 10
    Singapore has 10 cases. At least five of the cases involved people who arrived in the city-state from Wuhan for the Lunar New Year holidays.

    South Korea - 6
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) confirmed two new cases on January 30, bringing the total number of infected people to six and marking the country's first human-to-human transmission after coming into contact with a confirmed patient in South Korea.

    Of the two, one had recently returned from Wuhan but the other was confirmed to be the country's first human transmission of the case, the KCDC said.

    Other cases involved a 55-year-old South Korean man who returned from Wuhan on January 20 had tested positive for the virus, a 35-year-old woman who flew in from Wuhan, on January 20, a South Korean man in his 50s who returned from working in Wuhan and a 54-year-old South Korean resident of Wuhan who had arrived home on January 20.

    Sri Lanka - 1
    Sri Lanka confirmed its first case of coronavirus on January 27.

    The patient was identified as a 43-year-old Chinese woman from Hubei who had arrived in Sri Lanka as a tourist. She was admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital.

    Taiwan - 8
    Taiwan has uncovered eight cases so far. Among the latest cases is a Taiwanese woman who had been working in Wuhan before returning home on January 20. The island's authorities have since advised against travel to Wuhan and Hubei province and on January 24 said any arrivals from Wuhan would be rejected by immigration.

    All arrivals from the rest of China - including Hong Kong and Macau - must fill out health declaration forms on arrival.

    The territory has also banned the export of face masks for a month to ensure domestic supplies.

    Thailand - 14
    Thailand has detected 14 cases so far.

    Sukhum Kanjanapimai, the ministry's permanent secretary, said on Tuesday all six latest cases are Chinese tourists from Hubei province who entered Thailand several days ago. They are from Wuhan.

    The new cases are two women and four men age 6 to 60. Five of the six new cases are family members.
    All six were admitted to a hospital in Nonthaburi province.

    United States - 5
    The US has confirmed five cases of the virus - two in California, and one each in Arizona, Chicago and Washington state.

    United Arab Emirates - 4
    According to UAE authorities, at least four Chinese nationals coming from one family have been confirmed with coronavirus. They are the first cases reported in the Middle East.

    Vietnam - 4
    Vietnam on January 23 confirmed one case of the virus in a man from Wuhan who travelled to Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month.

    Three more cases were reported on January 30 in people who had also returned from Wuhan. Two were being treated in the capital, Hanoi, while another was receiving treatment in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, a report in the Suc Khoe & Doi Song newspaper said.

    • [Deactivated] on 31/01/2020 - 07:58

      You've made an excellent case against your first paragraph.

    • bargain huntress on 01/02/2020 - 20:06

      they finally did

    • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:28

      You make it sound like there sink holes of coronavirus swallowing people whole.

      We know that everyone outside of China who got it is either from Wuhan or Hubei province or exposed to people from there.

      Coronavirus isn't dropping out of trees. You have a greater chance of getting killed from him tree limb shedding right now.

  • xoom on 31/01/2020 - 07:29
    +7

    Back with sars or was it bird flu my colleague just returned from china at the time. He voluntarily stayed home for 2 weeks effectively self quarantining himself.

    He did this on his own even before management sent out a company wide bulletin not to come to work right after coming back from china. First get checked up by a licensed physician like a gp. When given the all clear. They are ok to return to work.

    As for the story from the op. That person should not take it personal. The corona virus is no joke. Its deadly. It takes 2 weeks before symptoms manifest itself. The very young and the older generation are extremely vulnerable. So people could be a carrier they infect their colleagues. Who later go home to their kids and infect them.

    That person can say oh but i feel fine right now because it may take up to two weeks before they even feel anything. Remember folks an ounce of prevention is better than a tonne of cure.

    • [Deactivated] on 31/01/2020 - 08:05

      an ounce of prevention is better than a tonne of cure.

      Lots of commenter have expressed this sentiment, but it's weird, people on this site don't seem to hold the same sentiment when it comes to climate change. It's as if they are happy to over react to what's directly in front of them and ignore everything else. Either way they seem to go out of their way to ignore scientific advise

      • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:30

        Not long before the village starts marching down streets of those who came back from China recently with pitch forks and wooden torches.

        The level of hysteria is ridiculous.

  • Archi on 31/01/2020 - 09:25
    +2

    a lot of Australians are complacent, sometimes including myself because as a 40 year old most Australians have never seen an epidemic on our shores with mass causalities and loss of life (not saying I want this situation). SARS and MERS and other out breaks, conflict and civil unrest had epicentres away from Australia with minimal impact. Until we get something serious on our shores close to home, people wont learn, take precaution and get into self preservation mode.

    the most serious things I can think of that would have had a profound affect on us
    - overseas conflict where we send our defence personnel
    - economic crisis
    - overseas disease and health (sars, swine flu, ebola)

    the main one that affects us now that most people relate to is climate change

    • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:31

      We've seen an epidemic, the epidemic of panic. People never learn from it though. The hysteria gets bigger every time.

  • TightBum on 31/01/2020 - 11:48
    +2

    My company has directed anyone who has come into contact with someone who has travelled to China the last 2 weeks to work from home for the next 2 weeks. Me being one of them. I feel absolutely fine but I was still hesitant to go back to work after Chinese new year so I'm really glad the company made it a policy. Tbh I feel better being at home than around my colleague's who have been coughing and sneezing, there seems to be a wave the common flu at work as well which doesn't help.

  • altman on 31/01/2020 - 13:52
    +1

    If companies were more proactive and laying out guidelines the situation described by the OP could had been avoided.

  • bargain huntress on 31/01/2020 - 15:07
    +3

    I would argue that it was more unethical for her to go to work. Especially if she did so without getting permission from the boss or hr.

    If she travelled to Hubei Province then she has been asked by the government to self isolate.

    If I was her and had not travelled there I WOULD STILL SELF ISOLATE. Who knows who I may have run into while travelling elsewhere and on the way home.

    People are frequently
    a) selfish
    and b) blissfully unaware of what it is like to live with a compromised immune system.

    That's why they ride public transport and go to work when they are 'a little bit crook' with a cold or stuffing themselves with codral because they have the flu.
    They don't think about the people who they will come into contact with who have HIV, or cancer and are undergoing treatments, or one of hundreds of disorders of the immune system.
    They don't think about the fact that THEY COULD KILL SOMEONE because they are so busy and important they couldn't stay home.
    They don't think about their cold that lasts a week making someone else ill for months.
    They don't think about making people who are immuno-compromised afraid to leave the house.

    And they should start thinking about that.

  • bargain huntress on 31/01/2020 - 15:09

    Secondly none of what the various authorities are doing is "hysteria".

    If you don't understand how important preventing pandemics are you could do with some history lessons.

  • MetalZen on 31/01/2020 - 16:02
    -2

    Fair should be fair, EVERYONE who has been in contact with or is displaying flu like symptoms recently should be asked to self-quarantine. Lets face it, anyone can be a carrier… not just "Chinese"! Just asking those who came back from "China" is pure racism at its ugliest… then again, we are Australian's… we like to preach multi-cultralism but we fail to practice it in everyday life.

  • Wallyt99 on 31/01/2020 - 18:09
    +3

    Completely sick of people playing the race card here. This is not a race issue.

    If my country royally (profanity) up… Like they did when our PM went to Hawaii, and denied climate change, drawing international condemnation, I'd hang my head in shame (and did).

    China as a country is deserving of criticism here for allowing the conditions that enabled the virus to spread to humans to exist. They warrant praise for their response.

    Chinese people who 'escaped Wuhan' WITH SYMPTOMS and bragged about going to Disneyland and a Michelin star restaurant are deserving of criticism and indeed criminal punishment. There are many more cases of this throughout China as can be seen by the spread of the disease.

    Chinese people who are obeying the quarantine measures (the vast vast majority) are worthy of praise.

    Its a sad and difficult time but to think that at this time all criticism is rascism is just not true.

    • Wallyt99 on 01/02/2020 - 17:44
      +1

      I should also clarify here. I don't think anyone should assume anyone has been to China (and is a carrier) because they are Asian. Racially profiling people is not O.K.

    • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:35

      Well, you know the bush fire appeal that Australia got millions of dollars from overseas.

      Now another country is in trouble look at the response.

  • tempura on 31/01/2020 - 19:12
    -5

    enlighten me; why eat bat soup? why eat dog? why the {profanity}?!?!

    those who perhaps originated from PRC, enlighten me! culture? boredom? religion? superiority?

    • Taro Milk Tea on 31/01/2020 - 20:03

      I think people from another country eat these animals too not only PRC.

      The question is… Why sell those publicly??

    • blehgg on 31/01/2020 - 21:00
      +3

      This is like a vegan asking you why do you eat chicken or tempura prawns?

      I would say cause its normal for your culture / it's a thing for some foodie to put up on youtube?

      Gags @ https://culinarylore.com/food-culture:do-people-eat-spiders-…

      Coronavirus does not just come from bats / dogs and you don't just have to eat them…

      • nahi11 on 31/01/2020 - 22:14
        +2

        My culture eats human flesh, tastes like pork but more environmentally friendly.

        • blehgg on 31/01/2020 - 22:26

          solution to climate change

          • weee on 01/02/2020 - 15:30
            +1

            @blehgg: Also a way to reduce stupid and ignorant people

      • 91rs on 01/02/2020 - 17:45
        +4

        Its not only the animals chosen which are known pathogen carriers, but the totally medieval situation around hygiene and food handling.
        The problem is that its "cultural" to get your food like this, there is no advancement as they see nothing wrong.
        None of this seems to be something the think they need to change, this wont change anytime soon even after this outbreak.
        Having a friend who was living there for the better part of a decade, the things i've been told and photos I've seen just blows my mind. None of it in a positive way.
        At what point will the cries of racism give way to the realisation that this is all based on fact and historical way of life (or culture?) that is just totally backward and costs people their lives over simple things like washing your hands.

        • luffyex2010 on 02/02/2020 - 00:13

          Reminds me of why pregnant women mortality rate was so high in the old days. So many women died of giving birth, way later they found out the caused of it and it was so basic.

          The doctors didn't wash their hands.

    • jelko on 01/02/2020 - 18:39
      +2

      Ignorance and poverty.

      • bargain huntress on 01/02/2020 - 20:10
        +2

        bingo

        it's not racial

        it's human

        this is what happens when humans a poor and ignorant because of it

        • blehgg on 02/02/2020 - 10:16
          +2

          Correct its human.

          But not all Asian looking people, come from china

          Not all Chinese people are in poverty and don't understand general hygiene

          Cries of racism come when comments start bundling everyone together based on a select few

          • bargain huntress on 02/02/2020 - 17:42

            @blehgg: fair enough

            one point i disagree with though - i would not call the number of poor (and often ignorant because of it) in china "a select few"

            in terms of percentage of the overall population it's not so clear to me if it is a high ratio or at parity with other other places (such as australia)

            and it has dropped astoundingly in the last 4 decades

            but in terms of overall numbers - we are still talking about a hell of a lot of people

            probably more than our entire population

            https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2018/02/04/why-te…

            • blehgg on 02/02/2020 - 18:09
              +1

              @bargain huntress: Yea, you're definitely right about the number of poor and that's probably the main class. I'm no China expert ~ but that's a really sad number.

              But I think I was referring to the "Bundling of Australian Asians" with those affected in by the disease.

              Bundling the Select few vs Everyone else

              • 50,000 with nCOV vs the entire Chinese population of the world…

              • People who eat wild game in China vs every other China person. [I'm not from China, but I find it hard to believe this isn't just an older generation thing.]

              • People who've been to China in the last 2 months coming to australia vs Every other Asian Person in Australia [Me and my young family are in this boat]

              • Just because you're poor - doesn't mean you don't know how to wash your hands…

              I just don't want the below happening to my two young kids cause we're bundling every asian into this thing:

              https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-01/coronavirus-has-spark…

              • bargain huntress on 05/02/2020 - 23:58

                @blehgg: Yeah i get it.

                but i have to say in that article and the other press i've seen about it; i see some intense fear of racism leading to over-sensitivity, confirmation-bias, and mild panic - which is an eerie mirror to the effects of the intense fear of the virus itself.

                for example in that article the journo's (I'm not sure if I should use her name or not so I won't) personal experience that she starts the article with;

                I was standing in a supermarket aisle and moving my shopping trolley to make room for a middle-aged woman to pass when I overheard it: "Asians … stay home …stop spreading the virus." I stopped and looked at the woman. Her face was serious, her eyes stared blankly at the floor in front of her as if she was just thinking aloud. I didn't confront her. Her voice lowered when she knew I was watching her, but the muttering continued as she walked away.

                She is describing a person suffering from a psychiatric/neurological symptom - i can't remember the medical terminology - but it can happen with brain injuries and tourette syndrome and a lot of other conditions - where a person says thoughts out loud.

                The journalist who wrote that article had an interaction with an ill person talking to themselves in public, and has decided to take it personally as a racist attack.

                I have had crazy people say - and scream - crazy things at me in public. Including a vaguely racial example equivalent to this. I didn't decide that it was evidence of endemic racism. I was actually more concerned about the persons wellbeing.

                Frankly i have a problem to varying degrees with every example in that article.

                I think we might be panicking on multiple levels.

  • blehgg on 31/01/2020 - 22:44
    +1

    My vote ~

    No flights in or out of Australia for 2 weeks.

    Everyone gets a 2 weeks isolation REGARDLESS.

    I need a holiday….

    • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 08:36
      +1

      No flights in or out of Australia for 2 weeks.

      am glad you're not our chief Medical officer

      • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 08:55
        +1

        Ok make it 4 weeks. Last offer!

        • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 09:01

          people normally negotiate down

          • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 09:31
            +1

            @tempura: Am glad that you are one of general public who can see that putting up simple solutions to complex problems - make you seem like an idiot….

            But yes - let's build that virus wall!

            • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 09:35

              @blehgg: why so rude?

              • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 09:46
                +1

                @tempura: It's a satirical comment on the general situation.

                Why so serious?

                • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 09:48

                  @blehgg: i'm sure you were taken back with my last reply

                  • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 09:57

                    @tempura: I am confused unless you were trolling me so you could italics more.

                    If so good work. Woosh on me

                    • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 10:07

                      @blehgg: no no no, nothing like that

                      • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 10:14

                        @tempura: Ok… D@mn it…. Touche

                        I still want a two week holiday!!!

                        • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 10:18
                          +1

                          @blehgg: deal is off; from 2 weeks to four then back to 2. what kind of businessman are you?

    • CalmLemons on 02/02/2020 - 19:48
      +1

      I like the idea of a holiday too.

      I think the tourism related businesses after that can just continue to be on holiday as they will definitely be out of business by then. Fires + Coronas = Boom.

      • Archi on 04/02/2020 - 10:46

        are you implying we nuke everyone and start all over

  • fusion17 on 01/02/2020 - 01:47
    +2

    It seems like almost everyone from Wuhan is carrying the virus. It's worrying how everyone outside that got sick came into contact from someone from that area. Without fail.

    The 10k infected figure is only for the severe cases and people who were able to report to medics in china. In reality it's probably over 500k in china who are infected based on how easily this spreads. The figure has already exceeded sars and it's just in it's infancy.

    Also what does cured even mean? That you didn't die?
    Is the virus still present but dormant?
    There are reports that suggest lung scar tissue afterwards, so there's that too.

    • Wallyt99 on 01/02/2020 - 07:25
      +1

      I agree. Many in China, Wuhan particularly will not report to the doctor because they are worried of catching it if they have something else.

      Likely the numbers of infected are much higher but that also means the mortality rate is much lower.

      • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 08:41
        +2

        because they are worried of catching it if they have something else.

        do you blame them for having this mindset?

      • WT on 02/02/2020 - 15:54

        I went to the doc a long time ago when I was chucking a sickie. Got chicken pox from this fkn red head fat kid, I was really sick for 2 weeks and still off for a further week or so.

        moral of the story, i dont go to the doc unless last resort

    • blehgg on 01/02/2020 - 11:51
      +1

      Wuhan population 11 million… Almost everyone…

      • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:37

        Didn't you have an Australian kid in math class. Almost all of them are bad at math hehehe you see how I just generalised.

  • AMLagonda on 01/02/2020 - 01:55

    People are mass dying!!

    Is our government going to protect its citizens?

    • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 08:37

      correction: people are mass dying in China

      • CalmLemons on 02/02/2020 - 19:50

        it's too hard to correct plebs. the media said everyone is mass dying. it must be true.

  • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 08:40

    Coronavirus is a virus, there won't be any antidotes; your body have to be the one who produces the antibody. and it is not airborne, it spreads by means of droplets so wearing mask is not a solution; washing your hand is.

    • Kamsi on 01/02/2020 - 15:56

      You certainly haven't follow the news lately.

      • tempura on 01/02/2020 - 17:00
        -1

        that is the latest news; droplets and not airborne

        • LPV569 on 02/02/2020 - 13:23

          How is the coronavirus spreading?
          The 2019-nCoV coronavirus spreads from person to person in close proximity, similar to other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu.

          The disease can be transmitted through sneezing or coughing, which disperses droplets of body fluids such as saliva or mucus.

          According to scientists, coughs and sneezes can travel several feet and stay suspended in the air for up to 10 minutes.

          These droplets can come into direct contact with other people, or can infect those who pick them up by touching surfaces on which the infected droplets land, or touching a surface and then their face.

          READ MORE
          Coronavirus: Which countries have confirmed cases?
          It is not yet know how long the virus can survive on surfaces, but in other viruses, the range is between a few hours or months.

          Transmission is of particular concern on transport, where droplets containing the coronavirus could pass between passengers or via surfaces like plane seats and armrests.

          The incubation period of the coronavirus, the length of time before symptoms appear, is between one and 14 days.

          Though not yet confirmed, Chinese health authorities believe the virus can be transmitted before symptoms appear.

  • bigbadboogieman on 01/02/2020 - 08:50

    Some companies did take an initiative. I know one of the big 4s asked employees who had travelled to/through/around China recently to work from home.

  • xoom on 01/02/2020 - 09:35
    +2

    And on the WTF front… Where "are people really this stupid???"

    https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2…

    Drink bleach to ward off corona virus. Hmmmm.

    *face meet palm*

    • fusion17 on 01/02/2020 - 11:12
      +1

      I heard that if you make a soup from the organs and tail of a civet, it will fight off many viruses including this.
      Bonus: also increases libido.

    • netjock on 03/02/2020 - 12:39

      You are more likely to die from panic induced acts than the virus.

  • rgr on 01/02/2020 - 14:10

    https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.30.927871v1?…

    Scientific paper: Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV

    man-made angle seems to be plausible

    • petry on 01/02/2020 - 17:17

      1st coincidence - pandemic takes over world news whilst impeachment hearings underway

      2nd coincidence - speed at which 3d modelling replicates exact copy of virus which apparently is constantly mutating - yet to see scientific explanation of that.

      3rd coincidence - the way particular components all target the same area when modelled - yet to be explained…

      A lot of coincidences involving China's greatest enemy - u pay your money and you choose - one thing's become very clear the world just became a lot more dangerous.

      • bargain huntress on 01/02/2020 - 20:19

        @petry

        2nd coincidence - speed at which 3d modelling replicates exact copy of virus which apparently is constantly mutating - yet to see scientific explanation of that.

        would that really take that long?

        3rd coincidence - the way particular components all target the same area when modelled - yet to be explained…

        i don't understand

        u pay your money and you choose

        huh?

      • [Deactivated] on 02/02/2020 - 08:09
        +1

        It's true that the news cycle pivoted from the burning east coast and Canberra's state of emergency to fear about China's new virus. Convenient to have a news story about something the government isn't responsible for.

    • bargain huntress on 01/02/2020 - 20:17

      @rgr woah

  • langitbiru on 01/02/2020 - 16:22
    -4

    to me, it sounds like racism. i knew some of the employee in melb CBD, had been treated with such a pain by her female senior colleague.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/02/2020 - 08:03

      yeah, it's weird sinophobia mixed with hysteria, people not understand that China is a huge country, and not bothering to look up the facts or confirm government advise

    • blehgg on 02/02/2020 - 10:12
      +1

      It's comments like these which make the rest of us asians look silly….

      No-where in the main thread said Chinese…

      Let's reword the above - My mate told me today in his workplace, his Caucasian colleague who just came back from China were "confronted" by her peers asking her to leave the office immediately because they are afraid she might have the virus.

      • Yes you came back from China. Yes it takes X amount of days to verify. Go enjoy your 2 weeks extended holiday.
      • rgr on 02/02/2020 - 17:24
        +1

        i think the reason why there is so much lack of empathy and emotional pour out of chinese people dying is because of the fact that people secretly resent the mass population of chinese migrating or living in western countries and negatively affecting the place. everyone who's well-travelled know how obnoxious and annoying chinese middle class travellers can be, also i would imagine just the sheer amount of chinese in the general populace would easily make non-asian/chinese people think "some of them died but there still is a lot of them so i don't see the problem"

        • blehgg on 02/02/2020 - 18:47
          +1

          That's a terrible, but probable truth - e.g. China did this to themselves mentality.

          how obnoxious and annoying chinese middle class travellers can be.

          For every obnoxious middle Chinese traveler, there would be at least traveler who would NOT be in this category, who's travelling like any other normal human being..

          People secretly resent the mass population of chinese migrating or living in western countries and negatively affecting the place.

          ouch… i think we're contributer's to society as much as every other race… I'm not from China but I'm hoping the above isn't the case

        • Creamsoda on 03/02/2020 - 20:02
          +1

          nah, its the anti China media that pumps out 2 negative article per week. when have you actually seen a positive article on China in the past 3-4 years? oh yea its pretty much started at the time China announced petrol yuan. maybe you should google what happened to the countries who tried to trade Petrol in other currency other than USD.

          Aussies arnt that much better in Bali. there are bogans in every race. Its just the Chinese has a larger population, so their 1% is still a lot of people.

          To generalise and to spread hate about "Chinese migrants" and "how you feel lack of empathy from Chinese people are dying". shows exactly what type of person you are. A bloody disgusting racist that plays down a human tragedy that's unfolding in WuHan with thoughts of "some of THEM died but there still is a lot of THEM left" where is you humanity mate? you sound just like Hitler.

  • ywpn on 01/02/2020 - 17:49
    +1

    Would happily "work from home" until told otherwise

    • blehgg on 02/02/2020 - 10:05

      Happily work without pay? (I would be in this situation)

      Out of curiosity.

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