Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36029869)

No it wouldn’t. In your opinion you deem that to be the case, presumably solely for the purposes of being argumentative as it’s not based in reality.

Many, many simulations work on very narrow parameters due to the difficulty in applying a full scale simulation for something that in the real world would be massive. Something like a global pandemic for example.

They can, and do, build upon real world examples elsewhere - the test being on the differences such as the healthcare system.

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter (Post 36029864)

This is basically what my doctor told me, which is why I am now being 'shielded' from the virus. In a nutshell my health is so poor that it could kill me which, as well as having to put myself under house arrest, has affected my state of mental health. I imagine it's the same for many others too. Depression, anxiety etc will be going through the roof, so please everybody, try to be kind to one another.

Originally Posted by jonbxx (Post 36029898)

Seeing as this virus seems to adversely affect the elderly, one question popped up in my head - how does the mortality risk from a coronavirus infection compare to the mortality risk of simply being old? Or, put another way (and yes, this is dispassionate) is being old in itself and underlying health condition?

Well I finally found an article on this - https://medium.com/wintoncentre/how-...t-4539118e1196

It seems, on average, a coronavirus infection packs a year worth of risk of mortality in to around a week! There are some outliers for example, the very young (0-9 years old) having a relatively high mortality with little coronavirus risk and it seems like the 60-69 year age bracket run the most additional risk. Note that underlying health conditions apart from simply being old are not taken into account...

Originally Posted by TheDaddy (Post 36029885)

The other half is a therapist, they're doing skype and facetime sessions at her work, if anyone needs to call the number is

01268 293799

Originally Posted by denphone (Post 36029919)

Another 563 people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus - bringing the total number of deaths to 2,352.

Originally Posted by Mick (Post 36029922)

One of the slight disadvantages if the person you’re living with is on a video call at work, whilst at home....

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36029861)

Please be cautious. For a start the article does not say he was healthy. The family is quoted as saying to the best of their knowledge he had no underlying health issues. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. The point is, there is quite enough stress caused over this pandemic already, without people rushing onto internet forums just so they can get a thrill out of being the first to share bad news. Let the science lead your understanding of this illness. Do not rush ahead of it. And certainly don't recklessly misrepresent the articles you're quoting.

Second, there is a useful piece about the significance of viral load that has been doing the rounds. I'm pretty sure I've seen it quoted in here and I have also seen it on Facebook. The initial dose of virus particles that you get, makes a difference as to the severity of the infection you develop. Covid-19 becomes lethal if a significant infection develops deep in the lungs. This happens when the body's immune system can't work fast enough to keep up with the rate of infection. A person weakened by another health condition or with a compromised immune system is vulnerable in this way. Someone who receives a heavy initial does of the virus is also more vulnerable.

So factors such as the boy's home environment, how prolonged was his exposure, and to what form of contamination, are all very relevant. It is quite possible that he has been coughed over by a dozen only mildly infectious people, if he lives in a large household or if his family has flouted hand hygiene or social distancing guidance.

The statistics, even from the early days in China, have shown that even young people *can* die from this infection. That is not news. And it should be stated again and again that the chances of someone younger than their 50s dying of it are very, very small.