nycflyer17

I'm going on a trip shortly to Sydney, flying from the US. Following that with a few weeks in NZ. I'm a bit nervous about the spread of Coronavirus, especially considering I'll be in central areas of Sydney, staying at a hotel with tourists/business travelers.

What precautions are other residents/travelers taking? I have some 3m masks but it will be hard to use that on the 24 hours of flight over. I'll probably avoid public transport if I can and just walk places, which seems sensible given what I know about viruses.

It seems like there are a few new cases every couple days in Australia, and flights from China are still coming in.

Starting a discussion -- I know folks here can't say with certainty what to do or not do.

CPMaverick

As of this morning, 1 February 2020, 9 cases of 2019-nCoV have been confirmed in Australia: 2 in Queensland, 3 in Victoria, and 4 in New South Wales. There hasn't been a new case in NSW in 5 days. There are 7 cases confirmed in the USA.

In my opinion it is foolish to be concerned about the difference between those stats (US vs AU). If this worries you, you should be equally concerned about lightning striking you. The risk on a flight between these two countries is basically zero.

The greatest risk (although still almost infinitely small) would be at airports, so wear your mask there if you like, and wash your hands.

There are lots of things that can kill you in Australia that are worth preparing for, before you get to this. Look up 'Availability Heuristic' if you want to understand why you have this irrational fear (it is quite normal), and maybe it will help you relax. Enjoy Australia and NZ.

nancypants

CPMaverick quite


note lack of verse re infectious diseases here

the Wuhan evacuees are transiting Darwin in a few days time and even the public health department is not worrying about it 😉

nycflyer17

Oh for sure you're absolutely right about that. I"m actually interested in how there have been very few (or no) secondary infections in the US and Australia (I'm aware of one in Chicago). That seems to be a good sign though the incubation period means we probably have to wait a little longer.

I've seen a lot of videos of people going around Sydney in masks etc., which isn't the case here in the US for the most part.

I may wear a mask upon landing, at the airport.

nancypants

You’ll almost certainly find the Sydneysiders wearing masks are worried about the recent upsurge in bushfire smoke

surely not like the media to sensationalise these things?!

bensyd

I have not seen anyone wearing a mask around Sydney because of corona. The entire thing has been blown so far out of proportion to the actual risk of infection – much less death. Now that the Australian government has jumped on the panic wagon and banned any foreigners who have been in China from visiting Australia, I would say the risk of infection is infinitesimally small.

nancypants

The word in the medical rags is that this thing has almost certainly been circulating since at least October and likely didn’t even originate in Wuhan much less the seafood market (we swab a lot of respiratory patients for influenza culture and I assume that either all or a percentage of these swabs have been/are retained for research purposes either universally or just in certain countries). Has it mutated in Wuhan and become more virulent or transmissible or is it just that it was only noted once it started passing around people in close quarters. Difficult to say. Medically I remain not worried for myself. I do hope we can keep it out of Aboriginal communities because those kind of resource poor environments with a high burden of chronic disease are exactly where the mortality will come from

Annalisa12

I'm doing nothing.

I read yesterday that it is hard to catch and one has to be talking to someone infected with it for at least 15 minutes before I could catch it.

nycflyer17

Ok...

flyingfkb

Wasn't there something about fires in Australia just recently or is this too old, too lame that we now discuss the potential risk of getting the Corona Virus in Sydney because there are nine people in OZ who are infected (out of 24.6 million).

We have now eight confirmed cases in an around Munich, Germany and I must say I'm more worried to get the common clod or a flu than this Corona Virus.

If you want to read about the craziness of human risk perception please take a look at this great article. This explains why we worry about the wrong things.

https://www.schneier.com/essays/arch...ogy_of_se.html

worldiswide

Just returning from Sydney and NZ.. took public transportation with no problems...mother nature was much more of a problem in NZ with rains and the closure of some national parks due to flooding and washouts on the road. Really you can't believe everything you read in the newspapers..there are risks everyday and Australia and NZ are probably some of tgge safest places to be from a health perspective. Are you driving in nz..definitely more to think about there.

sydunipete

1. It's the flu not ebola.
2. Australia is a first world country with an excellent (and largely free) health system unlike the US - but as always you are advised to have travel insurance in case a drop bear attacks you.
3. Life is continuing as normal.
4. If you're worried bring some hand sanitizers to wipe your hands after touching things.
5. Beer is a good way of hydrating and replacing electrolytes lost if you are unwell / or well.

nancypants

There was a woman on my BNE-CBR flight a couple of days ago (note 2 large population centres with zero confirmed or suspected cases of the virus), wearing an FFP3 mask but badly- it would have been leaking air both from under her chin and over the cheekbones

if you are going to do the mask thing, at least have the dignity to do it properly
-FFP3s and N95s have 2 straps- one needs to go “high” on the back of your head and the other “low” towards the nape of the neck. If the 2 bands are together the mask is not fitted correctly and is useless
-you need to adjust the metal band over the bridge of the nose to create a decent seal
- if it doesn’t “move” when you breathe in and out (it kind of sucks in on inspiration and returns to a neutral position on expiration), it is not fitted properly and is useless. You should not be able to feel leaks of air around the edges of the mask
-the mask won’t block smells but should block tastes- the old way of testing whether you’d fit it properly was to make you wear a hood and then spray bitrex at increasing concentrations. There is a level at which this is considered acceptable but broadly speaking, you shouldn’t be able to taste anything with the mask on





here endeth my PSA

Annalisa12

Virtually free for Australians but not overseas visitors

From Government website;

Summary

• If you are an overseas visitor and need healthcare while you are in Australia, it is important to know how the health system works and what you will have to pay for.
• The Australian Government has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) with many countries. Overseas visitors from these countries can access medical treatment in a public hospital. However, there are some services that are not covered, and so it is a good idea to have health insurance for your stay.
• If you are not from one of the countries covered by an RHCA and you receive treatment in a public hospital, you will have to pay for the full cost of your care. If you have private health insurance, the insurance company may cover some of this cost.
• Most visas require overseas visitors to hold private health insurance during their stay in Australia.
• If you are an international student studying in Victoria, you are required to take out Overseas Student Health Cover.

These are the countries we have reciprocal health arrangements;

• Belgium
• Finland
• Italy
• Malta
• the Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• the Republic of Ireland
• Slovenia
• Sweden
• the United Kingdom.

cupsandsaucers

I mean thats how to wear a mask all well and good. Except.... it doesnt filter viruses. so is completely pointless.