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Post by galvatron prime on Feb 3, 2020 6:16:53 GMT
The Wuhan coronavirus death toll in mainland China has overtaken SARS Hong Kong (CNN)The number of Wuhan coronavirus deaths in mainland China has overtaken the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in the country, as Beijing injected billions of dollars into an economy hit by weeks of effective shutdowns to major cities. More than 360 people have died of the disease in China, the country's health authorities said Monday. The total number of cases in mainland China stood at 17,205 as of Sunday evening, an increase of over 2,800 on the previous day, or almost 20%. The 2003 outbreak of SARS -- another coronavirus strand -- infected 5,327 people in mainland China, with 349 deaths. The first death from the virus outside China was confirmed over the weekend. Philippine health officials said that a 44-year-old Chinese man died Saturday after flying into the country from Wuhan. So far, more than 175 cases have been reported outside of China -- the majority of them with a direct link to the country -- across more than 25 countries and territories worldwide. Many countries have begun closing their borders to visitors from China, with major airlines canceling flights to and from the country. Germany confirmed its 10th case on Sunday, and there were also new cases reported in South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Macao and Hong Kong. The United States, Australia and New Zealand have all announced that they will not allow foreign nationals who have traveled from or transited through China to enter. Nationals from those countries will face mandatory quarantine on arrival. edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/asia/wuhan-coronavirus-update-intl-hnk/index.html
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Post by galvatron prime on Feb 3, 2020 6:29:21 GMT
siuyiu Have your county have banned travellers from China? Admin
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Post by siuyiu on Feb 4, 2020 3:22:38 GMT
no travel ban, just discourage non-essential travel. no direct flights to china via air canada.
despite this, the panic is disproportionate among the public. and the racism is getting blatant.
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Post by soengyee on Feb 4, 2020 4:30:58 GMT
I agree. There is a restaurant in Toronto called Wuhan and not only they are losing business but the comments and remarks they are getting are ridiculous! There's a lot of rude racial comments everywhere you go if you are Chinese, it appears on the news all day. I'm not sure how the travel restrictions are in my City (I live 1 hour away from siuyiu) but no one uses our airport anyways to go to Asia because we are very small. Only connecting flights from us to Toronto.
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Post by Admin on Feb 4, 2020 13:00:33 GMT
galvatron prime : Yes, I'm already in my home country before the outbreak news. but now I can't return to Beijing at the moment. The news from foreign media indeed is exaggerating. My friends in Beijing, Shanghai, and even those whose family in Hubei said that indeed the cities are empty with less people, since it's Chinese new year holidays and many people have not returned to work. The supermarket, and traditional market, are operated in full now. And there's no rush and the food price are stable - as the first day, less sellers, but many people were worried and rushed to the market. People also rushed to buy masks. But right now masks are limited, people are not allowed to buy more than they need. The community hospitals and clinics distributed masks - but they limit the amount therefore everyone could get masks they need. Although it sounds very authoritarian, and everything is 'controlled', but honestly I'm glad that the govt. took that kind of measure. I had some friends (unfortunately all of them are foreigners) who asked me to bring 100 boxes of masks - she planned to sell them to her friends. I was so pissed off, and she tried to persuade me and tell me that she's willing to pay my extra baggage, etc. Indeed, there are some people who try to get advantages in this kind of situation.
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Post by kyc on Feb 6, 2020 20:04:56 GMT
Can't sleep, so got up to type this response to the Wuhan virus.
Singapore has indeed barred visitors from China into the country, meaning any nationality who is flying from China. Just last night, we received news that the virus has spread among attendees at a Grand Hyatt Hotel conference held in Singapore.
To quote: "At least three employees of a multinational company that held a meeting of more than 100 international staff in Singapore have contracted the new coronavirus, sparking a World Health Organization investigation of the case.
Malaysia and South Korea have confirmed three cases of the virus related to the mid-January company meeting held with 94 overseas staff at the Grand Hyatt hotel, and Singapore said late on Wednesday (Feb 5) four other attendees were showing symptoms."
Another sad news: the mainland doctor who blew the whistle on the virus (and was threatened for it) is in critical condition. (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/06/asia/li-wenliang-coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-dies-intl/index.html) He was earlier reported to have died.
The Singapore government has donated S$1 million to Singapore Red Cross to aid communities in China stricken by the coronavirus.
By the way, I'm suffering from flu and cough now (almost recovered), but I haven't encountered anyone from China, so fingers crossed I'm not infected!
It's terrible to hear racist remarks in some countries when right now, China needs all our support and encouragement. Those callous people who only know discriminations and insults... maybe one day they will suffer for it. Are they virus-proof themselves?
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Post by Admin on Feb 7, 2020 15:02:11 GMT
Can't sleep, so got up to type this response to the Wuhan virus. Singapore has indeed barred visitors from China into the country, meaning any nationality who is flying from China. Just last night, we received news that the virus has spread among attendees at a Grand Hyatt Hotel conference held in Singapore. To quote: "At least three employees of a multinational company that held a meeting of more than 100 international staff in Singapore have contracted the new coronavirus, sparking a World Health Organization investigation of the case. Malaysia and South Korea have confirmed three cases of the virus related to the mid-January company meeting held with 94 overseas staff at the Grand Hyatt hotel, and Singapore said late on Wednesday (Feb 5) four other attendees were showing symptoms." Another sad news: the mainland doctor who blew the whistle on the virus (and was threatened for it) is in critical condition. (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/06/asia/li-wenliang-coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-dies-intl/index.html) He was earlier reported to have died. The Singapore government has donated S$1 million to Singapore Red Cross to aid communities in China stricken by the coronavirus. By the way, I'm suffering from flu and cough now (almost recovered), but I haven't encountered anyone from China, so fingers crossed I'm not infected! It's terrible to hear racist remarks in some countries when right now, China needs all our support and encouragement. Those callous people who only know discriminations and insults... maybe one day they will suffer for it. Are they virus-proof themselves? Get well soon! keep your immune boosted!
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Post by chefying on Feb 8, 2020 15:14:46 GMT
Get well soon! keep your immune boosted! I am planning to boost my body's immunity by consuming durians. If it does not work, at least I die happy.
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Post by Admin on Feb 9, 2020 5:51:56 GMT
Get well soon! keep your immune boosted! I am planning to boost my body's immunity by consuming durians. If it does not work, at least I die happy. just be careful. durian indulgence often takes victims.
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Post by kyc on Mar 25, 2020 10:40:33 GMT
Just to ask everyone on the board how they are doing during the coronavirus epidemic.
How are things with you, your family and your country? Is there a lockdown in your country or region? How do you intend to spend these days if in isolation or lockdown? Are you still working, or working from home?
Let me start by reporting the situation in Singapore.
The epidemic had been well contained in Singapore and so far, only two persons had died. The government is transparent and the country is not in a lockdown yet, but gatherings of over 10 people are prohibited. Most public places like pubs, discotheques, tuition centres and cinemas are closed, but not schools. The government however is only prohibiting inter-school events but lessons are not yet suspended.
Singapore has been able to contain the virus through rigorous contact tracing. Police detectives and even the military are tasked to identify clusters. Their contacts are isolated and quarantined at home or elsewhere. There are strict penalties if anyone flouts this law. Malaysia has closed its borders and some Malaysians working in Singapore are lodging here.
When I'm out exercising, I find only about 20% of the people are wearing face masks. Singapore has a low supply of masks and the government is only asking those with flu-like symptoms to wear them. So I think it's not that they are lax, but most people don't have no more than a dozen and aren't wearing them unless it is necessary.
The prospects seem grim though. Import cases now make up 60% of the total cases and the number is climbing. Many many residents back from vocation or study/work in the US and UK are down with the virus, so I shudder to think the real number in those countries. As of last night, there were 558 cases.
Personally, I think now is a good time to read (or reread) wuxia works if you have them. If you read Chinese, many (pirated) editions are online, and I don't think the deceased souls of Liang Yusheng, Jin Yong or Gu Long will blame you if you read them online. I happen to have a complete Jin Yong and will spend the next month or two reading the few I haven't read (now you know), like The Deer and the Cauldron. The last time I visited the library (still open) I borrowed two Gu Longs and one Liang Yusheng, but they may have to wait. I can work from home, unlike many who are idle now.
Do let us know how you people are doing. I sincerely hope no one among us is down with the virus, although it seems only fatal to the elderly or those with existing medical conditions. If you are stricken, keep positive!
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Post by siuyiu on Mar 25, 2020 23:21:02 GMT
i'm healthy, so is my family, my friends, and my co-workers. very lucky!
the city declared state of emergency and we're on lockdown. we've recently had a spike in suspected/confirmed cases because of the influx of people returning from spring break from outside the country. there are people still ignoring the physical distancing rule, and we'll see in the next 2 weeks whether the police will really crack down on those who continue to disobey.
for me, it's business as usual for work because i'm support staff for an essential service for the community. working from home is being discussed but it hasn't happened yet.
too many people are unnecessarily wearing face masks (i.e., under inappropriate circumstances) and the whole country is experiencing shortage. the hospitals have sent out pleas for donations of face masks to frontline healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, etc) because of the shortage.
our stats of confirmed cases and deaths is still fairly low compared to other countries--3409 confirmed as of today, 36 deaths, out of ~37.6 million people. i live in the province with the 2nd highest number of confirmed cases.
there's plenty of information being circulated around, not all of it accurate and/or true. please double-check the WHO website as the authority and if they say something that contradicts the information you've read, believe the WHO and not the god-knows-where-they-got-the-info source.
and please, please thoroughly and properly wash your hands!
stay safe, everyone!
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Post by Admin on Mar 26, 2020 2:22:11 GMT
I returned to my home country Indonesia a week before CNY, just before the outbreak was announced. The company I'm working for is hardly hit by this epidemic. Therefore before CNY, I have already started working from home. Indonesia seemed to be 'okay' at first. But then my flight to China was closed started in the first week of February. It was okay since my China office also prolonged it's CNY holidays. We officially started to work on February 3rd, delayed until 10th (suggested by the Chinese government.) Then the Chinese government suggested everyone work from home and have social distancing. We mostly work from home and rely on emails and conference calls to do our work. Right now Beijing and other cities in China are relatively okay. Business is getting back to normal. But some businesses such as travel industry, hotel, tourism are hardly hit by this outbreak and many of them have to lay off their employees, or cut down their salaries, or shut down the company for 3 months. Therefore although everything starts to be normal again, yet it's only 80-90% compared to the time before the outbreak. Then started around two weeks or ten days ago, Indonesia started this outbreak. Now the Indonesian govt. asks us to stay at home and WFH. Lockdown is impossible to be imposed in Indonesia since many people especially the low-income people can't work from home. Many of them are farmers, workers, restaurants, etc had their incomes from a daily or weekly basis. These people have to work otherwise they will not be able to live. Indonesian government put emphasize on social-distancing and order all religious activities to be shut down and no large gathering or crowds are allowed. But then again some people still ignore it. Also for the mask, perhaps only 30-40% use masks. It's because most people don't understand the risk, and also the mask is not only limited, but also very expensive that many people could not afford The government can't do anything to sellers or stores who sell masks at a very high unreasonable price. For me, I'm still working from home from my mom's house. I don't go out. Luckily it's a big house with pretty big yards. Do my work, and exercise at home. But the main problem is groceries. Really got headache with this. Apart from work, I use my time: 1. Watch series : * Cao Cao - the story about Cao Cao. * Ming Dynasty 1566 - I've been watching this even before CNY. I don't know why but I find it the language is pretty difficult for me. Therefore I need to slow down the pace and use many dictionary to understand. THis series is really good, mainly dialogues though. The story is about Emperor Jiajing - he was deemed as one of the useless Ming emperor, and an evil one. In this series, he's depicted as a passive aggressive emperor who manipulated his ministers to achieve what he wants. Smart, but evil. For those who loves to see political intrigues, should watch this series. * Want to watch Handsome Siblings 绝代双骄 2020. My sister says it's pretty good. Hopefully I won't get dissapointed. 2. Reading : * Reading a book about Xunzi - he's considered as the teacher of Li Si (Qin Shihuang's prime minister) and Han Fei - the greatest Legalism philosopher. A very good book. While Confucian philosophy is too 'lenient' while Legalism philosophy is too harsh, Xunzi's philosophy is right in the middle. I'm lucky that I could find a proper English translation ebook for free . I have the bilingual book (not with me now) and I find out that this English translation is very similar to my book. If anyone interested, just PM me, I could send the e-book. Highly recommended for those who are interested. 3. Practising calligraphy. Two months without practising calligraphy or painting, I finally got a brush to practice calligraphy. A lousy brush, but that's the only decent brush I could get by now. But I have no decent paper to practice, so I just use whatever paper I could use. But it's still better than nothing. Can't complain! Finally...hope everything gets back to normal. I believe this pandemic is only the beginning of a big financial crisis. Might be greater than 2008 crisis Stay safe and healthy and hope for the best!
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Post by Admin on Mar 26, 2020 2:26:20 GMT
kyc and everyone: for those who want to read wuxia or others in Chinese, can go to : www.yuedu88.com/www.kanunu8.com/you can read online wuxia novels (JY, GL, LYS, WDL, etc) for free. They also have historical fictions, romance, etc.
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Post by yenchin on Mar 26, 2020 6:38:24 GMT
I'm in Taiwan.
Experience from SARS urged the officials to start working on preventions as early as January when news came out so when most of the cases were still in Asia not much of an outbreak happened. Currently with people coming in from other places in the world cases are gaining around twenty each day. Once in awhile some reckless people who should be under restricted movement or isolation go all over the place raising some panic but gladly so far there has not been any spike in local transmissions. While most of the planned annual religious events have been cancelled (not a small feat), Chingming is getting near, and likely it will be another great challenge considering the influx of overseas citizens and the crowds gathering around cemeteries and columbariums. There's also the routine political fiasco on the news with politicians seemingly attempting to hamper efforts, or just trying to gain publicity.
To me, so far besides buying my weekly ration of face masks and the tension of either me or my family being infected, nothing much has changed. Since my job involves handling hard copies of paperwork which currently can't be substituted electronically, if a lockdown happens I'd probably be left with limited work to do. So, lots of time.
My current lockdown plans would likely be reading books and watching series. There's a lot of stuff I've been wanting to read/watch forever and it would be a good time to make some more progress.
I'll also finally have time to deeply look into a career side project I've been like skimming and going nowhere forever, hopefully something will come out of it so that just in case the economy goes really bad I have some extra cash skills.
Keep safe, keep healthy, and double-check on claims from non-experts!
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Post by kyc on Mar 26, 2020 9:14:48 GMT
siuyiu , Admin and yenchin , glad to know you all are kicking and well. This epidemic is here to stay, probably until a worldwide vaccine becomes available. Europe and the US are now the new epicenters, so everywhere, there will be import cases from returning residents. It's good that all three of you are working. The situations in Canada, Indonesia and Taiwan look not as bad and panicky as elsewhere. Admin , thanks for the links. I have the physical books, but I'm sure the links can help some bored people out there! Your reading and watching plans are interesting. Maybe you can update us after you finish your books/TV series. siuyiu , keep safe. Canada is not as densely populated as Europe or New York, so maybe the spread can be stifled more easily there. yenchin , I agree that SARS years ago was a sobering experience. Maybe that's why Asian countries like Taiwan and Singapore are better prepared. Being bored, I have relied on postage service to deliver me CDs. Ridiculously, some news agencies have reported that the virus can live up to 17 days on surfaces. (The checks made on the Diamond Princess cruise.) I may have to rethink buying CDs due to this "fact." (Is it even true?) Anyway, Spotify can help some people pass time. Also, online TV series and ebooks for those keen on keeping up with the latest wuxia trends. Keep safe and be positive!
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