Panic has gone mainstream! It's escaped internet forums and reached the phone-ins!
Heard a ranting caller yesterday demanding we should, I quote, "seal the Channel" (why? Is it leaking? Do we need some silicone caulk?). That was just one of the shouty harbinger-of-doom types. They all have a kind of self-important tone, like they see it as a chance to feel dramatic and important, the only one to fully understand the situation and who should be put in charge (or to further an existing anti-immigration agenda?)
But I alternate between feeling embarrased about my own nervousness when I hear the over-the-top ranters (who sort of shame me by reflecting my own fears back at me in extreme form), and feeling less-than-fully-reassured by the authorities declaring that it's all under control and/or no worse than flu.
The biggest doubt I have about it, is the question of what proportion of people who are infected by this, end up being hospitalised, and in turn what proportion need intensive care? If it spreads widely, even if the fatality rate is less than the presumably extremely-unreliable estimate of 2%, just how much strain is it going to put on the medical system?
Also, Iran's reported figures seem seriously implausible. They officially only have a little over 100 cases, but admit to nearly 20 deaths and Infected Iranians keep popping up across the middle-east in other countries' figures. To me, it seems that if it's spread to your deputy health minister, you've probably got more than 139 cases in the country.