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[Craigb84]

How do they actually know the disease wasn't here as early as that because there was about 5 people at work, who were off suffering from chest infections.. it's a bit weird that all these people were getting all these symptoms at this time of year and now people are dying with respiratory complications 2 months on

[Badbessie]

On Jan 10th the virus had not been recorded anywhere in the world except one small area in China. The flu, chest infections are very common illnesses during winter. From memory at the present time we are in the strep throat season were a number of people will have both temperatures and sore throat. Having an illness in the winter months is very common. Having a general symptoms of a condition does not mean you have it. If you googled those symptoms before this virus started then many possible conditions would have come up.

[Greenrememberedhills]

The students came back in January, some terms started 6th , others as late as 27th. 120,000 Chinese students too.

[Badbessie in reply to Greenrememberedhills]

Yes but no symptoms recorded in that group. Nor in any student group in the UK. The first recorded cases in students were those coming back from Italy. Unless you are saying that every Chinese student had no symptoms.

[Greenrememberedhills]

I honestly don’t know. I think it’s odd that not even one would, especially those arriving later in January. I know that in my sons halls the poor Chinese students cane back in batches and wearing masks, as in my sons halls they were still surprised by it.

[Craigb84]

I just find it weird that I've had no problems for 14 years and get pleurisy just as all this comes out, the doctor only listened to my chest and gave me a diagnosis of pleurisy, they wouldn't have thought of coronavirus back then

[Spacecat1]

Middle of January had symptons similar to covid 19 just assumed it was the start of another chest infection so took antibiotics. Usually chest infections knock me for 6. But my symptoms this time seemed to clear up quite quickly about a week. Normally chest infection can go on for nearly 3 weeks. My husband thinks the same because he had similar symptoms about 5 days before me. We started to wonder couple of weeks ago if we have had mild version of it.

[Craigb84]

I was in the Chinese quarter in Birmingham just the week before... I cleared up after a few day but I had a fever like 2 weeks after, with the fever only lasting a night, then I went into work with the cold I had from the fever, it swept through my bay at work and everyone had the cold but nobody else got the pleurisy

[Schmicter]

Imagine if there were no tests for covid. All those early symptoms or mild cases and even some severe would be classified as either bad cold or the flu. So it actually could have been earlier than thought and spreading simply because at the outset no one was testing because it is novel.

[Craigb84]

That's exactly what I'm thinking but it scares me if it was just pleurisy and not covid19 because then my lungs will to week to fight the disease off

[Greenrememberedhills in reply to Craigb84]

Yes, I have suspected cv now so that’s worrying me too. What if it isn’t, then I get it afterwards.

[Craigb84]

All we can do is stay away from people and have a bit of hope

[Craigb84]

There are eight signs that you might have had coronavirus Covid-19 a month before it was previously thought to have arrived in the UK.

Research carried out by Oxford University's Evolutionary Ecology of Infectious Disease group suggests that Covid-19 may have reached the UK by mid-January at the latest.

The scenario is one of the several the researchers presented as possible, and goes against previously understood death rates.

In the non-peer reviewed study they suggest that the coronavirus, like many emerging infections, may have spread invisibly for a month before its effects became clear at the end of February