Social media is flooded with memes and dark humour amid coronavirus panic - Daily Mail

'We're meant to die from climate change!' Grumpy Greta Thunberg meme goes viral as social media users tackle coronavirus with dark humour

• Social media users took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the coronavirus 
• One meme jokes about how the virus has taken attention from Greta Thunberg 
• Another one implies that Prince Andrew would be happy with US travel ban  
• The comments comes as the UK's coronavirus death toll today jumped to 55
• Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

By Joseph Laws For Mailonline

Published: 20:27 GMT, 16 March 2020 | Updated: 11:30 GMT, 17 March 2020

Coronavirus may have caused worldwide pandemonium in little more than weeks but some things never change for online users who have taken to social media to revel in their taste for dark humour.

The memes, which have continued to flood Twitter, come as people remain confused over what to do and how to react as the virus grapples the nation and continues to spread worldwide.

Among the satirical memes is one joking that the impact of the virus has taken the attention away from Greta Thunberg and her climate crusade.

Showing a photo of a frustrated Ms Thunberg, from her angry address to UN leaders last September, the meme jokes: 'F*** the coronavirus. We're meant to die from climate change.'

Another implies that Prince Andrew would be happy with the U.S. travel ban imposed on British citizens in an effort to avoid co-operation with the FBI over the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking inquiry.

Meanwhile others poked fun at the slow approach taken by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his legion of advisers in tackling the pandemic which is now in a phase of rapid spread across the country.

The social memes come as the UK's coronavirus death toll today jumped to 55 and health officials confirmed that more than 1,500 patients in the country had now been hit with COVID-19. 

One Twitter user joked that the coronavirus crisis took spotlight off activist Greta Thunberg's climate change awareness fight

One Twitter user took to social media to say that Prince Andrew was 'thrilled' with the US travel ban after requests for him to help with the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking inquiry went unanswered

Another person took to the platform to share a image of the character Cartlon from the comedy show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air rejoicing 

One person edited the cardboard sign in President Trump's national emergency speech with the words: 'If you're reading this it's too late'

One meme joked that dogs would be getting the last laugh, with people advised not to touch their faces for hygiene reasons

Several people joked that self-isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak was an opportunity to get back in touch with former flames

Elsewhere another person questioned the Prime Minister's advice to avoid social gatherings when school's were still allowed to remain open

Elsewhere one Twitter user poked fun at the Prime Minister's message in the current climate

While another person also poked fun at Boris Johnson's advice to avoid going to the pubs and restaurants

And another person compared Boris Johnson to the Shrek character Lord Farquaad

One person took to Twitter to suggest working for home might not be at all productive for her

Another person highlighted the problems they would be facing if there were to start working from home

Deciding to poke fun at the virus outbreak, one user suggested they would be heading to the pub while self-isolating

While another added that working from home would be far from easy with their cat for company

Meanwhile one person joked that working from home might not be the greatest of ideas for them 

A Twitter user said they now understood why people were stocking up on toilet paper

Meanwhile one person questioned just how long their rations would last amid the coronavirus outbreak

One meme poked fun at the slow pace at which the Prime Minister's policy was going

Meanwhile one social media asked if it would be acceptable to send their children to school in a plastic ball

After struggling to find hand sanitiser anywhere, one social media user poked fun at the dire situation

While one user shared their 'real thoughts and observations' on the notion of working from home

Others made fun of working from home as workers across Europe has begun to self-isolate and stay indoors. This meme makes fun of camera angles in conference calls

Another meme made fun of the Instagram 'influencers' living a jet-set lifestyle on Reddit

The idea of working from home did not appear to be going well for some users on social media

Making light of the lack of hand santisers, one Twitter user poked fun at the panic that had ensued

While one self-professed 'introverted gamer' said the idea of self-isolating meant they did not need to make any changes to their daily routine 

One person decided to poke fun at Boris Johnson's reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak

In Seattle, one user suggested working from home would mean 'pyjamas all day'

Taking to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter, one user shared an image of an abandoned room alongside the government's advice to 'stay home, safe and healthy'

Another person shared an image of donkey from the Pixar animation Shrek and suggested they weren't entirely sure if they would be following the government's advice to stay away from pubs and bars

One amused social media user decided to shed light on the problems she would be met with if she were to work from home

One social media user pointed attention to the flaw in Boris Johnson's plans to shut down social gatherings

Elsewhere another social media user compared Boris Johnson and his advisors to clowns

Another amused user said that Theresa May would be watching Boris Johnson handle a world pandemic knowing she dodged the job

Meanwhile another user drew attention to how the government's proposal would affect people who work in bars and pubs

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS?

What is the coronavirus? 

A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body's normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word 'corona', which means crown, because they are encased by a spiked shell which resembles a royal crown.

The coronavirus from Wuhan is one which has never been seen before this outbreak. It has been named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The name stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2.

Experts say the bug, which has killed around one in 50 patients since the outbreak began in December, is a 'sister' of the SARS illness which hit China in 2002, so has been named after it.

The disease that the virus causes has been named COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019.

Dr Helena Maier, from the Pirbright Institute, said: 'Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that infect a wide range of different species including humans, cattle, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and wild animals. 

'Until this new coronavirus was identified, there were only six different coronaviruses known to infect humans. Four of these cause a mild common cold-type illness, but since 2002 there has been the emergence of two new coronaviruses that can infect humans and result in more severe disease (Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses). 

'Coronaviruses are known to be able to occasionally jump from one species to another and that is what happened in the case of SARS, MERS and the new coronavirus. The animal origin of the new coronavirus is not yet known.' 

The first human cases were publicly reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where approximately 11million people live, after medics first started publicly reporting infections on December 31.

By January 8, 59 suspected cases had been reported and seven people were in critical condition. Tests were developed for the new virus and recorded cases started to surge.

The first person died that week and, by January 16, two were dead and 41 cases were confirmed. The next day, scientists predicted that 1,700 people had become infected, possibly up to 7,000. 

Where does the virus come from?

According to scientists, the virus almost certainly came from bats. Coronaviruses in general tend to originate in animals – the similar SARS and MERS viruses are believed to have originated in civet cats and camels, respectively.

The first cases of COVID-19 came from people visiting or working in a live animal market in Wuhan, which has since been closed down for investigation.

Although the market is officially a seafood market, other dead and living animals were being sold there, including wolf cubs, salamanders, snakes, peacocks, porcupines and camel meat. 

A study by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, published in February 2020 in the scientific journal Nature, found that the genetic make-up virus samples found in patients in China is 96 per cent identical to a coronavirus they found in bats.

However, there were not many bats at the market so scientists say it was likely there was an animal which acted as a middle-man, contracting it from a bat before then transmitting it to a human. It has not yet been confirmed what type of animal this was.

Dr Michael Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London, was not involved with the research but said: 'The discovery definitely places the origin of nCoV in bats in China.

'We still do not know whether another species served as an intermediate host to amplify the virus, and possibly even to bring it to the market, nor what species that host might have been.'  

So far the fatalities are quite low. Why are health experts so worried about it? 

Experts say the international community is concerned about the virus because so little is known about it and it appears to be spreading quickly.

It is similar to SARS, which infected 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 in an outbreak in Asia in 2003, in that it is a type of coronavirus which infects humans' lungs. It is less deadly than SARS, however, which killed around one in 10 people, compared to approximately one in 50 for COVID-19.

Another reason for concern is that nobody has any immunity to the virus because they've never encountered it before. This means it may be able to cause more damage than viruses we come across often, like the flu or common cold.

Speaking at a briefing in January, Oxford University professor, Dr Peter Horby, said: 'Novel viruses can spread much faster through the population than viruses which circulate all the time because we have no immunity to them.

'Most seasonal flu viruses have a case fatality rate of less than one in 1,000 people. Here we're talking about a virus where we don't understand fully the severity spectrum but it's possible the case fatality rate could be as high as two per cent.'

If the death rate is truly two per cent, that means two out of every 100 patients who get it will die. 

'My feeling is it's lower,' Dr Horby added. 'We're probably missing this iceberg of milder cases. But that's the current circumstance we're in.

'Two per cent case fatality rate is comparable to the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 so it is a significant concern globally.'

How does the virus spread?

The illness can spread between people just through coughs and sneezes, making it an extremely contagious infection. And it may also spread even before someone has symptoms.

It is believed to travel in the saliva and even through water in the eyes, therefore close contact, kissing, and sharing cutlery or utensils are all risky. It can also live on surfaces, such as plastic and steel, for up to 72 hours, meaning people can catch it by touching contaminated surfaces.

Originally, people were thought to be catching it from a live animal market in Wuhan city. But cases soon began to emerge in people who had never been there, which forced medics to realise it was spreading from person to person. 

What does the virus do to you? What are the symptoms?

Once someone has caught the COVID-19 virus it may take between two and 14 days, or even longer, for them to show any symptoms – but they may still be contagious during this time.

If and when they do become ill, typical signs include a runny nose, a cough, sore throat and a fever (high temperature). The vast majority of patients will recover from these without any issues, and many will need no medical help at all.

In a small group of patients, who seem mainly to be the elderly or those with long-term illnesses, it can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection in which the insides of the lungs swell up and fill with fluid. It makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and, if left untreated, can be fatal and suffocate people.

Figures are showing that young children do not seem to be particularly badly affected by the virus, which they say is peculiar considering their susceptibility to flu, but it is not clear why. 

What have genetic tests revealed about the virus? 

Scientists in China have recorded the genetic sequences of around 19 strains of the virus and released them to experts working around the world. 

This allows others to study them, develop tests and potentially look into treating the illness they cause.   

Examinations have revealed the coronavirus did not change much – changing is known as mutating – much during the early stages of its spread.

However, the director-general of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said the virus was mutating and adapting as it spread through people.

This means efforts to study the virus and to potentially control it may be made extra difficult because the virus might look different every time scientists analyse it.   

More study may be able to reveal whether the virus first infected a small number of people then change and spread from them, or whether there were various versions of the virus coming from animals which have developed separately.

How dangerous is the virus?  

The virus has a death rate of around two per cent. This is a similar death rate to the Spanish Flu outbreak which, in 1918, went on to kill around 50million people.

Experts have been conflicted since the beginning of the outbreak about whether the true number of people who are infected is significantly higher than the official numbers of recorded cases. Some people are expected to have such mild symptoms that they never even realise they are ill unless they're tested, so only the more serious cases get discovered, making the death toll seem higher than it really is.

However, an investigation into government surveillance in China said it had found no reason to believe this was true.

Dr Bruce Aylward, a World Health Organization official who went on a mission to China, said there was no evidence that figures were only showing the tip of the iceberg, and said recording appeared to be accurate, Stat News reported.

Can the virus be cured? 

The COVID-19 virus cannot be cured and it is proving difficult to contain.

Antibiotics do not work against viruses, so they are out of the question. Antiviral drugs can work, but the process of understanding a virus then developing and producing drugs to treat it would take years and huge amounts of money.

No vaccine exists for the coronavirus yet and it's not likely one will be developed in time to be of any use in this outbreak, for similar reasons to the above.

The National Institutes of Health in the US, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, say they are working on a vaccine based on what they know about coronaviruses in general, using information from the SARS outbreak. But this may take a year or more to develop, according to Pharmaceutical Technology.

Currently, governments and health authorities are working to contain the virus and to care for patients who are sick and stop them infecting other people.

People who catch the illness are being quarantined in hospitals, where their symptoms can be treated and they will be away from the uninfected public.

And airports around the world are putting in place screening measures such as having doctors on-site, taking people's temperatures to check for fevers and using thermal screening to spot those who might be ill (infection causes a raised temperature).

However, it can take weeks for symptoms to appear, so there is only a small likelihood that patients will be spotted up in an airport.

Is this outbreak an epidemic or a pandemic?   

The outbreak was declared a pandemic on March 11. A pandemic is defined by the World Health Organization as the 'worldwide spread of a new disease'. 

Previously, the UN agency said most cases outside of Hubei had been 'spillover' from the epicentre, so the disease wasn't actually spreading actively around the world.

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2020-03-17 11:10:41Z
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