COVID-19 News and Discussions

[Yuli Ban]

South Korea has given up

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

Omicron could be spreading faster in England than in South Africa, Sage adviser says

John Edmunds says variant is ‘very severe setback’ to controlling Covid pandemic and that plan B ‘absolutely not an overreaction’

Cases of the Omicron variant could be spreading even faster in England than in South Africa, according to a senior scientific adviser, who warned that the variant was a “very severe setback” to hopes of bringing the pandemic under control.

Prof John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said that plan B measures announced by the prime minister were “absolutely not an overreaction” even if Omicron turned out to be milder than the current dominant variant.

Edmunds told a Royal Society of Medicine webinar on Thursday that it was “extremely likely” there were many more cases of Omicron in the community than those confirmed by testing, and that the numbers were set to soar in the weeks ahead.

[Yuli Ban]

WOW, a Taiwan BSL3 lab apparently had a leak and Covid-19 got out into the public from it. No, this wasn't at the start of the pandemic or conspiracy theory— it's a recent fuckup in a place you never want to have fuckups

[Yuli Ban]

Translation:

(Central News Agency reporters Zhang Minghuan and Shen Peiyao from Taipei on the 9th) Taipei P3 Laboratory

A staff member tested positive for PCR. According to people familiar with the matter, the person has a high viral load and has footprints in Shuangbei. It is speculated that the number of people in quarantine in Kuanglie may exceed 50. A quick screening station will be set up in the Zhongxiao District of Taipei United Medical College, the highest. Specification isolation.

The Department of Health of the New Taipei City Government told the Central News Agency reporter in the evening that the case lived in New Taipei City and worked in Taipei City. After receiving the report, the relevant epidemic investigation work will be carried out and contacts will be collected. The relevant epidemic information will be announced by the Central Epidemic Command Center tomorrow.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) has no confirmed diagnosis in the mainland for 35 consecutive days. The Central Epidemic Command Center confirmed today that a female staff member in the P3 laboratory in Bei City who was in her 20s tested positive for PCR and is currently undergoing a recovery process. Test.

[Yuli Ban]

LOOK AT IT

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

[erowind]

.

[wjfox]

LOOK AT IT

Thank goodness they don't have the awful, freedom-destroying, big government socialist NHS (which would cost them $0.00).

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

This Ostrich-cell Mask Glows If You Have COVID
December 10, 2021

https://news.yahoo.com/ostrich-cell-mas ... 04834.html

Introduction:

(Reuters via Yahoo!) Put it under ultraviolet light and if this happens, that means Covid-19 is present.

This is a new technology developed by Japanese scientists. Face-mask filters are coated in ostrich antibodies and will glow around the nose and mouth area when exposed to ultraviolet light if Covid-19 is detected.

A team at the Kyoto Prefectural University came up with the idea after previous research showed the birds have strong resistance to disease.

The university's President Yashuhiro Tsukamoto hopes this technology will help reduce asymptomatic transmission.

“If asymptomatic people wear these masks all the time, I think it's good because they can find out if they have COVID. So basically the advantage of this mask is that asymptomatic people can easily detect the coronavirus."

caltrek's comment: Of course, to do any good, people have to be willing to wear masks in the first place.

[caltrek]

Germany Mandates Vaccines for Health Care Workers
by Miranda Murray
December 10, 2021

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/germany ... re-workers

Introduction:

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Reuters via NASDAQ) - Workers at German hospitals, doctor's offices and nursing homes must prove that they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 by mid-March as part of new legislation passed by the parliament on Friday.

Beyond compulsory vaccinations for certain professions from mid-March, the new legislation also allows for Germany's 16 federal states to close bars and restaurants as well as to ban large events due to high infection rates.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended restrictions on the unvaccinated and the mandatory jabs for medical and nursing staff in front of the Bundestag lower house.

"It's absolutely unacceptable that in establishments where people live, who put their trust in us to protect them, that people are unnecessarily dying because unvaccinated work there," Lauterbach said.

Germany, in the grip of a fourth wave of infections, has a relatively low rate of vaccination compared with the rest of Europe. Some 69% of the population is fully vaccinated, while at least 21% have received a booster shot, according to official numbers.

[wjfox]

Looks like we'll be hitting a new daily record in the next week or two.

(highest ever was 68K on 8th January 2021)

Both of my work's Christmas parties are now cancelled, even the outdoor event.

[caltrek]

^^^That sucks. I am hoping that the U.S. can somehow dodge the Omicron bullet, but I am not very optimistic about the matter.

[wjfox]

[raklian]

[R8Z]

TIL

There are still 510 days remaining in the vaccine trial for Pfizer, which will end in May 2023. Can't wait for the results.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04368728

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]