Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Stanley]

It was common currency in the Cheshires David. They had just completed a tour in Egypt when I joined in 1954.
Other words you will know.... 'Shufti Kush Badin', Shite Hawk and 'imshi', all Egypt origin I think. A rifle was a 'Bondook', frontier on the Khyber? God knows where 'conor irons' came from......
(I thing I've gone off piste here, sorreee....)

[Tripps]

Well one last 'off topic' then I'll behave myself - I googled and was taken back to this thread.
We've done it all before! Nurse - bring the screens.

Deja vu

[Stanley]

I hope you'll feel better for it David.
Back to our onions.... The government seems to be ignoring the evidence of the experts again, they want more restrictions but Johnson says no. They are covering all the bases, he is gambling with lives to 'save' the economy.
(Also, when is a party not a party.......)

[Tizer]

`Omicron: How do you detect it?' LINK

[Big Kev]

`Omicron: How do you detect it?' LINK

Based on To confirm it's a positive case of Omicron, full genetic analysis is needed and that can take up to a couple of weeks. in the linked BBC story, any data relating to the spread of this new mutation is going to take a while...

FB_IMG_1638432984498.jpg

[Stanley]

And yet so many people are talking confidently about the number of cases and their severity. It appears from the above that they simply don't know.
PS. We are told Xmas is fine and don't cancel the parties. I struggle to think of anything more moronic than that.

[plaques]

Yesterday I was informed that my brother's widow had moved into a care home. I rang the home as a first step towards a visit. The reply was better than expected. Yes, no problems in visiting BUT she is in isolation for the next 10 days and you will need evidence of a double vaccine plus a same day lateral flow check. All totally reasonable in my mind. Why people can't use similar logic for their home house parties I don't know.

[Stanley]

I have the same problems with other people that you do. Yesterday, early doors in the Co-op there were hardly any customers but two had no face mask. Who polices this. Do we have to be the watchdogs and potentially be seen as interfering busybodies....?

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz had her booster jab a couple of days ago and is fine. But it reminded me, amid all the government calls for people to get jabbed, she never received a a message of any kind telling her she was now able to get it or inviting her to get jabbed. No wonder not enough people are turning up. She had worked out that her six months was up so I went online and after a lot of attempts over several days I got her booked in at a local surgery. Our experience here of booking the booster jab has not been good. Easy if we wanted to attend at one of the cities 40 miles away but the sites near to home were either not showing most of the time or failed when you tried to book at them.

[Big Kev]

After both of us having boosters on November 20th the NHS sent me the following invite on the 26th

We have sent you this email as our records show you are at increased risk of complications from COVID-19 and are therefore a priority for receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccine. You can now book your booster.

As the NHS app was updated, with my booster, by the 21st I would have thought the rest of the 'system' would have updated too and knew I'd had one.

[PanBiker]

Yesterday, early doors in the Co-op there were hardly any customers but two had no face mask. Who polices this. Do we have to be the watchdogs and potentially be seen as interfering busybodies....?

They may have been medically exempt. I went to Aldi the other day, it was rammed but everyone was masked as far as I could see. One thing I have noticed though, not many are using the sanitisation facilities provided for hands and trolleys at the entrance.

I got a similar notification Kev, an invite a week after we had our jabs.

[Big Kev]

Reports from the WHO there are currently no deaths reported that are associated with the Omicron variant. Encouraging news as it is now in around 38 countries but still early days yet based on the 'couple of weeks' required to genetically identify it. Along with the reports from SA that symptoms are 'mild' (in a limited age group) could this be a weakened mutation that could potentially dominate?

[Tizer]

This is worth listening too...
`The Briefing Room: Living in a Variant World' Radio 4, 2nd Dec 2021.
LINK
What are variants? Where do they come from? Why do they develop and how do they take over?
Currently Delta is the dominant variant in the UK and across much of the world; but now Omicron, first identified in South Africa, looks like it could take over. How does that happen? And what can we do about variants?
Joining David Aaronovitch in the Briefing Room are:
Emma Thomson, Professor of infectious diseases at the University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.
Dr. Jeff Barrett, Director of the Covid-19 genomics initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Dr. Charlotte Houldcroft, virologist from the University of Cambridge.

[Big Kev]

This is worth listening too...
`The Briefing Room: Living in a Variant World' Radio 4, 2nd Dec 2021.
LINK

It certainly was, I admire the honesty of the scientists saying that 'at the moment they don't know', I also have a slightly better understanding of virus mutation. Well worth taking 30 minutes to listen

[Big Kev]

Government tightens travel rules for those coming to the UK, they'll need to take a test before departure. Should have been the case earlier in the week but at least they're putting in a bit of effort

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59534685

[Tripps]

could this be a weakened mutation that could potentially dominate?

Interesting to think it's just eight days since I first heard the words 'Covid new variant - omicron'.

I posted this last Sunday
"I recall hearing that if this version is more transmissible, then like the Delta variation has done, it will 'force out' the current infection and replace it. If it really is mild perhaps that would be good, and become endemic like the common cold. We could cope with that."


This guy thinks so - and stilll no deaths have been reported anywhere. Can't vouch for it in any way - He is a real person though.
I have filed it under 'clutchng at straws' . The file is getting rather full.

covid.jpg

[plaques]

Lets say Omicron becomes the dominant mutation. The speculation news seems to be its a milder infection but you can catch in repeatedly. What nobody knows is that the Delta variant which has this bad habit of killing people may sit alongside it making itself available as normal. ie: Omicron may not act like a vaccine against Delta. Far too many questions to be answered and far too much speculation to fill those column inches.

[Big Kev]

As the link in Tizer's post above says, the scientists don't know yet. Another week or so and we could have enough data to make some sort of prediction.

[Stanley]

That's the bottom line. Nothing certain is known yet.

[Tizer]

`UK’s progress on Covid now squandered, warns top scientist: Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, suggests emergence of Omicron variant means pandemic is far from over' Guardian

[Tripps]

Can anyone help me to make sense of this Face covering rules which came into force about a week ago - in view of the behaviour of the crowd at The Barbican UK Snooker Finals, where as far as I can see - absolutely no anti Covid measures at all are being carried out?

Looks like "Hands Face Space" don't apply any more - lets hope at least they are all staying "alert"

[Whyperion]

Tripps - Presumably Lateral Flow, etc, Tested

After both of us having boosters on November 20th the NHS sent me the following invite on the 26th

We have sent you this email as our records show you are at increased risk of complications from COVID-19 and are therefore a priority for receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccine. You can now book your booster.

As the NHS app was updated, with my booster, by the 21st I would have thought the rest of the 'system' would have updated too and knew I'd had one.

Was that by letter or App. Post has been really odd, and a couple of people whom had their Flu Jab at the Pharmacy a few weeks ago are having letters/ texts saying get a flu jab and doctors system not recording the Pharmacy update - IT Struggling on uploads or systems talking to each other.

Reports from the WHO there are currently no deaths reported that are associated with the Omicron variant. Encouraging news as it is now in around 38 countries but still early days yet based on the 'couple of weeks' required to genetically identify it. Along with the reports from SA that symptoms are 'mild' (in a limited age group) could this be a weakened mutation that could potentially dominate?

All reasonable questions - as is any Long Covid issues, any problems with any age groups - the care home/hospital situation of infection control needs the utmost care. It seems that the variant infects sooner, avoids the immune system, and the person is more infectious and infectious sooner, but outcomes across all age ranges as you say are undocumented with certainty, and the variant appears to be unaffected by present vaccines, including present booster mix, however the Government changes to travel, masks, and increasing the booster etc programme are all things needed against the versions of Covid that otherwise exist.
It was rather busy at the Supermarket yesterday - most wearing masks - worrying still that some staff were not, or wear wearing incorrectly- It looked like some folk were stocking up for Christmas - there is no great shortage of the items of excess at the present time, and to be honest I wont miss the normal pallet piles of 15 varieties of mince pies up the isles anyway.

[Big Kev]

Was that by letter or App.

Email

[Stanley]

David, I noted the same thing at the snooker. It seems stupid to enforce masks on transport and in shops but not in more crowded places like entertainment and pubs and clubs.

[plaques]

From Tripps's Link

Customers, visitors or staff may choose to wear face coverings in any other setting where face coverings are not legally required including places of worship, cinemas, public libraries or community premises.

The wording 'Community premises' looks a bit wide open, what does it actually cover? Would Ian's Bosom Friends be included?

Called in at Colne library mid-morning yesterday. Everybody including staff wearing masks, very quiet, all computers shut down, nobody upstairs in the reference section. To all extents it was just like lockdown conditions but on a voluntary basis. Are the erudite more careful than Kev's unwashed?