General Discussion/Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[drron]

I just wonder though if they were really isolating Friends of ours have family in South africa and have a cook,cleaner and gardener.Were those people still coming in?

 

[Pushka]

I just wonder though if they were really isolating Friends of ours have family in South africa and have a cook,cleaner and gardener.Were those people still coming in?

Yes. That's a relevant point. I asked her about that. She said that the cleaners and gardeners were stopped weeks ago but can't establish whether all the deaths were after that happened. Certainly the most recent death was. The lack of resources in hospitals to deal with victims was a shock to them. He wasn't able to secure a ventilator although maybe that wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[Flashback]

Guinea is on the cusp of battling Ebola again, on top of Coronavirus.

Guinea declares Ebola epidemic as it reports at least three deaths

The latest cases are the first since the epidemic that ravaged the country, alongside Liberia and Sierra Leone, five years ago.

news.sky.com

On a slightly more light-hearted note, Kim Dotcom had a little stab back at the NZ government due to their long drawn out legal battles, but did say hey, at least he is unlike to get the virus while he remains living there.

NZ Government Lawyers Spent 40,500 Hours Battling Kim Dotcom and Megaupload * TorrentFreak

New Zealand's tax payers are shouldering a significant financial burden in the government's pursuit of Kim Dotcom and his former colleagues.

torrentfreak.com

 

[Flashback]

Quite interesting to see the Royal Free hospital is going to run a trial infecting people with the live virus using up to 90x 18-30 year olds.

Ethics approval for Human Challenge study | Royal Free London

www.royalfree.nhs.uk

 

[VPS]

Quite interesting to see the Royal Free hospital is going to run a trial infecting people with the live virus using up to 90x 18-30 year olds.

Ethics approval for Human Challenge study | Royal Free London

www.royalfree.nhs.uk

I was listening to them talking about this last (love the BBC World service in the middle of the night when I have insomnia) - brave people and an interesting experiment. I would love to have seen the ethics committee report and the lawyers would be very concerned.

 

[Lynda2475]

So ive been working in an actual office for 2 weeks now instead of WFH which necessitates catch SydneyBusses bus home. All the 400 series busses (from Leichhardt and Burwood Depots) have Service NSW QR codes on windows and partitions which are unique to that vehicle. In the event of a covid exposure tracers can use the QR data as well as Opal card data to know who was onboard, and not assume what bus based on time since they rarely run to a timetable.

I thought all trasport NSW services were doing this but apparently no QR codes on Norther Beaches bussesi or 500 series (Ryde depot) or train carriages. I dont have a data point for 300 series eastern suburb services. Such a simple thing to get code for each vehicle or carriage surprised only one area is doing it.

 

[Flashback]

The UK's new guidance to coming out of lockdown has been released.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963491/COVID-19_Response_-_Spring_2021.pdf

Still a very long way to go and quite a long timeline, slowly easing restrictions.

 

[Flashback]

To save you digging through the report, here's the summaries pulled out of it.

 

[drron]

Well at least you have a roadmap.

Even in places with little vaccine activity there has been a decrease in cases.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

Plus a lot of activity with treatment options.

ACTIV Update: Making Major Strides in COVID-19 Therapeutic Development

Right now, many U.S. hospitals are stretched to the limit trying to help people battling serious cases of COVID-19. But as traumatic as this experience still is for patients and their loved ones, t…

directorsblog.nih.gov

I think that light I see in the tunnel isn't a speeding locomotive.

 

[NM]

Well at least you have a roadmap.

Even in places with little vaccine activity there has been a decrease in cases.

...

I think that light I see in the tunnel isn't a speeding locomotive.

Could the reduction in infection rate in Americas, Europe, SE Asia etc. be attributed to a seasonal nature of the virus spread and those regions emerging from winter? Link that with the most recent extreme weather conditions in some places possibly having a similar effect to an enforced lock-down or perhaps reduced testing rates due to difficulty or unwillingness to venture out to a testing centre??

Noting Brazil has not declined as much, being southern hemisphere and coming through summer now, perhaps seasonal impacts may result in higher infection rates in the next 4-5 months there? Hoping and praying that is not the case.

 

[Lynda2475]

Brazil doesnt really see weather extremes like parts of Europe and North America do, in Rio the temperature mid winter to mid summer only varies 10 degrees. The spread in Brazil has more to do with a large population living in very crowded conditions, often in favelas without running water making good hand hygiene and physical distancing problematic.

I notice Mexico hwve started rolling out Sputnik - id be concerned wbout Sputnik and Sinovax because of lack of independent review, they seem to be only using those in poorer places without universal healthcare.

 

[drron]

Except that South Africa has also dramatically declined despite the SA variant and well before any vaccine.
.

Peru and Chile slightly.
.

.

And Argentina significantly.
.

So not just a Northern hemisphere thing.
As to the recent US cold snap that is usually the weather that causes a spike in respiratory viral infections with people indoors.

 

[tgh]

Somewhere , early in the process, I saw a prophesy that the virus would arrive with devastating consequences and then just.. vanish.
I assumed thats where trump got his advice …….

 

[NM]

Brazil doesnt really see weather extremes like parts of Europe and North America do, in Rio the temperature mid winter to mid summer only varies 10 degrees. The spread in Brazil has more to do with a large population living in very crowded conditions, often in favelas without running water making good hand hygiene and physical distancing problematic.

I notice Mexico hwve started rolling out Sputnik - id be concerned wbout Sputnik and Sinovax because of lack of independent review, they seem to be only using those in poorer places without universal healthcare.

Which may explain why the infection rate in Brazil is a little more constant rather than in "waves"???

 

[NM]

Except that South Africa has also dramatically declined despite the SA variant and well before any vaccine.

Peru and Chile slightly.

And Argentina significantly.

So not just a Northern hemisphere thing.
As to the recent US cold snap that is usually the weather that causes a spike in respiratory viral infections with people indoors.

I have seen reports suggesting the SA variant does not appear to be any more infectious than other strains, but that vaccines seem to be less effective against it.

I am not suggesting that weather/seasons are the only influence. But might it is be a contributing factor to the ebbs and flows of infection rates on different counties/regions? I think the extreme conditions in parts of the USA might result in similar outcomes to a mini-lockdown given that many people will just stay home because its too hard/dangerous to go out. But a week or two of limited movement may not have a significant effect on infection rates, though may be a contributing factor.

 

[drron]

But staying at home is precisely the spot transmission is easiest.That is why respiratory viruses are more prevalent in winter.People don't go outside.
Though if you look at the daily case graphs for those countries that are dropping rapidly the graph turns at the beginning of January whether the middle of winter in the Northern hemisphere or the middle of summer in the Southern hemisphere.
The countries I displayed are all ones with high numbers of cases.So does herd immunity start kicking in at lower levels than expected.Or as some suggest there may be up to 10 times the number of cases than those officially recorded.
We still have a lot to learn about this virus.

 

[NM]

But staying at home is precisely the spot transmission is easiest.That is why respiratory viruses are more prevalent in winter.People don't go outside.
Though if you look at the daily case graphs for those countries that are dropping rapidly the graph turns at the beginning of January whether the middle of winter in the Northern hemisphere or the middle of summer in the Southern hemisphere.
The countries I displayed are all ones with high numbers of cases.So does herd immunity start kicking in at lower levels than expected.Or as some suggest there may be up to 10 times the number of cases than those officially recorded.
We still have a lot to learn about this virus.

Yes indeed. And as with many situations, there are lots of different factors involved that all interact.

 

[drron]

Another rapid at home test for covid being developed.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

And light may indeed be effective in helping treat Covid.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

 

[Lynda2475]

Was some discussion on radio this morning of someone needing a double lung transplant in USA being given covid infected organs harvested after a car accident, then dying from Covid. Guess they didn't wait for test results on donor.

 

[drron]

Some amazing research going on stimulated by the pandemic.here a model of RNA formation in the cell.

Using R2D2 to Understand RNA Folding

If you love learning more about biology at a fundamental level, I have a great video for you! It simulates the 3D folding of RNA. RNA is a single stranded molecule, but it is still capable of formi…

directorsblog.nih.gov

A shortage of Oxygen supplies in the developing world particularly Africa.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

Surprisingly remittances by Filipino workers has held up during the pandemic.