COVID 19 GLOBAL

[Krapow]

10 hours ago, Mr. Smooth said:

Yep....and more restrictions, even in my "blue" state, being eliminated. Has been very nice to walk into a restaurant without a mask or a bookstore and browse for a classic work from Charles Bukowski or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, all the while showing off my handsome mug to all staff and fellow shoppers. Hey...10,000 Thai girls can't all be wrong, could they? Just been rolling with it for years, not going to stop now.

And ain't it curious, our resident Dr. Doom, aka Fauci, has been noticeably absent from the airwaves over the last week or 10 days, and hasn't been spewing out his clap trap for all the "Nervous Nelly's" to hear and keep them cowering in the corner, afraid of their own shadow.

Hmm...I wonder....has there been any story in the news lately that has grabbed the attention of the media, particularly the US media, that has resulted in the Good Doctor Fauci being relegated to page A-24 in the headline section of the paper where few eyeballs are paying attention to him?

Kinda funny how that works.

 

All Covid restrictions lifted in England 5 days ago.

Even Thailand has started to treat Covid as endemic rather than pandemic. 

This time last year i was fully on board with the then restrictions, i understood why, it was Delta, and we had nowhere near the same knowledge or treatments we do now. 

Omicron has changed everything, and thankfully countries are acknowledging that and acting accordingly.

Those that want to continue wearing masks, avoiding anything or anyone they see as risky or whatever they feel comfortable, crack on. 

I'm well on board with England's stance on taking personal responsibility, and not having things mandated to you, other parts of the UK to do the same soon. 

[Krapow]

Jet2 are dropping the mask requirements for some of their routes, dependant on the Country.

Personal responsibility, you want to wear a mask crack on, you don't, don't. 

Those that agree or don't care will use them, those who disagree will fly with someone else.

Always liked Jet2 as best of the low cost airlines, plus their refunds and customer service through all this debacle has won them many plaudits. 

[Binlid]

6 hours ago, Krapow said:

Jet2 are dropping the mask requirements for some of their routes, dependant on the Country.

Personal responsibility, you want to wear a mask crack on, you don't, don't. 

Those that agree or don't care will use them, those who disagree will fly with someone else.

Always liked Jet2 as best of the low cost airlines, plus their refunds and customer service through all this debacle has won them many plaudits. 

Flying with them to Fuerteventura in May, to Kefalonia in August and Gran Canaria in November. Smashing airline in my book.

[Krapow]

2 hours ago, Binlid said:

Flying with them to Fuerteventura in May, to Kefalonia in August and Gran Canaria in November. Smashing airline in my book.

If you're flying from Wales you'll still have to wear them, only to and from England and Northern Ireland at present, though you might personally still want to still anyway.

Yea, i like Jet2, you can call them and actually speak to someone from the UK, and they always have lots of friendly people at the airports should you need help with anything. Plus refunded me in days. 

[Binlid]

6 minutes ago, Krapow said:

If you're flying from Wales you'll still have to wear them, only to and from England and Northern Ireland at present, though you might personally still want to still anyway.

Yea, i like Jet2, you can call them and actually speak to someone from the UK, and they always have lots of friendly people at the airports should you need help with anything. Plus refunded me in days. 

They dont fly from Wales Derek, we will be flying from Bristol, just an hours drive from our place. 

[Krapow]

1 hour ago, Binlid said:

They dont fly from Wales Derek, we will be flying from Bristol, just an hours drive from our place. 

Up to you then mate, whether you wear them or not.

I won't be, though Sa still might, her choice.

[lazarus]

Take care of your rhesus macaque... 🐵

New Study: COVID Can Infect Men's Genitals, Cause Infertility and Erectile Dysfunction

https://sfist.com/2022/03/02/new-study-covid-can-infect-mens-genitals-cause-infertility-and-erectile-dysfunction/

... A pre-print, non-peer-reviewed study (link below) in the journal Northwestern Medicine reveals that "multiple tissues of the male genital tract can be infected with SARS-CoV-2," and the finding is based on PET scans of COVID-infected rhesus macaques. (The primates have been found to have similar disease progression to humans when infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and are therefore used as study subjects.) Researchers say they expected mostly to find the virus present in the upper nose and brain area — which would be the reason that COVID patients often lose their sense of taste or smell. But they found it also present in 10 to 20 percent of male subjects' genitals — specifically in the prostate, the vasculature of testicles, the penis and the testicles.

This tracks with how some other viruses, including SARS-CoV-1, Ebola, and mumps also infect the male genitals — and mumps have long been known to cause infertility...

. . .

Coronavirus infects penis, testicles and prostate
Testicular pain, erectile dysfunction, reduced sperm count and quality, decreased fertility are direct consequence of infection, new study shows

https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/03/covid-infects-penis-testicles-and-prostate/

[Horizondave]

11 hours ago, Binlid said:

They dont fly from Wales Derek, we will be flying from Bristol, just an hours drive from our place. 

Until they change the entry requirements for Thailand I will probably double mask on the plane. Just don't want to take a chance.

Glad to see you have a few holidays booked so far, I am envious.

[Krapow]

37 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

Until they change the entry requirements for Thailand I will probably double mask on the plane. Just don't want to take a chance.

Yea, that's a fair point if you were travelling to anywhere where they still did a 5 day test you'd want to do everything to reduce the chances of a positive.

A test on arrival a few hours after the flight wouldn't show up then even if caught at the airport on departure, but again, to each their own. I'm all for choice and personal responsibility, whatever you feel comfortable with, people want to continue to wear them for whatever reason, crack on.

It's currently only Jet2 at the moment, and they're only doing it to or from England and Northern Ireland, as they have dropped the legal requirement for masks. 

[Horizondave]

1 hour ago, Krapow said:

Yea, that's a fair point if you were travelling to anywhere where they still did a 5 day test you'd want to do everything to reduce the chances of a positive.

A test on arrival a few hours after the flight wouldn't show up then even if caught at the airport on departure, but again, to each their own. I'm all for choice and personal responsibility, whatever you feel comfortable with, people want to continue to wear them for whatever reason, crack on.

It's currently only Jet2 at the moment, and they're only doing it to or from England and Northern Ireland, as they have dropped the legal requirement for masks. 

If I go to the Philippines in August they no longer require quarantine or a test on arrival, only a test before you travel so I possibly might wear a mask or not taking into consideration who is around me and their state of health.

If I go to Thailand with the possibility of being positive on arrival and having to contend with test and go I will wear a mask.

I will be going to Paris on 26 May and will accede to British Airways rules but as I don't need to be tested in France or before coming back to the UK it is likely that a mask will be in my bag ready if need be.

Really common sense for me to ensure the least problems when traveling, just do what is expected to keep within rules or lessen any adverse health issues.

Before Covid many Asians wore a mask just to keep from inhaling bad particles of air due smog, car fumes etc. I actually wish I had a mask on when sitting in a van in Phuket one time years back, the Korean man's coughing ensured I got so ill I thought I would die, a week I will never forget.

It's not a big issue and I am not one of those who has to sock it to big brother and wear a badge of pride by not wearing a mask, I make that choice for myself now due to the new rules and where I deem it good health sense to wear a mask I will.

[Krapow]

9 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

If I go to the Philippines in August they no longer require quarantine or a test on arrival, only a test before you travel so I possibly might wear a mask or not taking into consideration who is around me and their state of health.

If I go to Thailand with the possibility of being positive on arrival and having to contend with test and go I will wear a mask.

I will be going to Paris on 26 May and will accede to British Airways rules but as I don't need to be tested in France or before coming back to the UK it is likely that a mask will be in my bag ready if need be.

Really common sense for me to ensure the least problems when traveling, just do what is expected to keep within rules or lessen any adverse health issues.

Before Covid many Asians wore a mask just to keep from inhaling bad particles of air due smog, car fumes etc. I actually wish I had a mask on when sitting in a van in Phuket one time years back, the Korean man's coughing ensured I got so ill I thought I would die, a week I will never forget.

It's not a big issue and I am not one of those who has to sock it to big brother and wear a badge of pride by not wearing a mask, I make that choice for myself now due to the new rules and where I deem it good health sense to wear a mask I will.

Indeed, just make your own choice, whatever you personally feel comfortable with, or what makes good sense to you.

I think Sa will still wear them no matter, even just on our next flight to Belfast from London, and that's fine, her choice. She still wears them on public transport.

[forcebwithu]

1 hour ago, Horizondave said:

...
Before Covid many Asians wore a mask just to keep from inhaling bad particles of air due smog, car fumes etc. I actually wish I had a mask on when sitting in a van in Phuket one time years back, the Korean man's coughing ensured I got so ill I thought I would die, a week I will never forget.

It's not a big issue and I am not one of those who has to sock it to big brother and wear a badge of pride by not wearing a mask, I make that choice for myself now due to the new rules and where I deem it good health sense to wear a mask I will.

Unfortunately the masks people usually wear offer minimal protection to those that are not sick. They are not an effective barrier to virus size particles. It's those that are sick that should be wearing masks to reduce the aerosols from their coughing and sneezing that carry the virus.

[lazarus]

5 minutes ago, forcebwithu said:

... It's those that are sick that should be wearing masks to reduce the aerosols from their coughing and sneezing that carry the virus.

Unfortunately, they could be asymptomatic and don't realize they have it.

My MO now is to only wear a mask shopping, or inside places where I am required to (i.e., schools. medical offices, public transport).

For the most part  the Omicron variant surge has passed here on our little ultra liberal peninsula on the far edge of the continent. Back to urban life: homeless people, crazy people, shitty EV drivers, and excellent wine and weed!

Yet, as statistics drive medicine & public health, there are some potential storm clouds on the horizon.

. . .

‘Stealth omicron’ cases doubling every week across U.S.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/COVID-in-California-Stealth-omicron-cases-16972872.php

BA.2 cases doubling every week in the U.S.: The number of new COVID-19 infections attributed to the BA.2 omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus is doubling in the United States every week, according to federal data. The highly contagious strain made up more than 8% of all new cases last week, the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. That is up from 4.4% in the previous seven-day period, and 2% the week before that. The parent omicron strain and its sub-variants now make up 100% of the new cases sequenced nationwide, having successfully edged out the delta and alpha variants of the virus. While public health officials do not expect another surge, new studies of BA.2 — known as “stealth” omicron — show that the lineage is more transmissible than the original omicron and may slow down efforts to resume normalcy.

[Horizondave]

3 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Unfortunately the masks people usually wear offer minimal protection to those that are not sick. They are not an effective barrier to virus size particles. It's those that are sick that should be wearing masks to reduce the aerosols from their coughing and sneezing that carry the virus.

Totally agree; when in Prague I was not allowed into departures without wearing an N95 mask, this is the type I now wear when on a plane. As we are a family and my wife works for the NHS we are still wearing masks when necessary.

[forcebwithu]

10 hours ago, lazarus said:

Unfortunately, they could be asymptomatic and don't realize they have it.

My MO now is to only wear a mask shopping, or inside places where I am required to (i.e., schools. medical offices, public transport).

For the most part  the Omicron variant surge has passed here on our little ultra liberal peninsula on the far edge of the continent. Back to urban life: homeless people, crazy people, shitty EV drivers, and excellent wine and weed!

Yet, as statistics drive medicine & public health, there are some potential storm clouds on the horizon.

. . .

‘Stealth omicron’ cases doubling every week across U.S.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/COVID-in-California-Stealth-omicron-cases-16972872.php

BA.2 cases doubling every week in the U.S.: The number of new COVID-19 infections attributed to the BA.2 omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus is doubling in the United States every week, according to federal data. The highly contagious strain made up more than 8% of all new cases last week, the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. That is up from 4.4% in the previous seven-day period, and 2% the week before that. The parent omicron strain and its sub-variants now make up 100% of the new cases sequenced nationwide, having successfully edged out the delta and alpha variants of the virus. While public health officials do not expect another surge, new studies of BA.2 — known as “stealth” omicron — show that the lineage is more transmissible than the original omicron and may slow down efforts to resume normalcy.

Regarding asymptomatic, same could be said for quite a few other diseases floating around out there that have relatively mild symptoms for those that catch it and come down ill. Until Covid very few masked up on the chance they were sick and didn't know it, or masked up to protect themselves from the mild diseases out there.

With Delta and the earlier variants, given the severity of illness if you were infected, masks for everyone were a sensible precaution. Now with Omicron and how mild the symptoms it's good to see the restrictions relaxing and the push to treat it as we would any other mild disease.

[lazarus]

41 minutes ago, forcebwithu said:

Regarding asymptomatic, same could be said for quite a few other diseases floating around out there that have relatively mild symptoms for those that catch it and come down ill. Until Covid very few masked up on the chance they were sick and didn't know it, or masked up to protect themselves from the mild diseases out there.

With Delta and the earlier variants, given the severity of illness if you were infected, masks for everyone were a sensible precaution. Now with Omicron and how mild the symptoms it's good to see the restrictions relaxing and the push to treat it as we would any other mild disease.

Yeah, there's a lot of preventable deaths due to flu patients walking around without a care.

I'd feel a little more comfortable with Covid seen in the rear view once they have "long covid" suss'd out a bit more.

Here's a little more fuel for the debate:

Protections vs. Personal Preference

Recently, certain very-online corners of America have begun discussing a looming “vibe shift” in popular culture. A similar reset is under way on Capitol Hill. And as caseloads continue to fall, there’s been a marked change in the vibes pertaining to the virus that need not be named, a rising optimism codified by the CDC loosening its pandemic guidelines on Friday.

But as Katherine J. Wu writes, relaxing mask mandates has precipitated another shift, away from an emphasis on the communal good in favor of personal preference. As Americans once again pack bars and restaurants and the Biden administration pursues the new COVID strategy previewed during last night’s State of the Union address, our writers assess this latest turning point in the pandemic.

• The burden has shifted to the vulnerable. “Those most susceptible to serious cases of COVID-19—those who have borne the virus’s burden the most—are now being asked to bear another load more,” Katie argues.

• COVID will be more like smoking than like the flu. “The pandemic’s greatest source of danger has transformed from a pathogen into a behavior,” the physician Benjamin Mazer contends. “Choosing not to get vaccinated against COVID is, right now, a modifiable health risk on par with smoking.”

• Restaurants learned the wrong lessons. Businesses “around the country have largely stuck with pandemic tweaks that are pointless or even counterproductive,” my colleague Saahil Desai reports. Instead of revamped ventilation, we’re stuck with QR-code menus.

[Krapow]

Sage stands down, signifying ‘end of Covid pandemic’ in the UK

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/04/sage-stands-signifying-end-covid-pandemic-uk/

 

[Horizondave]

 

 

[lazarus]

Sinister plot or natural evolution? 

.........................................................

The arguments over where covid-19 came from started almost as soon as the first samples of SARS-CoV-2 were discovered. Was it a spillover event at a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan? Or was the pandemic seeded by a leak of virus from a scientific laboratory in China? Tribes have dug in on both sides. This week, in the Science section, we report on new research that seems to tilt the evidence firmly in the direction of the wet markets—the explanation the majority of scientists have favoured all along. But will it persuade the lab-leak crowd to change their minds?

The origin of covid-19
More evidence that covid-19 started in a market, not a laboratory
Two new papers make the case robustly

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/more-evidence-that-covid-19-started-in-a-market-not-a-laboratory/21807945?utm_campaign=a.coronavirus-special-edition&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=3/5/2022&utm_id=1069988

Two new papers provide more robust answers than heretofore available to three of the outstanding questions of the covid-19 pandemic: how, when and where sars-cov-2, the virus that caused it, first appeared in human beings. These papers, so-called preprints (meaning they have not yet gone through the formal process of peer review that precedes publication in a journal) were written by related teams of researchers from institutions around the world and posted to Zenodo, a repository for such documents. They conclude that, by November 2019, the virus was present in animals on sale at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan (pictured), whence it jumped to human hosts on two separate occasions a week or so apart.

One paper, the lead authors of which are Michael Worobey at the University of Arizona and Kristian Andersen of Scripps Research, in San Diego, attempts to trace the first infections definitively to the Huanan market. The authors used three approaches. First, by looking at the geographic distribution of early infections, they found that the market is in the region where the first covid-19 cases were most densely packed—a result that remains unchanged even when cases with no known link to the market are plotted. Second, they employed photographic evidence posted on Weibo, a Chinese social-media website, as well as contemporary accounts, to show that the market, which vends other goods besides seafood, was selling animals susceptible to the virus (a list that includes porcupines, marmots and raccoon dogs) prior to December 2019.

Third, they analysed the distribution of almost 600 environmental samples taken from the market by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ccdc) in January 2020, after it had been shut down by the authorities. Combining this analysis with a recreation of the market layout, the authors showed that samples containing the virus were associated with stalls selling live animals, particularly in the market’s south-western corner.

The second paper, the lead author of which was Jonathan Pekar of the University of California, San Diego, examines the evolution of the virus in its earliest days in humans. At this time two forms, known as lineages a and b, predominated. These differ in the nature of two particular nucleotide loci (links in the rna chain that constitutes the virus’s genome), with lineage a having a structure identical to similar viruses found in bats.

This suggests that lineage a was the original form and lineage b a subsequent mutation. However, the first known human cases involved lineage b. To resolve this conundrum, the researchers analysed nearly 800 almost-complete viral genomes from samples taken before February 14th 2020, to identify the most likely evolutionary paths taken by the virus.

This analysis showed that, while both lineages were present in cases in the vicinity of the market, no samples contained either any transitional form or any shared common ancestor. It therefore seems likely that the lineages made independent leaps into human hosts: lineage b on or around November 25th 2019, and lineage a a week or so later. Such multiple jumps from animals are common in coronaviruses. The viruses responsible for both the sars outbreak in 2002 and mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome), which appeared in 2012, are also thought to have started with multiple spillover events.

Doubling down on an explanation
All that the researchers felt they needed to make their case watertight was evidence of lineage a at the market. When they started work, all samples from there had contained only lineage b. This changed shortly before their papers went online, because of a detail buried in an unrelated preprint from a team at the ccdc. In a reanalysis of samples, this group discovered the first market-linked evidence of lineage a—on a discarded glove. “This really seals the deal,” says Dr Worobey. “Beyond all reasonable doubt we now know what happened.”

Though the papers are preprints, their analysis has been praised by numerous independent researchers. Assuming they are indeed correct, rival hypotheses have a steep hill to climb. The most popular of these, as well as the most contentious, is that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan before triggering a “superspreader” event at the market. The existence of two separate lineages at Huanan, says Dr Worobey, as well as the market’s central location in the density map of cases, suggests that such a lab leak would have had to have happened twice, while leaving no evidence yet discovered of the laboratory’s involvement on either occasion. That seems unlikely. Which animal species were responsible, though, remains to be determined.

[fforest]

[fygjam]

9 hours ago, lazarus said:

But will it persuade the lab-leak crowd to change their minds?

Evidence based rational explanations are no counter for irrational beliefs!

 

[Krapow]

Welcome back @fforest

Great Reset coming along nicely, 'You will own nothing and be happy' 

 

[latour82]

On 3/3/2022 at 10:56 AM, Horizondave said:

Until they change the entry requirements for Thailand I will probably double mask on the plane. Just don't want to take a chance.

Glad to see you have a few holidays booked so far, I am envious.

i was only wearing one mask in December,and had a nice month in Los,only issue,the freaking mask in 30 plus degree,was my greatest issue

[Horizondave]

2 hours ago, latour82 said:

i was only wearing one mask in December,and had a nice month in Los,only issue,the freaking mask in 30 plus degree,was my greatest issue

Is there still a need to wear the mask outside in every situation or has that been relaxed. Wearing one in an airconditioned plane is one thing but needing to constantly wear one walking around in 80 degree heat is another.

[Painter]

2 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

Is there still a need to wear the mask outside in every situation or has that been relaxed. Wearing one in an airconditioned plane is one thing but needing to constantly wear one walking around in 80 degree heat is another.

The official line is, I think, that masks should be worn wherever you are outside your home, except if eating or drinking.

Many comply, equally many don't. There was discussion a couple of weeks ago as to whether it was the law to wear them, or just a recommendation.  I dont recall the official outcome.