Coronavirus (2021) thread

[roubaixtuesday]

If its twice as transmissible, it needs to be half as virulent to be the same impact on the NHS as Delta is right now.

It's actually much worse than that; if twice as transmissible, cases will spike far higher than twice current delta. Exponentials.

 

[Healdplace]

180 All Settings Deaths - was 159 last week



45, 691 cases - down from 51,459 yesterday & up from 39,716 last week

 

[BlueAnorak]

A serious virus doubling every 3 days is extremely bad news, whether it's summer or winter.

The hope was that the much higher vaccination status in the UK would reduce the rate.

It's not 15 times though and that has been the MAJOR worry of many Covid researchers. More water droplets in the atmosphere clearly don't accelerate Covid infection as much as they do with Flu.

 

[jimharri]

To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if John Bishop nicked it from someone else too.

*stereotype alert*

 

[BlueAnorak]

Bad news - there are TWO Omicron variants - one with the S gene drop out, one without.

Scientists find ‘stealth’ version of Omicron that may be harder to track

Variant lacks feature that allows probable cases to be distinguished among positive PCR tests

www.theguardian.com

The impact is PCR test machines will only be able to quickly find the BA.1 strain and only full genomic testing ( on around 5% of samples) will detect the BA.2 strain.

 

[splinter]

Bad news there are TWO Omicron variants - one with the S gene drop out, one without.

Scientists find ‘stealth’ version of Omicron that may be harder to track

Variant lacks feature that allows probable cases to be distinguished among positive PCR tests

www.theguardian.com

2for1 just in time for Christmas

 

[Healdplace]

England hospital data today. Patients up 35 to 6027. Last Tuesday they were up 29 to 6123 - so as you see pretty flat now. North West up today 22 to 818 - last week up just 4.

North East & Yorkshire are the areas where patient numbers are really dropping day to day and week to week and are low in cases and on Zoe too.

London is the area rising the most at present. Indeed both it and South East have been so far ahead of the North West lately they both just overtook North West as the regions with the most cases across the full pandemic which had been North West due to its population density I guess from the start.

Anyone know the Omicron cases in these separate regions as they are behaving very differently at the moment?

 

[jimharri]

Bad news there are TWO Omicron variants - one with the S gene drop out, one without.

Scientists find ‘stealth’ version of Omicron that may be harder to track

Variant lacks feature that allows probable cases to be distinguished among positive PCR tests

www.theguardian.com

Just seems to be relentless bad news this last 20 months or so.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Bad news - there are TWO Omicron variants - one with the S gene drop out, one without.

Scientists find ‘stealth’ version of Omicron that may be harder to track

Variant lacks feature that allows probable cases to be distinguished among positive PCR tests

www.theguardian.com

The impact is PCR test machines will only be able to quickly find the BA.1 strain and only full genomic testing ( on around 5% of samples) will detect the BA.2 strain.

Looking on the bright side, it'll not matter within a month or so as omicron will be dominant by then anyway.

4% in Scotland now by SGTF

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-59562527

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Looking on the bright side, it'll not matter within a month or so as omicron will be dominant by then anyway.

4% in Scotland now by SGTF

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-59562527

If we can just move to the metrics of severe hospitalisations and deaths, I suspect we can start to move on with life once again.
Sadly I rather suspect we’re in a cycle of reporting that will make it very difficult to get out of, although one can carry on hoping…