Manic of a panic is geopolitical

[Nick]

More and more international travellers in the UK are getting stuck in transit,
unable to complete their journey or even return to their starting point.
They may be forced to stay where they happen to be right now for Christmas and New Year.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Nick

More and more international travellers in the UK are getting stuck in transit,
unable to complete their journey or even return to their starting point.
They may be forced to stay where they happen to be right now for Christmas and New Year.

It will likely happen elsewhere. The new variant is already known to be in DK, NL and ZA.

[ATH]

New strain N439K found different from the N501Y in the UK and different from the "Cluster5" from mink in September/October:

N439K mutation of SARS-CoV-2 may be more infectious and antibody resistant than Wuhan strain
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20...an-strain.aspx
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...11.04.355842v1
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...11.21.392407v1

[pinhodecarlos]

And you should also add this:

“ bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.”

[tuckerkao]

Originally Posted by ATH

New strain N439K found different from the N501Y in the UK and different from the "Cluster5" from mink in September/October:

N439K mutation of SARS-CoV-2 may be more infectious and antibody resistant than Wuhan strain.

Since the new mutant has already widely spread in the London area, Dr. Fauci believed the Covid variant has the high possibility touched down on the USA soils, just in fact, no human eyes have detected the new enemies yet.

[a1call]

COVID-19: New strain found in Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia and Gibraltar
...

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/covid...s-who-12169262

My 2 cents, this is usually the way viruses eventually die down naturally. But to be safe I hope the world doesn't let its guard down. Let's focus all resources in increasing vaccine production ASAP, globally. It's really a very small planet. The circumference of the earth is only 40000 km. There are people who have walked from pole to pole.

[tuckerkao]

Originally Posted by a1call

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/covid...s-who-12169262

My 2 cents, this is usually the way viruses eventually die down naturally.

The influenza virus mutants have resurfaced up on the yearly basis and have frequently defied the existing vaccines that the influenza herd immunity has never really achieved.

The new Covid virus seemed to mutate slower than the flu virus, but the 2 major Covid mutations have occurred within around 1 full year apart which made this fact more concerned than just to live with it.

Large % of the Americans have already let the guards down and decided to treat it as a more severe type of flu because of the Trump campaigns, many holiday travel plans have proceeded as usual in most of the USA states.

The D614G Covid mutant arrived to Massachusetts only several days after the major outbreaks in Italy back in late Feb 2020.

[Dr Sardonicus]

The Officer Down Memorial Page says there were 148 line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) in 2019. This is for all sworn officers - Police officers, Sheriff's deputies, Corrections Officers, etc.

So far this year, it lists 288 LODDs. Of these, 171 are due to COVID-19. Of those 171, 53 have been in the State of Texas. Most of the COVID-19 LODDs have been among those working with detainees or inmates.

The second-leading cause of death is gunfire, at 45 (with an additional 4 due to inadvertent gunfire). This does not include the 18 K9 LODDs so far this year

[xilman]

Remember, viruses are destroyed by temperatures higher than about 60C, so in lieu of leaving hand sanitiser in your fireplace this evening, simply keep your fire burning through the night to cremate Santa. Because your family’s safety is paramount.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Remember, viruses are destroyed by temperatures higher than about 60C, so in lieu of leaving hand sanitiser in your fireplace this evening, simply keep your fire burning through the night to cremate Santa. Because your family’s safety is paramount.

When my siblings and I were kids, our dad decided it was time to show us, once and for all, that there was no Santa Claus. We had a working fireplace, and he built a fire Christmas Eve that did indeed burn through the night. It was still going when we kids got up early Christmas morning.

I wondered as a kid about that fireplace, because the "fire box" seemed (to my mind) to be so oddly shaped. The lower part was trapezoidal, with the upper part of the back slanting toward the damper. The back of the trapezoid was narrower than the front. I learned later that this shape had been a great innovation when it was introduced, known as the "Rumford fireplace."

[Dr Sardonicus]

The Latest: US requires UK passengers to get negative test

ATLANTA — The United States will require airline passengers from Britain to get a negative COVID-19 test before their flight.

The U.S. is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says airline passengers from the United Kingdom will have to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline. The agency says the order will be signed Friday and go into effect on Monday.

The CDC says because of travel restrictions in place since March, air travel to the U.S. from the U.K. has been cut by 90%.