New coronavirus in/from China

[PS_RalphW]

Now there are reports of a more contagious variant spreading in South Africa. Unfortunately the scientific base to do mass genomic testing is limited there, so at this stage there is little hard evidence, There are reports that this strain more often causes serious disease in younger people.

We still have a long way to go before we go back to normal life, and I very much expect it to be a new normal.

[UndercoverElephant]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55389505

The port of Dover will be closed to traffic leaving the UK for the next 48 hours.

France halted the lorry movements in the wake of fresh concerns over the spread of a new strain of coronavirus.

Ministers and officials will discuss the move at the government's COBRA emergency committee on Monday.

Freight from France to the UK will be allowed, but there are fears lorry drivers will not travel to avoid being stuck in the UK.

The Port of Dover is closed to traffic leaving the UK "until further notice" due to border restrictions in France, port authorities said in a statement.

You couldn't make this up. 10 days before a potential no-deal brexit hits, and the port of Dover is closed until further notice for a reason that has absolutely nothing to do with brexit.

[Little John]

https://brandnewtube.com/watch/urgent-n ... UUVY2.html

[Little John]

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meeti ... RdtBVkqrOs

[Snail]

France's 48 hour ban. That's brexit. Lesson teaching politics, not covid.

[UndercoverElephant]

France's 48 hour ban. That's brexit. Lesson teaching politics, not covid.

If so, it demonstrates a miscalculation of historic proportions. The French have repeatedly made this mistake with the British. They think if they threaten and bully us like this, we will cower in fear, and capitulate. It repeatedly ended in wars, and the French usually lost. They did the same thing to the Germans at Versailles after WW1, and that didn't end well for them either.

Bring it on, you French wankers.

[Little John]

If - and it is a massive if - any new strain emerges that is more dangerous to a wider demographic then that would be the final damning indictment of lock-downs given it would mirror precisely the same mistakes made in 1918 when those people who were "protected" from the first, less dangerous strain went on to die in great numbers from the second, more dangerous strain. Whereas, those people who contracted and recovered from the first strain went on to relatively unproblematically contract and recover from the second strain due to the partial immunity conferred by recovering from the first, less lethal strain.

This is elementary epidemiology for F--k's sake.

[kenneal - lagger]

Trump is now saying that Covid was introduced to harm his election chances.

GOP lawmakers who have previously parroted Trump's claim that covid doesn't exist are among the first to have the vaccine. Do as I say, not as I do???

[adam2]

The most recent announcement by HMG did in my view strike the wrong note.
Several times the PM referred to chaos at Dover, and stressed that the impact on food supplies would be "minimal" and that we have "varied and diverse sources of food".

I expect such pronouncements to increase the degree of panic buying.

[Catweazle]

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meeti ... RdtBVkqrOs

That's interesting, thanks.

[clv101]

The most recent announcement by HMG did in my view strike the wrong note.
Several times the PM referred to chaos at Dover, and stressed that the impact on food supplies would be "minimal" and that we have "varied and diverse sources of food".

I expect such pronouncements to increase the degree of panic buying.

Another hopeless briefing from the PM. I liked the way he said only 20% of food comes through Dover and stressed a few times the majority was unaffected. Sure - but there is ~zero slack in the system. Losing anything like 20% of supply for more than a day or two will lead to significant shortages.

Christmas is also a relatively inefficient time of year, with people buying more than they need, increased food waste and probably worse than usual this year thanks to the last minute change of plans due to lockdown.

[UndercoverElephant]

Christmas is also a relatively inefficient time of year, with people buying more than they need, increased food waste and probably worse than usual this year thanks to the last minute change of plans due to lockdown.

Presumably there are going to be a large number of unsold turkeys, especially the biggest ones.

[Little John]

Official data suggests hospitals are less busy now than last 2 winters. Emergency Nightingale hospitals have remained unused since Spring.

Surprise surprise.

statistics suggest the health service is, overall, coping better with its workload than it did last winter

A greater proportion of ward beds are free, intensive care units have more room and A&E departments aren't yet turning ambulances away more often than usual

the occupancy figure does not take into account bolstered capacity at the mothballed Nightingale hospitals, which went unused after being built during the first wave in case wards were overrun with Covid, or the thousands of additional beds commandeered from the private sector

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... eV5rrXmwNc

[Little John]

Well Well Well

Look who's back,

Professor Lockdown Neil Ferguson - who broke the rules to see his lover - had a key role in the PM's dramatic U-turn on Christmas

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... stmas.html

[Little John]

Are hospitals REALLY creaking under the strain of Covid before Christmas? NHS data shows trusts are STILL quieter than last December - with seven times fewer wards close to being full

Average intensive care ward occupancy down to 75 per cent from 84 per cent from the same time last year
15,465 people in hospital with Covid in England on Wednesday compared to 18,974 on worst day in spring
But statistics suggest the health service is, overall, coping better with its workload than it did last winter

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... SnBAco67DE