Coronavirus
- Thread starter C.B. Brown
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COVID-19: the latest global statistics, charts and maps
Tracking the global coronavirus outbreak, updated daily
COVID-19 has hit some countries far harder than others, though differences in the way infections are counted locally make it impossible to make a perfect apples-to-apples comparison.
We want to know where infections are trending up or down relative to the size of the outbreak in each country. So in these charts we use a rolling 7-day average of the new infections countries report each day and compare where that average is now to where it was at its peak.
The percent of that peak a country currently reports gives us a better idea of how far it is from containing the spread of the virus relative to the worst days of its outbreak.
Explainer: What is this new COVID-19 variant emerging in South Africa? - National | Globalnews.ca
South African experts said there are no indications to date that the variant causes more severe or unusual disease and noted that as with other variants.
globalnews.ca
South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It’s unclear from where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in South Africa and has also been seen in travelers to Hong Kong and Botswana.
Health minister Joe Phaahla said the variant was linked to an “exponential rise” of cases in the last few days, although experts are still trying to determine if the new variant, named B.1.1.529 is actually responsible.
From just over 200 new confirmed cases per day in recent weeks, South Africa saw the number of new daily cases rocket to more than 1,200 on Wednesday and to 2,465 a day later.
Struggling to explain the sudden rise in cases, scientists studied virus samples from the outbreak and discovered the new variant.
It appears to have a high number of mutations — about 30 — in the coronavirus’ spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people.
Explainer: What is this new COVID-19 variant emerging in South Africa? - National | Globalnews.ca
South African experts said there are no indications to date that the variant causes more severe or unusual disease and noted that as with other variants.
South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It’s unclear from where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in South Africa and has also been seen in travelers to Hong Kong and Botswana.
Health minister Joe Phaahla said the variant was linked to an “exponential rise” of cases in the last few days, although experts are still trying to determine if the new variant, named B.1.1.529 is actually responsible.
From just over 200 new confirmed cases per day in recent weeks, South Africa saw the number of new daily cases rocket to more than 1,200 on Wednesday and to 2,465 a day later.
Struggling to explain the sudden rise in cases, scientists studied virus samples from the outbreak and discovered the new variant.
It appears to have a high number of mutations — about 30 — in the coronavirus’ spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people.
Still very early in this variant's discovery. The real question is how virulent or deadly it can be.
Twitter feed from the Financial Times:
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Not going to speculate. Avoid the media hype, take a deep breath and let's wait for the word from real experts.
Omicron: How worried should we be?
Scientists are closely watching a new variant - but there are few clear answers.
www.bbc.com
It is early days and the confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa, but there are hints it may have spread further.
Immediately there are questions around how quickly the new variant spreads, its ability to bypass some of the protection given by vaccines and what should be done about it.
There is a lot of speculation, but there are very few clear answers.
There have been many examples of variants that have seemed scary on paper, but came to nothing. The Beta variant was at the top of people's concerns at the beginning of the year because it was the best at escaping the immune system. But in the end it was the faster-spreading Delta that took over the world.
This variant seems to give quirky results (known as an S-gene dropout) in the standard tests and that can be used to track the variant without doing a full genetic analysis.
That suggests 90% of cases in Gauteng may already be this variant and it "may already be present in most provinces" in South Africa.
But this does not tell us whether it spreads faster than Delta, is any more severe or to what extent it can evade the immune protection that comes from vaccination.
It also does not tell us how well the variant will spread in countries with much higher vaccination rates than the 24% of South Africa that is fully vaccinated, although large numbers of people in the country have had Covid.
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Israel has declared a state of emergency after 3 men who had recently travelled to Malawi where found to be infected with the new South African strain of Covid. The three men had been fully vaccinated.
The new variant has been found to spread easier and faster than Delta. It`s also more prevalent in young adults.
Not yet known if its deadlier than other strains or if it more easily evades boosters. Scary news for the world.
BTW if some of you are wondering why stocks are taking a bloodbath this morning then you can at least partially blame it on fear of this new variant.
The new variant has been found to spread easier and faster than Delta. It`s also more prevalent in young adults.
Not yet known if its deadlier than other strains or if it more easily evades boosters. Scary news for the world.
BTW if some of you are wondering why stocks are taking a bloodbath this morning then you can at least partially blame it on fear of this new variant.
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Travel restrictions multiply for African countries over fears of a new variant.
South African scientists were meeting with W.H.O. experts on Friday to discuss a concerning new coronavirus variant. An increasing number of countries imposed restrictions on travel to and from the region.
Countries around the world moved to restrict travel from southern Africa on Friday in a frantic effort to keep a newly identified, and apparently significantly evolved, variant of the coronavirus from crossing their borders.
The European Commission proposed that its members activate the “emergency brake” on travel from countries in southern African and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant.
“All air travel to these countries should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm, said in a statement. “And travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.”
In the past, governments have taken days, weeks or months to issue travel restrictions in response to new variants.
This time, restrictions came within hours of South Africa’s announcement — at least 10 countries around the world had announced measures before South African scientists had finished a meeting with World Health Organization experts about the variant on Friday.
Canada?
QUÉBEC ce jour......1037 nouveaux cas 
...c'est inquiétant vu la hausse importante ces derniers jours/semaines et à la veille de la période des fêtes......je constate que de plus en plus les gens baissent la garde....attention il n'y a rien de gagner et
faudra que LEGAULT--DUBÉ le rappellent encore davantage....heureusement que les hospitalisations et soins intensifs demeurent sous contrôle.....MAIS faut vraiment rester sur ses gardes...
...c'est inquiétant vu la hausse importante ces derniers jours/semaines et à la veille de la période des fêtes......je constate que de plus en plus les gens baissent la garde....attention il n'y a rien de gagner etfaudra que LEGAULT--DUBÉ le rappellent encore davantage....heureusement que les hospitalisations et soins intensifs demeurent sous contrôle.....MAIS faut vraiment rester sur ses gardes...
Quebec has twice the per capita rate of daily cases as Ontario . Ontario has asked that Canada close flights to and from Sub Sahara Africa but Trudeau so far hasn`t taken action , unlike most of Europe and England. Trudeau is too busy lobbying with African nations for their votes on him being nominated for the chairmanship of the UN ........to be concerned about his citizens health and safety.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Friday that Canada will limit travel from seven countries in southern Africa, a region that has reported cases of a new — and possibly more infectious — COVID-19 variant.
Starting today, all foreign nationals who have travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini or Mozambique in the last 14 days will be barred from entering Canada.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to return home from these countries but they will be required to wait for the results of a COVID-19 arrival test at a hotel.
If the test is negative, those returning travellers will be released to quarantine for a mandatory 14 days at home. They will also be required to go through a so-called "day eight" test on the eighth day of quarantine.
@ 1.40pm, Canada banned entry of foreign nationals who have travelled through those areas in the last 14 days:
Time will tell, but if it is indeed less deadly, as we all certainly hope.
Chair of South African Medical Association says Omicron cases are mild so far, but it's too soon to determine the risk of severe disease
"We really just need to hold tight to see how this plays out and what our next move is," an epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health said.www.yahoo.com
Then since it is clearly more transmittable, it might be the big chickenpox party that finally ends this when it becomes the really bad cold that everyone has had, or won’t get at all, due to vaccinations.
Germany reports first two cases of Omicron variant
The positive cases, found in a group of around 600 passengers, will be examined to see if they are the new Omicron variant.www.thejournal.ie
If it is more deadly, then the world is going to become a smaller place. Air Canada stock dropped double digits yesterday, and gif know that ain’t the strongest company financially anyway. It is popular to ban outsiders, or Blame Canada as the South Park guys did in an old musical (long before Covid), but there are consequences to isolation. Hopefully when Canada bails out Air Canada it is a grant not a loan, so we don’t have to repay them via higher airfares.
I was listening to a doctor from Harvard that was not trying to grand stand like some media types
Very simply he said "virus like to evolve so as to transmit as much as possible and not kill their host". Hopefully this new variant got the memo.
But to your comment "if it is more deadly", the good news is Moderna and Pfizer have stated they can turn around a modified vaccine quickly. Based on the fact we now have the infrastructure for vaccine distribution, scheduling, administration plus the sanitary mechanisms for passports etc, this will be very different from the early days.
On the Air Canada front, maybe they should make the CEO explain in French why the need the bailout. That will save taxpayers tons of money.
Merck's Covid pill is effective, FDA says. Experts will now review safety.
Merck’s drug would be the first that patients could take at home to ease symptoms and speed recovery.
www.nbcnews.com
Federal health regulators say an experimental Covid-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy.
The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the pill ahead of a public meeting next week where academic and other experts will weigh in on its safety and effectiveness.
The agency isn’t required to follow the group’s advice.
I am not optimistic about this pill.
Well.....really hope it will work...yesterday la FDA a déclaré que ce médicament--malnupiravir---était efficace pour éliminer LES FORMES GRAVES de la maladie....c'est déjà un avancé important .
I read that too, but then doesn't it make sense that evolution is entirely random?
If the contagiousness of a new variant can outpace the viciousness of it, then why not?
Edit: also there's a chance it may just take longer to kill, while being more infectious. (like AIDs) Or it may not kill but cause more organ damage. We just don't know enough at this stage.
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