Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Friday 18th of June:

- World: 177,563,153 confirmed cases and 3,844,571 confirmed deaths.

- World: WHO indicates Delta variant is becoming globally dominant.

- World: WHO official indicates COVAX scheme is grinding to a halt for lack of doses, indicates that only countries with the production capacity currently have access to vaccines.

- US: Has administered 300 million vaccine doses in 150 days.

- EU: Looses legal challenge to AstraZeneca to deliver 120 million doses by the end of June. Judge hands down a schedule for 15 million doses by 26 July, another 20 million by 23 August and another 15 million by 27 September totalling 50m doses, however will impose a fine of $12 per dose not delivered if they fail to show. AstraZeneca indicated they were happy as the judge acknowledged the unprecedented circumstances which caused the shortfall, and the EU was happy as they said the new schedule confirmed that the contract was not honoured and is pleased with judges comments that UK factories must reroute doses if needed.

- Africa: WHO warns cases are surging across the continent however the true extent may be hidden by infrastructure issues.

- UK: Delta variant cases climb by 79% week on week.

- UK: Study suggests one dose of vaccine reduces risk of needing hospital treatment by 75%.

- UK: Wales announces that they believe they are at the beginning of Wave 3.

- Israel/Palestine: Israel agrees to ship 1.4 million close to expiry doses to Palestine in return for an identical number to be returned to Israel later, the expiry was indicated to be July or August however it was discovered the first batch to be moved expires in June giving no time to move them to where they would need to be administered.

- South Korea: Pledges $200 million donation to COVAX.

- Austria: Pledges 1 million doses of vaccine to neighbour countries: “We are only safe when all countries are safe,”

- Turkey: Has delivered over 1 million vaccines a day since Monday, a rapid increase in pace.

- Russia: Following big spike in new daily cases to 17k, official indicates rising COVID cases are due to low vaccination level, new mutations and as quoted: "total nihilism".

View: https://youtu.be/b_29yvYpf4w?t=13

 

[Bambooza]

The vaccine looks to be doing what is suppose to do with really no reported side effects. It’s amazing what the world can accomplish when motivated.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Saturday 19th of June:

- World: 177,965,933 confirmed cases and 3,853,914 confirmed deaths.

- UK: Ramps up major push to get at least one dose of vaccine in to everyone aged 18 or over, with queues forming at pop-up vaccination centres in parks and football grounds across the country.

- UK: Man who has been battling COVID-19 in hospital since March 2020 finally falls victim to the condition following its ravaging his lungs and other internal organs including kidneys. The UK only counts people who died within 28 days of a positive test, so his passing 15 months after initial infection will likely not be included in the countries official death tally.

- UK: Download Rock Festival commences with no restrictions such as social distancing or face masks, as part of the UK's testing to see if large events are safe to hold in the era of COVID-19. The event has been limited to 10,000 attendees rather than the usual 100,000 but Mosh Pits have been OK'd.

- Cambodia: Sees record high new daily deaths.

- Brazil: Thousands take to the streets to protest the countries Pandemic response as lead by President Bolsonaro as the official death toll is due to pass 500,000 today.

- Japan: Tokyo Governor cancels all public Olympics viewing sites and converts some into Vaccination centres. “I believe these are necessary measures, when looking from various perspectives, for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games,”

- Mexico: Mexico City closes schools.

- Australia: New South Wales records new new locally transmitted cases as concerns grow: “This Delta virus would appear to be a near and present danger to anybody who is in the vicinity,”

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Sunday 20th of June:

- World: John Hopkins site not currently providing data, no total numbers update for today.

- Brazil: Total deaths passes 500,000 bringing sharp attention to the current situation and what plans there are for winter.

- Japan: First Olympics related incoming COVID case detected in a member of the Ugandan sports team. They had all been fully vaccinated and had all tested negative before leaving for Japan.

- US: Concerns are raised as Delta Variant asserts its foothold and becomes the dominant variant while vaccine takeup drops. An expert indicated “People aren’t buying it. The incentives don’t seem to be working – whether it’s a doughnut, a car or a million dollars.” with the Ohio an example where the offer to make 5 vaccination recipients millionaires jumped takeup by over 40% but a month later takeup is now lower than it was before the incentive was offered. Another expert said it was becoming a story of "two Americas", vaccinated and unvaccinated.

- China: Administers it's one billionth vaccine, aims to have 40% of the countries population fully vaccinated by the end of July.

- France: Mandatory outdoor mask wearing and curfew rules removed as situation improves.

- Belgium: Soldier who had stolen rocket launchers and had machine guns, who was out to kill the countries top virologist, found dead believed killed by his own hand.

- UK: Number of children and young adults admitted to mental health services for "Gaming Addition and Disorders" tripled over the last year.

 

[Vavrik]

- World: John Hopkins site not currently providing data, no total numbers update for today.

Site seems to be triggering anti-virus software too. Current numbers 178,333,767 reported cases, 3,862,286 deaths

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Site seems to be triggering anti-virus software too. Current numbers 178,333,767 reported cases, 3,862,286 deaths

Thanks for the kind update @Vavrik that's much appreciated :-)

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Monday 21st of June:

- World: 178,580,948 confirmed cases and 3,868,089 confirmed deaths.

- Treatments: GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology announce tirals of their monocolonial antibody treatment sotrovimab reduce risk of severe COVID-19, if administered to low to moderate severity cases before it progresses, by 79%

- Indonesia: Sees record high new daily cases of 14k+ take it over 2 million total confirmed cases.

- Russia: President Putin advises his government: “Unfortunately, the coronavirus threat has not receded, In many regions the situation has even got worse.”

- US: Study of 3 million households indicates in areas where the virus is circulating those with a recent birthday are 30% more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those without a recent birthday.

- US: Book suggests in the early days of the pandemic then President Trump advocated sending Americans with the virus to Guantánamo Bay to isolate them from the population, reportedly saying: “Don’t we have an island that we own? What about Guantánamo?”

- UK: Cases in County Durham (where the now infamous "Barnard Castle Eye Testing Centre" is) triple in one week from 281 to 882.

- UK: Cases in hospitals in Central Lancashire triple in one week to 61.

- UK: NHS official indicates although hospital admissions are rising they are no where near to those seen at similar points in previous waves.

- UK: Expert indicates of the 1 million Long COVID sufferers in the country 400,000 have had it for over 1 year.

- UK: Despite it being cancelled, thousands congregate at Stone Henge for Summer Solstice.

- Australia: Vaccine rollout constrained until August by Pfizer supply shortages.

- UAE: Appears to have launched a vaccine tourism system after visitors with an entry visa to a certain area were approved to receive a free vaccine, however no official statement has been made.

- India: on world Yoga day, Prime Minister announced: “When I speak to frontline warriors, they tell me that they have adopted yoga as a protective shield in their fight against coronavirus. Doctors have strengthened themselves with yoga and also used yoga to treat their patients,” This quote may have been taken out of context and may not have been meant literally.

- Japan: Will allow domestic spectators of the Olympics, with a max capacity of 10k or 50% of a venues capacity, whichever is smallest.

- New Zealand: Approves Pfizer Vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today Tuesday 22nd of June:

- World: 178,927,817 confirmed cases and 3,875,915 confirmed deaths.

- India: Following vaccines being made free, 8 million doses administered in one day. The global record is 20.8 million given in one day in China.

- UK: Government denies the G7 summit is the reason cases in Cornwall are now beginning to climb.

- UK: Small towns feel the benefit of working from home as staff shop local and benefit small businesses away from Central Business Districts.

- Germany: Country leader Angela Merkel receives Moderna dose as second jab having taken AstraZeneca as first.

- Italy: Prime Minister has Pfizer vaccine as second dose having taken AstraZeneca as first.

- Australia: Sees spike in refusal to take AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns of rare blood clotting side effect: "All across the country people are cancelling appointments or asking about whether they should even have their second dose,"

- China: Announces intention to retain boarder restrictions for another year.

- Russia: Sees daily deaths climb to highest rate since February.

- Cuba: Announces three shot domestically created Abdala vaccine is 92% effective.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

It looks like we predicted the pandemic. Searching discord records in January of last year has been interesting.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Wednesday 23rd of June:

- World: 179,281,941 confirmed cases and 3,884,800 confirmed deaths.

- World: Research by Credit Suisse reveals 5 million new millionaires were created in 2020, in stark contrast to the contracting economies .

- Variants: Concerns are raised over a new variant called "Delta Plus", a spin off from B.1.617.2 called AY.1 which according to early observations spreads even easier than the Delta variant, binds to lung cells even more efficiently than the Delta variant and appears to be able to evade treatment by monocolonial antibody therapies. Scientists indicate it is too early to be able to tell for sure to be able to label it as a variant of concern.

- Treatments: Parasite drug Ivermectin being trailed by University of Oxford as a potential treatment for COVID-19. It's used in Latin America and South Africa but trials so far have not been on a large enough scale to corroborate its effectiveness.

- UK: Travel businesses and staff stage protests demand restrictions be lifted to avoid industry collapse.

- UK: Questions are raised as it turns out COVID questionnaires used to ascertain the spread of the virus across the country also polled responders impressions of the state if the Union of four countries that make up the UK. Quite why isn't clear and the temperature of the union is no secret in that it's 4 nations being driven by some randoms in London. Heck even people in England outside of London have the impression the whole system is set up as a life-support system for the Crapital city...

- Australia: Sydney to see restrictions as hotspot of Delta variant grows to 37 cases.

- Australia: Announces plans to retire use of AstraZeneca vaccine following rare side effects concerns.

- US: 153 staff at a Texas Hospital are fired or quit having failed to get vaccinated by a deadline of the 7th of June. They were suspended for 2 weeks however and ultimately let go. An ethics expert explained: “health care workers have three special ethical responsibilities ... One is protect the vulnerable, people who are really at risk of a disease. Secondly, put patient interests first. It doesn’t say, ‘put your choice first.’ Third, they’re supposed to do no harm.”

- Ukraine: Registers first two cases of Delta variant.

- France: Delta variant goes from 2%/4% of cases to 9%/10% of cases in just one week.

- Germany: Delta share of new cases doubles to 15% in just one week.

- EU: Forecasts 90% of cases to be made up of Delta variant by September.

- US: Guam offers free vaccination to incentivise tourists to the area.

- Switzerland: To lift most restrictions at the end of the week.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Thursday 24th of June:

- World: 179,702,837 confirmed cases and 3,894,010 confirmed deaths.

- Netherlands: Researchers discover COVID can infect the brain and trigger responses which may cause or contribute to disorders: “What we saw was similar to the fact that infection by SARS-CoV-2 seldom leads to serious encephalitis in which the virus spreads uncontrollably through the brain [...] But the fact that SARS-CoV-2 possibly can enter the brain via the olfactory nerve and locally infect cells, which leads to an inflammatory response, can certainly contribute to neurological disorders,”

- Finland: Fans returning from a Euro 2020 football match in Russia bring COVID back with them, officials indicating it as a cause for a spike in cases: “These are people who have been at the games. Clearly, it has spread surprisingly well there, considering that Finns have mostly interacted with each other but contracted the virus in just a few days,”

- Japan: Emperor Naruhito voices concern over potential COVID spread from the Olympic Games.

- US: FDA to add rare side effect warning to Pfizer/Moderna mRNA vaccines, following heart swelling in some adolescents and young adults.

- US: San Francisco Authority is latest to make vaccination a mandatory requirement of employment: “With those two things in mind — the safety of our employees and the safety of the public we serve — we made this decision. We believe this step is a simple one to take. It’s safe, it’s very effective, and it’s going to guarantee the safety of all,”

- US: Ohios vaccine incentive scheme concludes without cracking the desired 50% uptake threshold.

- UK: Weymouth town counsel to hold all meetings on the beach as COVID precaution.

- UK: Furlough system starts journey toward wrapping up in Autumn, with announcement that from July businesses will need to contribute 10% of a staffers wage allowance of 80% with the government contributing 70%. In August that split will then be 20%/60% until it concludes in September. All restrictions are due to be opened up on the 19th of July so it is expected this will not be a requirement for long if the economy can be fully opened up before the system ends.

- UK: Number of doctors retiring early in England and Wales triples.

- UK: Cases continue to climb with 16,703 registered in the last day.

- Russia: Sees highest new daily cases since January, at 20,182.

- Africa: Envoy for the African Union accuses rich countries of withholding vaccine doses for the continent: "It’s not a question of if this was a moral failure, it was deliberate. Those with the resources pushed their way to the front of the queue and took control of their production assets. Imagine we are in a village and there is drought and there will not be enough bread and the richest guys grabs the baker and they take control of the production of bread and we all have to go to those [rich] guys to ask for a loaf of bread." Of COVAX they said: "We were led down the garden path … We got to December believing that the whole world was coming together to purchase vaccines, not knowing that we had been corralled into a little corner while others ran off and secured the supplies."

- France: Prime Minister appeals for more people to come forward for vaccination after rate drops to 200,000 a day from 500,000 a day last week.

- Portugal: Stricter restrictions announced for Lisbon as cases continue to climb.

- Australia: Sydney hotspot of cases grows to 49. The cause of the outbreak has been identified as a limo and its driver who was hired to ferry international air crews to and from the airport and hotels. Police investigations are ongoing.

 

[Bambooza]

UK: Furlough system starts journey toward wrapping up in Autumn, with announcement that from July businesses will need to contribute 10% of a staffers wage allowance of 80% with the government contributing 70%. In August that split will then be 20%/60% until it concludes in September. All restrictions are due to be opened up on the 19th of July so it is expected this will not be a requirement for long if the economy can be fully opened up before the system ends.

Quick question as I have not been following UK work practices. Are there still restrictions in place on who can and cannot work ie only those jobs that are mandatory like farmworkers and those who can work from home or has these restrictions been lifted? Meaning that only a few companies have Furloughed employees for operation cost reasons and not because they are unable to bring back their employees due to government mandates?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Quick question as I have not been following UK work practices. Are there still restrictions in place on who can and cannot work ie only those jobs that are mandatory like farmworkers and those who can work from home or has these restrictions been lifted? Meaning that only a few companies have Furloughed employees for operation cost reasons and not because they are unable to bring back their employees due to government mandates?

All shops and restaurants and everything else like themeparks etc are open again but restrictions still apply such as spacing, how many people are allowed inside at any one time, maximum group numbers etc.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today Friday 25th of June:

- World: 180,101,870 confirmed cases and 3,902,501 confirmed deaths.

- World: Passes 180 million confirmed infections.

- WHO: Director General says of low vaccination rate in poorer countries: "It’s not hesitancy. It’s lack of vaccines. And the situation in many low-income countries, especially Africa, it’s very worrisome...There is no vaccine. You can’t even talk about delivery or absorption capacity when there’s no vaccine."

- Israel: Just 10 days after it was lifted, reimposes requirement for indoor mask wearing as spate of new cases appear - over 100 a day in contrast to zero only a month ago.

- UK: Infections up about 50% in one week to 15,810 new daily cases.

- UK: Hospital Accident and Emergency (Emergency Room?) departments see spike in children experiencing Winter Viral Illnesses as restrictions are eased, with some reporting a Winter style spike in cases in the middle of June.

- UK: Minister for Health breaks Pandemic restrictions being photographed in an apparent adulterous embrace with his aide, breaching social distancing rules. An apology was issued to the Prime Minister who accepted the apology and "considers the matter closed." Critics point out when one of the countries leading Virus experts did a similar thing with someone he was in a relationship with while in a position advising the government on the pandemic they were pressured to resign, and did.

- UK: Announces no major COVID outbreaks occurred from the Mass Gathering trial events, but findings called in to doubt as it is revealed less than a third of participants in the study returned PCR test samples following the events. Bit of a Fail, that one.

- UK/Japan: Reports indicate although 90% have been fully vaccinated, some GB athletes are refusing vaccination: "There are individuals who didn't want to be vaccinated."

- Italy: Delta variant now accounts for 17% of cases.

- Brazil: President Bolsonaro claims he is "Incorruptible" following scruitiny of a Covaxin supply deal which appeared to inflate prices by 1,000%. “There is nothing wrong with the Covaxin contract, there is no overpricing,”

- Brazil: Congressional inquiry in to the countries COVID crisis response indicates it is finding evidence for “crimes against life” committed by the incumbent administration. “The most shocking thing is the realization of how negligent the government has been – on so many issues,”

- India: Rains uncover shallow graves of COVID victims and carry them down the Ganges river in scenes reminiscent to those seen at the height of the pandemic where bodies were committed to the waters, only to wash up on banks further down stream.

- India: Police investigate in two cities as 2,500 people injected with fake vaccines making the fraudsters at least $12,000.

- Iceland: Due to be the first European country to relax all COVID restrictions on Saturday.

- Uzbekistan: To limit access to capital city as cases climb.

- Tanzania: President warns: “There are signs of the third wave in our country.”

- Isle of Man: 50% of the countries adults have now been fully vaccinated.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Saturday 26th of June:

- World: 180,568,910 confirmed cases and 3,912,198 confirmed deaths.

- World: Sees lowest number of new daily cases since February, but concerns of the Delta variant still valid.

- UK: Sees highest new daily cases since February, the rise attributed to the Delta variant.

- UK: Despite the Prime Minister considering the matter closed following a personal apology, the Health Secretary resigns from the position following images of an adulterous embrace with an aide leaked from CCTV of a governmental workplace during a time when meetings indoors between people less than 2 meters apart were not permitted in any way: "those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I have got to resign". Prime Minister responds: "You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over." A new Health Secretary has already been appointed.

- UK: London sees new lockdown protests attended by thousands. Crowds pelt Parliament with tennis balls, when asked why one attendee revealed "They have little messages on them. Most of them are not very nice."

- UK: "Grab a jab" initiative runs for the weekend inviting anyone over the age of 18 to attend walk-in centres to get vaccinated without appointment.

- UK: Quarantine Hotels run by private security contracting firm G4S come under scrutiny as 4 cases of sexual harassment are raised by women who had to use the facilities alone.

- US: Total vaccines administered to this point, 322 million with roughly 50/50 split of how many people have had one dose vs two doses. The rate of vaccination in the country is now being slowed by participation rather than supply.

- US: First cruise ship to leave US for first time in 15 months.

- China: Issues statement to reporter on it's vaccination provision to the world following reports the Ukraine had pressure put on it to remove it's backing to a Human Rights statement or lose access to doses. “China’s provision of vaccines and anti-epidemic materials to other countries is not meant to gain benefits from other countries and there isn’t any geopolitical purpose nor any political conditions attached.”

- Bangladesh: Week-long shelter order to keep the population indoors to quell the rising Delta variant surge results in crowds thronging the capital city of Dhaka's ferry ports as they attempt to get back to their homes in other towns and villages.

- Australia: Sydney lockdown extended and expanded to local area as cases swell to 80+

- Indonesia: Sees record high new daily cases.

- Mallorca: 1,000 students go into isolation following outbreak, including 600 students visiting from Spanish mainland.

- South Africa: Reports it is in the grip of a third wave apparently fuelled by the Delta variant which has dominated even the Beta variant.

- Nambia: To suspend administration of first dose shots to preserve dwindling stock for second doses.

- Russia: St Petersburg city, host to the Euro 2020 matches in the country, sees record high new daily COVID-19 cases.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Hi @Bambooza I was wondering your impression of the following from Friday given our recent conversation on the use of face coverings:

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today Friday 25th of June:

- Israel: Just 10 days after it was lifted, reimposes requirement for indoor mask wearing as spate of new cases appear - over 100 a day in contrast to zero only a month ago.

It's compelling, was this the kind of thing you were waiting to see from Real World scinarios?

 

[Lorddarthvik]

Hi @Bambooza I was wondering your impression of the following from Friday given our recent conversation on the use of face coverings:



It's compelling, was this the kind of thing you were waiting to see from Real World scinarios?

Sorry to interfere, but here's some extra context from a local source:

New coronavirus cabinet to convene Sunday, review options as infections rise

Ministers reportedly lean toward no new restrictions so long as serious cases remain low; health officials believe vaccine provides strong protection against severe illness

www.timesofisrael.com

As for the mask question, I would say this case is not proof of anything just yet, it's too small, and as the article states, 70% of the new cases is from the delta (Indian) variant and mostly those who are unvaccinated. This variant has been well known to require much less of it to be effective at infecting ppl (my presonal reference for this is my relative who works in the covid ward now). Also muddying the picture is the relatively high number of vaccinated ppl, and the fact that almost all other restrictions have been lifted in the country on July1st, and increased number of travellers.

I'm still of the belief that masks Help (but not make one immune) in a common sense scenario (indoors, gatherings, public transport..) but should not be mandatory to wear everywhere (walking your dog in the park alone) cos that's just stupidly authoritarian. This common sense is the kind of restriction that was put into effect in Israel.

Let's wait and see if that makes a difference, and where does it go. If the reinstatement of masks curbs the spread as dramatically as they are supposed to, then we will know a bit more I guess.

Also of note regarding masks, we in Hungary are about to have all mask restrictions removed next week. So we should be good for a case study as well...
Except, we have the goddamn overpaid monkeys kicking balls contest (soccer thing) going on, and as ppl can now gather in numbers to watch this event and shout into each others face from 5 cm apart, this will skew the numbers significantly. No masks ofc, cos being under fully enclosed 200sqm tent is somehow "outdoors" ...


(I've been absent for quite a while from this thread so some updates)


Also also of personal note, I should be getting my second Astra shot tomorrow. I hope I make it back in time cos I will be out of town trying to bag a bargain of an MG F... yeah, I rather burn my wallet like that instead of buying jpegs. Heretical, I know lol

Also also also, my mother works in the public health admin, and she is very skeptical of purely relying on the effectiveness of vaccines like our govt. or like Israel does.
She deals with the numbers of daily new infections among other things, and the reports are of many vaccinated ppl falling ill again, even to hospitalization levels and dying. The stats of how many of the dead were fully vaccinated is not publicised. I'll ask her to try and look into the real numbers of these cases comparing the type of vaccines, but so far there is no clear winner or loser.

My other relative who works in the covid ward since last year October (an actual Dr.) is scared shitless, as she lost so many colleague and friends in just a few months. The "it's just old ppl" and "it's just fat ppl" and such arguments hold no water at this point.
54yo 110kg 165cm high unvaccinated assistant with high BP and other more serious ongoing illnesses, almost no symptoms, begging to go back to work during 2 weeks of mandatory quarantine.
2 docs who were 30-40 something, perfectly fit, with no prior illnesses, dead in 3 weeks after tested positive. One had full Pfizer vaccination, the other had Moderna. It didn't do shit for them.
Genetics. It's in there, we just don't know the answer yet.

Rant begin:

Btw, I dunno in your country how it went for the last couple of months, but while all the news were full of how well we are doing here with getting more vaccines in and how everything was great, the hallways in the hospital were actually filled with dead bodies on stretchers because there were so many. For weeks.
I don't know this from some conspiracy site or anti-estabslihment "fake news" site, I know this from the person who tried to make her way through them to get to the next dying patients. Yes I've seen pictures, and no I won't post them.

So yeah I'll keep listening to the establishment to tell me what's effective and what's not and never ever question it, cos obviously no one is lying about anything... /s

rant over.

Meh, anyways, stay safe all, and try to enjoy the summer (or winter if u live in the upside down)
I'm gonna go tend to a grave now...

 

[Bambooza]

Hi @Bambooza I was wondering your impression of the following from Friday given our recent conversation on the use of face coverings:
It's compelling, was this the kind of thing you were waiting to see from Real World scinarios?

It is indeed and as @Lorddarthvik so eloquently stated it's something I am watching closely as these are the scenarios that help answer my questions. But things get murky as Isreal has one of the highest vaccinated populations at 57% coupled with an expected natural immunity given they have had over 840k (it's estimated a 1 in 6 to 1 in 10 go unreported) cases of a population of 9 million. They should be theoretically close to achieving herd immunity levels of protection. So a jump from 14 avg daily new reported cases to over 200 is a big jump but nowhere near the thousands they had from Dec to March. This could just be an isolated case of a few families or the start of something more. Without knowing the details of the infected it's hard to know if it's an isolated case or spread out and of more concern.

Sorry to interfere, but here's some extra context from a local source:

New coronavirus cabinet to convene Sunday, review options as infections rise

Ministers reportedly lean toward no new restrictions so long as serious cases remain low; health officials believe vaccine provides strong protection against severe illness

www.timesofisrael.com

As for the mask question, I would say this case is not proof of anything just yet, it's too small, and as the article states, 70% of the new cases is from the delta (Indian) variant and mostly those who are unvaccinated. This variant has been well known to require much less of it to be effective at infecting ppl (my presonal reference for this is my relative who works in the covid ward now). Also muddying the picture is the relatively high number of vaccinated ppl, and the fact that almost all other restrictions have been lifted in the country on July1st, and increased number of travellers.

I'm still of the belief that masks Help (but not make one immune) in a common sense scenario (indoors, gatherings, public transport..) but should not be mandatory to wear everywhere (walking your dog in the park alone) cos that's just stupidly authoritarian. This common sense is the kind of restriction that was put into effect in Israel.

Let's wait and see if that makes a difference, and where does it go. If the reinstatement of masks curbs the spread as dramatically as they are supposed to, then we will know a bit more I guess.

Also of note regarding masks, we in Hungary are about to have all mask restrictions removed next week. So we should be good for a case study as well...
Except, we have the goddamn overpaid monkeys kicking balls contest (soccer thing) going on, and as ppl can now gather in numbers to watch this event and shout into each others face from 5 cm apart, this will skew the numbers significantly. No masks ofc, cos being under fully enclosed 200sqm tent is somehow "outdoors" ...


(I've been absent for quite a while from this thread so some updates)


Also also of personal note, I should be getting my second Astra shot tomorrow. I hope I make it back in time cos I will be out of town trying to bag a bargain of an MG F... yeah, I rather burn my wallet like that instead of buying jpegs. Heretical, I know lol

Also also also, my mother works in the public health admin, and she is very skeptical of purely relying on the effectiveness of vaccines like our govt. or like Israel does.
She deals with the numbers of daily new infections among other things, and the reports are of many vaccinated ppl falling ill again, even to hospitalization levels and dying. The stats of how many of the dead were fully vaccinated is not publicised. I'll ask her to try and look into the real numbers of these cases comparing the type of vaccines, but so far there is no clear winner or loser.

My other relative who works in the covid ward since last year October (an actual Dr.) is scared shitless, as she lost so many colleague and friends in just a few months. The "it's just old ppl" and "it's just fat ppl" and such arguments hold no water at this point.
54yo 110kg 165cm high unvaccinated assistant with high BP and other more serious ongoing illnesses, almost no symptoms, begging to go back to work during 2 weeks of mandatory quarantine.
2 docs who were 30-40 something, perfectly fit, with no prior illnesses, dead in 3 weeks after tested positive. One had full Pfizer vaccination, the other had Moderna. It didn't do shit for them.
Genetics. It's in there, we just don't know the answer yet.

Rant begin:

Btw, I dunno in your country how it went for the last couple of months, but while all the news were full of how well we are doing here with getting more vaccines in and how everything was great, the hallways in the hospital were actually filled with dead bodies on stretchers because there were so many. For weeks.
I don't know this from some conspiracy site or anti-estabslihment "fake news" site, I know this from the person who tried to make her way through them to get to the next dying patients. Yes I've seen pictures, and no I won't post them.

So yeah I'll keep listening to the establishment to tell me what's effective and what's not and never ever question it, cos obviously no one is lying about anything... /s

rant over.

Meh, anyways, stay safe all, and try to enjoy the summer (or winter if u live in the upside down)
I'm gonna go tend to a grave now...

Um... please keep us posted as this is something I have not heard as of yet. While it is expected that vaccinated people will still die it should greatly reduce the likelihood. But you are saying two docs who would be in the lowest category possible plus vaccinated died is unexpected. Let's hope it's just a fringe case and not something else.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - reports from around the world from today, Sunday 27th of June:

- World: 180,923,018 confirmed cases and 3,919,659 confirmed deaths.

- Vaccines: AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford start trials on modified vaccine designed to also work on Beta (South African) variant, with just a small genetic update to the original vaccine.

- Luxembourg: Prime Minister tests positive for COVID-19, self isolating.

- South Africa: Announces strict new measures to counter third wave.

- Indonesia: Sees record high new daily cases.

- Australia: New South Wales registered 30 new confirmed cases. "Given how contagious this strain of the virus is, we do anticipate that in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase beyond what we have seen today because we are seeing that people in isolation, unfortunately, would have already transmitted to all their house contacts."

- UK: Half of all adults under the age of 30 in England have now had at least 1 vaccination dose.

- UK: Report indicates hairdressing faces an apprenticeship crisis which may have a generational impact: "We've seen from other industries which have gone through recessions, construction for example, that if you have a period of a gap with apprentices coming in, that gap can then be seen through the whole of the career arc over the next forty years,"

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Monday 28th of June:

- World: 181,198,800 confirmed cases and 3,925,198 confirmed deaths.

- Australia: CCTV footage of two people walking past each other in a mall indicates it was their only contact in transmitting COVID-19 from one to the other - Described as "scarily fleeting" it suggests the exposure time to pass the Delta Variant virus indoors with no restrictions (distancing, masks etc) is as little as 5 to 10 seconds. Queensland chief medical officer said: “At the start of this pandemic, I spoke about 15 minutes of close contact being a concern. Now it looks like it’s five to 10 seconds that’s a concern. The risk is so much higher now than it was only a year ago.” Alpha variant was somewhere between 43% and 90% more infectious than the original version and Delta is 60% more infectious than that.

- Australia: Party attended by 30 people becomes a super-spreader event: “I can report that of the more than 30 people that were at that party, 24 of those people are now positive for Covid-19, and not one of those 24 people were vaccinated. I could also advise that six health workers who attended at that party, who were fully vaccinated, not one of those people has been infected”

- UK: Reports indicate recently resigned Health Secretary conducted official COVID government affairs on a prive gmail email address meaning there is no log of some of his actions.

- UK: New Health Secretary, who has been described as one of the architects of the countries long lasting Austerity measures as implemented following the 2008 financial crisis which were supposed to last for a few years until the economy had recovered but have yet to be receded, indicates they want restrictions lifted "as soon and as quickly as possible" (19th of July the target date) and for the move to be "irreversible", whatever that means...?

- UK: Wales, and over 3,000 school children are isolating following outbreaks of COVID in classrooms.

- UK/World: Having outlined where travellers are and are not allowed to go without quarantine on return, destination countries start outlining their requirements, with multiple requiring proof of vaccination.

- Isle Of Man: Reopens boarders to travellers.

- Italy: Drops restriction to wear facemasks outdoors.

- EU: Incoming vaccine passport scheme includes the AstraZeneca vaccine, but does not include the Indian licenced production version Covishield.

- Pakistan: Vaccination Centre becomes overrun by attendees: “We have a very limited capacity here, but for the past few days the centre has been overwhelmed by those wanting to travel abroad,"

- Greece: Launches incentive scheme to get the young to accept treatment - a genrous €150 in pre-paid credit vouchers: “By offering unprecedented incentives for young people to go out and explore its cultural scene, Greece is not only protecting public health, but investing to kickstart our precious tourism industry,”

- Cypress: Lowers vaccination age to 16 following one third of new cases being in Minors.

- Sweden: To lift all restrictions on 1st of July.

- Vaccines: Research by Oxford University suggests a singel shot of their vaccine may be sufficient to be a booster 6 months after a second dose with no further modification to the medicine, with it providing a dramatic increase in antibodies.