Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Friday 28th of January 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 367,129,786 Global Deaths 5,639,976

- US: U.S. Confirmed 73,429,392

- New Omicron Variant: BA.2, the newly detected version of Omicron, is not a cause for alarm, scientists say

- UK: Confusion over Downing Street Parties report after Met police statement

- UK: Specialist vaccine sessions for people with needle phobia

- UK: NHS to prescribe antiviral pill for high-risk Covid patients from next month

- Novak Djokovic: Doubts raised over timing of Covid test

- Europe: European Commission guilty of ‘maladministration’ over Pfizer texts

- Canada: Canada truckers’ vaccine protest spirals into calls to repeal all rules

- Hong Kong: Hong Kong government offers hamster reparations after ordering cull

 

[Aramsolari]

- Canada: Canada truckers’ vaccine protest spirals into calls to repeal all rules

Sorry guys. Guys we have our fair share of crazies.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Sorry guys. Guys we have our fair share of crazies.

I suppose it's time to open some kind of registered intentional exposure campaign for people who are unwilling to be injected but are willing to be naturally exposed to the virus which should be all of them as that is the only other option. It would involve intentional exposure and a Quarantine Hotel stay.

Residents would sign a waver stating they knew they would be exposed to a potentially lethal pathogen and would not hold the state responsible if they died or had long term side effects like Long COVID, the exposure would then allow them at first 3 months of officially recognised immunity, before having to return for another round of intentional exposure at the end of those 3 months which would then provide them another 3 months of officially recognised immunity taking it to 6 in total, and then another session after those 6 months which would allow them 6 months of officially regognised immunity taking them to 12 months total, then one final session at 12 months after which they would be considered officially immune - but with the option for further intentional exposure to the virus if new variants come along.

Eight weeks in Quarantine in total spread over a year with all the disruption and inconvenience that involves.

Or three quick, simple injections.

The attendees would be granted the option of vaccination at any point, my guess is there would be an attrition rate of vaccine acceptance of over 60% per 2 week session. Being stuck in a hotel room alone eating government issued rations watching a 15 inch TV which only plays the news channel and Public Service Broadcasting without having to pay for other channels it (I know what hotel TV is like), only being allowed out of the room or exercise an hour a day and that being in the Quarantine Hotels courtyard with low to no other residents and even if you don't feel sick or even test positive over those two weeks having to tough it out to the completion of the course... That'd take commitment. Especially if you had to contribute to the cost. The jabs would be about $20 each so in total would be about 60 bucks. The intentional exposure program would cost (based on the charges a colleague of mine was charged on return from a foreign country) $2k per session per person making it $8k in total... There is no way they would not be asked to shoulder some if not all of that cost.

And suddenly a couple or three jabs provided free by the state don't seem like such a bad option, but if people are committed to not taking their medicine, give them another option. The only other option I can think of is controlled intentional exposure.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Saw this one on the Twittersphere:

Washington State trooper who refused to get vaccinated dies of COVID-19

Former Washington State Trooper Robert LaMay, who went viral when he chose to quit rather than get vaccinated against coronavirus, has died of COVID-19. He was 50 years old. “I am deeply saddened over the news that our former friend and colleague Trooper Robert LaMay has passed away,” State...

bnonews.com

A cop who refused a vaccine mandate and quit the force in a video which went viral passed away from the choice that caused the end of his career.

It's sad the end conclusion of the case was a mans death. If he had taken vaccination, the chances were he would have got sick but would have, by latest research, had a 95% chance of survival.

I'm not boasting, I'm not trying to say he made the wrong choice, I'm just saying for his particular case there was a choice and when it was made all those months ago it put him on a course that from that moment he had accepted the potential consequences of that choice which came to pass. If he had caught COVID earlier in the pandemic before vaccines were created it would have been tragic loss of life of a public servant on the front line of the pandemic. After the vaccines were provided and freely available, it was nothing more than someone's personal choice to willingly and consciously not protect themselves with all of the resources available to them.

There is a lot of ire on the Twitter thread, no one is saying 'serves him right' but many are saying they have no sympathy and no tolerance for people who choose not to help themselves. My concern was over that viral video. I'm fairly sure hundreds if not thousands of hesitant would have seen a cop standing up for what they believe in and thought if he could take such a stand maybe they were not wrong to remain taking that stance too...?

All I can really say is he got what he wanted - he wasn't vaccinated.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Saturday 29th of January 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 371,241,686 Global Deaths 5,654,318

- US: U.S. Confirmed 74,128,280

- UK: Senior Tories demand full No 10 parties report

- UK: Call for retired teachers to join supply register

- UK: Long Covid: Hidden lung damage spotted on scans

- Spotify: Joni Mitchell wants songs off Spotify in Covid row

- Japan: Sets record high new daily infections for or fifth consecutive day

- New Zealand: New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern isolates after possible Covid exposure

- China: Beijing Winter Olympics reports jump in daily Covid cases

- Chile: Chile breaks daily coronavirus case record for fourth day

- UK: How the UK government lost £4.9bn to Covid loan fraud

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Sunday 30th of January 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 373,610,080 Global Deaths 5,660,958

- Canada: Chaos in Ottawa after second day of protests

- Misinformation: Harry and Meghan reveal Spotify Covid row concerns

- China Beijing sees Covid cases spike as Olympics near

- UK: Jabs offered to at-risk 5 to 11-year-olds in England

- Russia: Sees a record 121,228 new daily cases

- Hong Kong: Hong Kong says commenting on Covid strategy is not illegal

- Long Covid: ‘Like sewage and rotting flesh’: Covid’s lasting impact on taste and smell

- South Korea: South Korea reports record 17,532 new cases

 

[Aramsolari]

- Canada: Chaos in Ottawa after second day of protests

Yeah flying Nazi flags, desecrating the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, threatening to hang the PM, and other general asshattery. "It's all about Covid Mandates! My body, my choice!"

 

[vahadar]

Annnnnnd after 2 years safe, 2 Pfizer doses and one Moderna booster, I with my entire family caught Covid.
Russia is leaving in a parallel reality... On the flight from Paris to Moscow everyone had a mask and kept it the entire flight (S7 airlines). When in Moscow DME, maybe less than half ppl at the airport had a mask, and almost none of the officials I saw had masks.
In the following flight from Moscow to Perm, not even 20% of the passengers had a mask, in a full plane, despite announcements at the beginning of the flight about Covid restrictions.
In Perm airport, almost nobody had a mask...
This is sciences fiction really...
The taxi who took us from Perm to our vacation home told us that some day before a passenger was removed from an Aeroflot flight from DME because not wearing a mask. I guess S7 airlines has different standards, really avoid them if you have to go to Russia during the pandemic someday.
And in the little town we are in Perm faraway suburd, almost nobody is wearing a mask.
It started 5 days after our arrival with my 2 years old being sick. Then my wife and my entire family in law, then myself.
The news here is very contradictory about Covid, and most ppl here are afraid of the Russian vaccine because so many fakes have been told at the beginning of the pandemic. My sister in law is not vaccinated and it was hard to ask her to wear a mask in front of our kid...
This vacation is starting pretty good lol

 

[vahadar]

Also when a single auto test cost more than 20€ where I am atm in Russia with the average salary under 300-400€ in the area...
In France you could get 5 autotest for less than 10€ in supermarkets...

Fake covid certificate is also apparently easier to find than vodka... J/k but many ppl we know there have fake covid certificate... Crazy...

 

[Vavrik]

Also when a single auto test cost more than 20€ where I am atm in Russia with the average salary under 300-400€ in the area...
In France you could get 5 autotest for less than 10€ in supermarkets...

Fake covid certificate is also apparently easier to find than vodka... J/k but many ppl we know there have fake covid certificate... Crazy...

Russians have always been a little crazy. I mean about 15 years ago, I spent 6 months alternately freezing my ass off, and getting my blood sucked out by mosquitos in Moscow and Ufa. Not exactly fun, but on my first flight there was a guy wearing what seemed to be pajama's to my eyes (traditional regional clothing) going to a wedding in Ufa. He was carrying 2 live chickens. In the airplane cabin. Across the isle from me. Turned out he spoke English with a British accent.

Fortunately you are vaccinated. It makes a huge difference, and even if Delta is still prevalent there, it doesn't seem to affect kids much.

 

[vahadar]

He was carrying 2 live chickens. In the airplane cabin. Across the isle from me. Turned out he spoke English with a British accent.

I experienced something similar in the end 90's on a flight from Paris to Djibouti, with a stop in Cairo and another in Jeddah, lots of pilgrim to Mecca boarded the plane in Cairo, and one was with a live goat in the cabin ! ;)

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Monday 31st of January 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 375,540,735 Global Deaths 5,666,180

- Canada: Trucker protest: Ottawans 'prisoners in own homes'

- Canada: Justin Trudeau says he has tested positive for Covid-19 but feels fine

- Canada: Canada investigating anti-vaxxers for allegedly desecrating monuments

- UK: Uncomfortable questions for Boris Johnson as partial parties report released

- UK: Education secretary tests positive for Covid-19

- UK: Government may U-turn on mandatory NHS staff jabs

- Omicron: BA.2 subvariant of Omicron more transmissible than the more common BA.1

- Austria: Austria lifts ‘lockdown of the unvaccinated’ as Europe slowly opens up

- China: Beijing seals off several communities over two cases of Covid-19

- Turkey: Turkey reports near record Covid-19 cases

- World: New study warns vaccine inequity will prolong the pandemic

 

[Aramsolari]

Op piece: “The so-called Freedom Convoy was never about truckers, or border mandates”

Basically Canadian Qanon types.

 

[Raven_King]

I with my entire family caught Covid.

Oh, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. Hope you all recover quickly and none of you are too unwell.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Tuesday 1st of February 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 379,311,093 Global Deaths 5,676,737

- WHO: Covid response generating masses of waste

- Booze: Alcohol-related hospital stays fall during pandemic

- US: Covid jab for US under 5s expected by end of month

- UK: Rise in Covid cases in England as reinfections included for first time

- Denmark: Denmark lifts almost all Covid restrictions

- Cuba: Cuba leads world in vaccinating children as young as two against Covid

- WHO: WHO: 'premature' to declare victory over Covid

- Portugal: Portugal’s PM tests positive

- Omicron: Scientists to investigate whether Omicron developed in patients with untreated HIV

- WHO: WHO says new Omicron subvariant is not more severe

- UK: UK's Covid death toll exceeds 180,000

 

[Radegast74]

Interesting comparison of Gwyneth Paltrow and Joe Rogan, in terms of spreading healh misinformation and trying to profit from it:

Joe “just conversations” Rogan defends misinformation like a classic grifter

Money, misinformation, & snake oil: Joe Rogan has a lot in common with Gwyneth Paltrow.

arstechnica.com

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Wednesday 2nd of February 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 382,621,812 Global Deaths 5,691,323

- US: U.S. Confirmed 75,355,265

- UK: Deliberate infections give unique Covid insight

- UK: Government writes off £8.7 billion of Pandemic PPE

- UK: Government Official downplays Parties investigation, claims Lockdown Breach personal penalties akin to parking fines

- UK: Boris Johnson attended leaving do during strict January lockdown

- UK: Covid level stops falling in the UK

- Tonga: Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announcs lockdown following tsunami

- India: Indian health workers allege widespread vaccine certificate fraud

- Japan: Covid robbed Kyoto of foreign tourists: it’s not sure it wants them back

- Japan: Japan capital Tokyo breaks daily Covid record with over 21,000 infections

- Lithuania: Lithuania to scrap Covid pass on Saturday

- Germany: Germany could relax restrictions in March

 

[Vavrik]

UK: Covid level stops falling in the UK

Come on Gov.UK, get with the program. Your own health ministry researchers said you can't stop Omicron or slow it down. The total cases are now meaningless. The only important numbers are hospital usage, and deaths - because they tell you if you still have a functioning hospital system.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Come on Gov.UK, get with the program. Your own health ministry researchers said you can't stop Omicron or slow it down. The total cases are now meaningless. The only important numbers are hospital usage, and deaths - because they tell you if you still have a functioning hospital system.

I think the reason why total cases are still semi-useful is because in a country with 29.5 million employees having 1 million people off sick self isolating at any one time has a massive effect on public life

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Corner - Some reports from some news outlets* from today, Thursday 3rd of February 2022:
*claims made by headlines or articles are those of the outlets and have not been independently verified, or in some cases even read, by myself.

- World: Global Confirmed 386,364,006 Global Deaths 5,705,692

- UK: UK approves fifth Covid-19 vaccine

- Europe: Europe entering Covid 'ceasefire' - WHO

- Isle Of Man: Isle of Man Covid-19 death toll rises to 73

- Novak Djokovic: Doubts over timing of Djokovic Covid test

- World: World faces ‘bumpy, difficult’ Covid transition, says senior scientist

- South Korea: South Korea’s nose-only mask for Covid-safe eating raises eyebrows

- UK: Record number of UK long Covid cases – ONS survey

- Sweden: Sweden to remove Covid curbs next week