Covid-19 the second wave.

[Chippy_Tea]

South America travel ban over Brazil variant fears

UK-bound arrivals from South America and Portugal to be banned from Friday over concerns about the Brazilian coronavirus variant

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[Chippy_Tea]

Covid-19: Brazil virus already in UK ‘not variant of concern’, scientist says

One of two coronavirus variants first detected in Brazil has been found in the UK, says a leading scientist advising the government.

But the version discovered is not the "variant of concern", Prof Wendy Barclay clarified.

The "variant of concern" from Brazil, detected in travellers to Japan, is thought to be more infectious.

It led to travellers from South America and Portugal being banned from entering the UK on Friday.

Prof Wendy Barclay, who is heading a newly-launched project to study the effects of emerging coronavirus mutations called the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium, said: "There are two different types of Brazilian variants and one of them has been detected and one of them has not."

Prof Barclay, who also sits on Nervtag, a committee which advises government on new and emerging respiratory virus threats, said the variant was "probably introduced some time ago" and it "will be being traced very carefully".

Although the variant in the UK is not the one that sparked the travel ban, it has not been made clear whether it is potentially more contagious or not.

She added: "The new Brazilian variant of concern, that was picked up in travellers going to Japan, has not been detected in the UK.

"Other variants that may have originated from Brazil have been previously found."

It comes as a further 1,248 people with coronavirus have died in the UK.

The latest government figures on Thursday also showed another 48,682 new cases had been reported.

Meanwhile, the latest estimate for the reproduction (R) number in the UK - which represents the average number of people that one infected person will pass on a virus to - is between 1.2 and 1.3.
Last week it was estimated at between 1 and 1.4 by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

When the figure is above 1, the number of cases increases exponentially.

Despite other variants entering the country since, the Kent variant remains dominant in the UK and is believed to be 30-50% more infectious than the previous form of the virus.

Viruses acquire random changes to their genes constantly as they replicate.

Many are neutral or even hurt the virus's ability to spread, but those that give it an advantage will become more common.

Mutations are being deteced now because enough time has passed for those random changes to take hold.

Even though there is no evidence any of these mutations make the virus more deadly, a virus that infects more people is likely to have a higher death toll.

When the virus gets better at sticking onto and breaking into human cells, in theory someone exposed to the same dose is more likely to become ill.

The use of masks and personal protective equipment, social distancing and hand washing remain the best defences against the virus's spread.

Downing Street said current evidence did not suggest the concerning Brazilian variant affected vaccines or treatment.


Mr Shapps described the travel ban, which came into force at 04:00 GMT on Friday, as a "precautionary" measure.

It covers people who have travelled from or through, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela in the last 10 days.

The ban also applies to Portugal - because of its strong links to Brazil - and the former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde off the coast of west Africa, as well as Panama in central America.

British and Irish citizens and foreign nationals with residence rights are still allowed to return - but must isolate for 10 days.

Also exempt are hauliers who are travelling from Portugal to transport essential goods.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55676637

 

[Drunkula]

The Brazilian variant makes your pubes fall out, i heard. Well that's what my gran said on zoom. "I've gotten me that virus from the Americas," she said, " All me nancy's shedding like a porcupine in a tumble dryer!"

Pffft, she's been watching Naked Attraction again and wondering if she's still "got it", you know what she's like.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Did a covid test ( negative ) today at work , thought I'd never get that swab up
my nose - must have been about 6" long.
Just thought I'd let anyone yet to take one of the pleasure that awaits !

 

[Rodcx500z]

Did a covid test ( negative ) today at work , thought I'd never get that swab up
my nose - must have been about 6" long.
Just thought I'd let anyone yet to take one of the pleasure that awaits !

Yeah my son said the same on Monday thought they poking his brains out

 

[Tanglefoot]

Yeah my son said the same on Monday thought they poking his brains out

Apparently one nostril is often clearer and easier than the other - luckily I managed first try.
The probe thing has a little mark on it show how far you need to push it up, my eyes were watering by the time I'd done it !

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Apparently one nostril is often clearer and easier than the other - luckily I managed first try.
The probe thing has a little mark on it show how far you need to push it up, my eyes were watering by the time I'd done it !

It amazes me, particularly with this new more transmissible variant, that it is possible to become infected from just being within 2 metres of an infected person and yet you need to stick the poxy swab right up your nose and down the back of your throat to get a tiny bit of it on a stick?!

 

[samale]

Apparently one nostril is often clearer and easier than the other - luckily I managed first try.
The probe thing has a little mark on it show how far you need to push it up, my eyes were watering by the time I'd done it !

The probe thing has a little mark on it show how far you need to push it up, my eyes were watering by the time I'd done it
Are we still talking about covid here

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

The probe thing has a little mark on it show how far you need to push it up, my eyes were watering by the time I'd done it
Are we still talking about covid here

Yes, are you still talking about your nose?

 

[dad_of_jon]

The mark on my stick was where you break it off and put it in the vial it said 1 1.2 inches up your nose - anymore and you'll be poking your brains out . I did a self test on Thursday after having symptoms on Tuesday. I feel fine now. just waiting for the test. but it was quite unpleasant. If I get symptons again - cos I don't see anyone i'm just isolating myself for 10 days. Does the lateral flow test use a drop of blood? -If so think i'd prefer that to a swab up my schnoz!

 

[Leon103]

Had to try and self test my 3 year daughter. Doubt I did it effectively but there you go.

 

[marshbrewer]

Does the lateral flow test use a drop of blood?

No, it's a nasal swab as well.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Did a covid test ( negative ) today at work , thought I'd never get that swab up

At least you do it yourself imagine someone else ramming it up your hooter.

 

[dad_of_jon]

No, it's a nasal swab as well.

- I've booked May 21st for a trip to Europe - We should have the *** by then - Hopefully won't have to be tested by then.

 

[trueblue]

At least you do it yourself imagine someone else ramming it up your hooter.

I've had two tests one administered by a nurse and one at home. The nurse one was far easier and more comfortable.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Everyone has heard about doctors and nurses catching Covid-19 but some of the worst affected hospital staff have been cleaners and porters. Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary tells the story of a cleaner who became ill, and is now stricken with guilt for taking the virus home.

The first person I see early each morning when I arrive at the hospital is our cleaner, Karen Smith. During 10 months of uncertainty, Karen has been the one constant, apart from a few weeks in spring, when she was ill with Covid-19.
Usually Karen cleans the offices of the hospital's Institute for Health Research, but in the first wave of the pandemic she was called to the Covid wards. It was a frightening time for everyone, but Karen volunteered for an extra shift on Good Friday as there was a staff shortage - and on that day she thinks she was infected.
We know that working in hospitals increases your risk of infection by a factor of three, but this risk is not evenly spread. Antibody tests carried out in many NHS hospitals over the summer showed it was not the ICU consultants or infectious "red zone" clinical staff who had the highest rate of infection, but porters and cleaners working in those areas. Their risk of infection was double that of their clinical colleagues.
This heightened risk for hospital staff also applies to their household contacts.

As she cleaned the hospital in April, Karen was scared not for herself, but for her family. She and her husband, Mal, had moved into a caravan in Mal's parents' garden, while his mother was ill with cancer - and they stayed on after she died, to support Mal's 80-year-old father, Malcolm. Mal, a hospital porter, was shielding because he has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Malcolm senior was clearly vulnerable because of his age.
Stopping work, however, was not a luxury Karen could afford. And unlike some hospital staff who were housed in hotels to protect their families, she went back home every night.
She became ill towards the end of April, followed by Mal at the beginning of May. The weather was hot, she remembers, as they coughed and wheezed in the caravan.
"It was like being in a tin box," she says. "I got Covid and couldn't get over it properly. And then Mal got it and his was on another level compared to mine - and then his dad got ill, and that was a different ball game altogether."

As she cleaned the hospital in April, Karen was scared not for herself, but for her family. She and her husband, Mal, had moved into a caravan in Mal's parents' garden, while his mother was ill with cancer - and they stayed on after she died, to support Mal's 80-year-old father, Malcolm. Mal, a hospital porter, was shielding because he has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Malcolm senior was clearly vulnerable because of his age.
Stopping work, however, was not a luxury Karen could afford. And unlike some hospital staff who were housed in hotels to protect their families, she went back home every night.
She became ill towards the end of April, followed by Mal at the beginning of May. The weather was hot, she remembers, as they coughed and wheezed in the caravan.
"It was like being in a tin box," she says. "I got Covid and couldn't get over it properly. And then Mal got it and his was on another level compared to mine - and then his dad got ill, and that was a different ball game altogether."

Full article Coronavirus doctor's diary: Karen caught Covid - and took it home

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Department of Health and Social Care
@DHSCgovuk
·
5m

#COVID19 VACCINE UPDATE: Daily figures on the number of people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. As of 16 January, 3,559,179 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[dwhite60]

I've had a weird rash on my toes since before Christmas. Doc gave me an anti-fungal cream which didn't do anything. Tried another with similar results.

Went to a dermatologist yesterday and he said it's "Covid toes". I had a positive antibody test in July and nothing since. He said its not unususal to have this or other symptoms come up months later.

Weird.