Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #102

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The number of people already infected by the mystery virus emerging in China is far greater than official figures suggest, scientists have told the BBC.
There have been 41 laboratory-confirmed cases of the new virus, but UK experts estimate the figure is closer to 1,700.
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New virus in China ‘will have infected hundreds'
Up to 4,500 patients in China may have caught the same strain of coronavirus that has killed two people, scientists fear.
Health officials in Wuhan – the city at the heart of the outbreak which started in December – confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48.
But Imperial College London researchers say this may be the 'tip of the iceberg' after analysing flights out of the city.
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PLEASE NOTE:

Tricia set up the Covid forum for people who are genuinely concerned about Covid-19. It is not for anyone who is here with a view to minimizing its existence or downplaying the severity of it. Please know that MSM, scientists, politicians, government agencies worldwide are not involved in the biggest conspiracy in the history of man to convey the pandemic as more serious than it is.

If you aren't concerned about Covid-19, this Covid forum is not for you. There are lots of other Websleuths threads you can participate in that need your help.

Members whose posts seem designed to downplay the seriousness of the virus or the pandemic may experience a loss of posting privileges, whether a Thread Reply Ban or Time Out of minimum 1 week up to 3 months from the Websleuths forum.

Sillybilly
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Explainer: What is this new COVID variant in South Africa? (detroitnews.com)

WHAT IS THIS NEW COVID-19 VARIANT IN SOUTH AFRICA?
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 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 2,465 on Thursday. Struggling to explain the sudden rise in cases, scientists studied virus samples from the outbreak and discovered the new variant...
 
WHO meets amid global alarm over new Covid-19 variant found in southern Africa (nbcnews.com)

“This is the most significant variant we have encountered to date," said Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the U.K. Health Security Agency.

LONDON — Countries across the world rushed Friday to identify potential cases and halt travel from southern Africa where a new variant of Covid-19 emerged as a sudden source of global alarm.

The global scramble to contain the new Covid-19 variant was met with a plea for caution from the World Health Organization (WHO), even as cases were confirmed in Asia and Europe. The body convened Friday for an emergency meeting to assess the situation.

But stocks tumbled on fears of another pandemic setback, and the U.S. woke up the day after Thanksgiving to the possibility of a more uncertain holiday period ahead...
 
Dow drops over 1,000 points on fears over new Covid-19 variant


Stocks fell and oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday as the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant rattled global markets.

US markets, which were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, were slammed during Friday's shortened trading session. The Dow fell more than 1,000 points or 2.8%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down nearly 2%.

Asian markets led the way, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropping 2.7%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 2.5%. European markets also sold off heavily, with major indexes including the FTSE100, France's CAC40 and Germany's DAX falling between 3% and 4%.

US oil futures sank by more than 11% to trade below $70 a barrel. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, suffered a similar drop to around $73.

The new variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel, prompting some countries to put flight bans in place.
 
Dow drops 900 points as new Covid variant sparks market sell-off (nbcnews.com)

The downward moves came after WHO officials on Thursday warned of a new Covid-19 variant that’s been detected in South Africa.

U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Friday as a new Covid variant found in South Africa triggered a global shift away from from risk assets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 900 points, or 2.5 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Friday is a shortened trading day because of the Thanksgiving holiday with U.S. markets closing at 1 p.m. ET.

The downward moves came after WHO officials on Thursday warned of a new Covid-19 variant that’s been detected in South Africa. The new variant contains more mutations to the spike protein, the component of the virus that binds to cells, than the highly contagious Delta variant. Because of these mutations, scientists fear it could have increased resistance to vaccines, though WHO said further investigation is needed...
 
Merck's Covid pill is effective, FDA says. Experts will now review safety. (nbcnews.com)

Merck’s drug would be the first that patients could take at home to ease symptoms and speed recovery.

Under that scenario, the FDA said the drug would carry warnings about risks during pregnancy, but doctors would still have the option to prescribe it in certain cases where its benefits could outweigh its risks for patients.

Given the safety concerns, FDA said Merck agreed the drug would not be used in children.

Other side effects were mild and rare, with about 2 percent of patients experiencing diarrhea.

Regulators also noted that Merck collected far less safety data overall on its drug than was gathered for other Covid-19 therapies...
 
So it's been classified as a Variant of Concern today and named Omicron rather than Nu.

Classification of Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern

What's Omicron? Here's what we know and don't know about the new COVID variant that's roiling markets and air travel

ETA: It took around two months for Delta to be labelled 'of concern' by WHO. Omicron, on the other hand, has received this classification within 72 hours of detection.

Omicron: The new COVID variant with 32 mutations causing concern
 
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'A storm in a teacup': South African medics try to calm fears over Covid variant threat to Christmas | Daily Mail Online


South African medics moved to calm a wave of panic over a new ultra-infectious and vaccine resistant Covid strain today as its arrival in Europe sparked fears of a new Christmas shutdown.

Belgium revealed a case of the Botswana variant - named 'Omicron' by the World Health Organization tonight - prompting EU chiefs to call for an 'emergency brake' on all travel from southern Africa after it was also found in Israel.

The Belgian health ministry said a case of the new B.1.1.529 strain was confirmed in an unvaccinated young woman who had returned from Egypt 11 days ago, suggesting it is already being seeded across the continent and is widespread in Africa.

In Britain, arrivals from six countries were added to the quarantine red list from noon - but fears were raised over a lack of checks on arrivals beforehand. Boris Johnson spoke to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa tonight to discuss the situation.

However, Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, said that it was too early to begin imposing travel restrictions.

'It's a hasty decision,' she told the BBC. 'I would understand if it was two weeks later and we knew much more about this viral infection that is going around, this mutation.

'But for now, it is a storm in a tea cup, we have only become aware of this viral mutation ... in the last week.

'So far what we have seen are very mild cases, so I'm not sure why we are all up in arms.'

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had earlier called for an EU-wide travel ban to southern Africa warning that the Omicron strain could be world-dominant in months.
 
Skigh said:
'A storm in a teacup': South African medics try to calm fears over Covid variant threat to Christmas | Daily Mail Online


South African medics moved to calm a wave of panic over a new ultra-infectious and vaccine resistant Covid strain today as its arrival in Europe sparked fears of a new Christmas shutdown.

Belgium revealed a case of the Botswana variant - named 'Omicron' by the World Health Organization tonight - prompting EU chiefs to call for an 'emergency brake' on all travel from southern Africa after it was also found in Israel.

The Belgian health ministry said a case of the new B.1.1.529 strain was confirmed in an unvaccinated young woman who had returned from Egypt 11 days ago, suggesting it is already being seeded across the continent and is widespread in Africa.

In Britain, arrivals from six countries were added to the quarantine red list from noon - but fears were raised over a lack of checks on arrivals beforehand. Boris Johnson spoke to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa tonight to discuss the situation.

However, Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, said that it was too early to begin imposing travel restrictions.

'It's a hasty decision,' she told the BBC. 'I would understand if it was two weeks later and we knew much more about this viral infection that is going around, this mutation.

'But for now, it is a storm in a tea cup, we have only become aware of this viral mutation ... in the last week.

'So far what we have seen are very mild cases, so I'm not sure why we are all up in arms.'

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had earlier called for an EU-wide travel ban to southern Africa warning that the Omicron strain could be world-dominant in months.
Click to expand...

I disagree that it's a hasty decision. Better to be proactive while it's investigated more, than to be lax and try imposing restrictions when it's too late.
 
BREAKING: Dow closes down more than 900 points as new Covid variant sparks market sell-off (nbcnews.com)

The downward moves came after officials on Thursday warned of a new Covid-19 variant that’s been detected in South Africa.

...The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 905 points, or 2.5 percent, for its worst day of the year, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The Dow was down more than 1,000 points at session lows. Friday was a shortened trading day, with U.S. markets closing at 1 p.m. ET because of the Thanksgiving holiday...

“Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, probably not as many traders on the desks with an early close today. So potentially lower liquidity is causing some of the pullback,” Ajene Oden of BNY Mellon Investor Solutions said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “But the reaction we’re seeing is a buying opportunity for investors. We have to think long-term.”...
 
Botswana Covid variant has twice as many mutations as Delta - what we know so far | Daily Mail Online


The Botswana Covid variant, described by experts as the worst strain ever, has all the worrying mutations from previous versions of the virus, plus many more that could make it the most infectious and vaccine-resistant one so far.

The super strain has acquired the mutations of Delta, which made that variant so transmissible that it became world-dominant in months.

And the new variant also includes the vaccine-resistant alterations seen on Beta — another strain of concern that emerged in South Africa and was thought to be best at escaping the immune system until now.

It also contains a drop-out mutation that helped the Alpha variant take off in the UK last winter. In total, the new super strain has 32 mutations on its spike protein, more than any variant before it and twice as many as Delta.

It contains two unique alterations on a specific part of the spike which help viruses open the door to human cells.

All warning signs suggest it will become world-dominant in months but scientists have cautioned they have not confirmed any of the effects of the mutations in a laboratory.

South Africa’s population has very high levels of natural immunity and seems to be spreading with ease, which UK experts think may allow it to easily infect former Covid patients.

But there is no rise in hospitalisations in the region, which raises hopes it could be a milder Covid iteration.
 
Turkeytrot said:
I disagree that it's a hasty decision. Better to be proactive while it's investigated more, than to be lax and try imposing restrictions when it's too late.
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I think it's definitely a good idea to be proactive, but highly unlikely it's going to work in the end, given how infectious it appears to be. So we should be preparing for it to show up in US and take off-it could very well already be here.
 
Wow that was sort of unexpected
At least quicker than I thought we’d see any action.
What’s concerning me is how concerned the powers that be seem to be.

Re the Nu Varient - and this one isn’t Nu now but something else ? - I could swear there were at least a few posts about Nu here maybe a month or more ago?

I guess we skipped past the FU varient :rolleyes::oops:

‘cause seriously. F this


sds71 said:
Biden to restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday - CNNPolitics

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique & Malawi.
Click to expand...
 
jjenny said:
I think it's definitely a good idea to be proactive, but highly unlikely it's going to work in the end, given how infectious it appears to be. So we should be preparing for it to show up in US and take off-it could very well already be here.
Click to expand...
I agree. I guess my point was just that I don't think it's a bad idea to impose the travel restrictions at this point
 
sds71 said:
Biden to restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday - CNNPolitics

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique & Malawi.
Click to expand...

If it is serious, why wait until Monday to start the travel ban? And how will it be kept out of our country with people pouring over the US' Southern border daily? Mexico and Central and South American countries don't have travel restrictions for South Africa and Southern Africa countries yet.
 
weepingangel said:
Wow that was sort of unexpected
At least quicker than I thought we’d see any action.
What’s concerning me is how concerned the powers that be seem to be.

Re the Nu Varient - and this one isn’t Nu now but something else ? - I could swear there were at least a few posts about Nu here maybe a month or more ago?

I guess we skipped past the FU varient :rolleyes::oops:

‘cause seriously. F this
Click to expand...
It's the same variant but WHO named it OMICRON instead of Nu.
 
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