Mutating Corona Virus

[London1971]

Interesting one from the New York times, measuring the excess deaths in different cities for historical events and Corona Virus

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/world/coronavirus-history.html

 

I'll make no comment but it's worth the 10 minute read and shows that it's dangerous to be too quick interpreting one set of statistics. Excess deaths tell the real story.

 

The TLDR London was pretty damn bad but NYC, Lombardy, Madrid were way worse!  

[tobyjugg2]

Beijing steps up coronavirus measures as dozens of cases emerge from a food market

 

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-china-cases/beijing-steps-up-coronavirus-measures-as-dozens-of-cases-emerge-from-a-food-market-idUKKBN23L01K

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/15/beijing-lockdown-tightens-as-new-coronavirus-outbreak-spreads

 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191574.shtml

 

"Beijing, which had previously gone 55 days in which the only new infections were citizens returning from other countries, has reported a total of 79 cases in the past four days. The first case in the new outbreak was discovered on Thursday after a 52-year old man surnamed Tang was confirmed to have the virus. On Friday, authorities reported another six cases – all of them, including Tang, linked to the Xinfadi market."

 

 

 

"Genome sequencing of the strain of the coronavirus which caused the new COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing at the Xinfadi wholesale food market shows it originated from Europe, an expert from Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control (Beijing CDC) said Sunday. "

 

"“Our preliminary assessment is the virus came from overseas. We still can’t determine how it got here. It might’ve been on contaminated seafood or meat, or spread from the faeces of people inside the market,” state media quoted Yang Peng as saying. "

 

 

"Officials said anyone who had been to or had contact with people who had been to Xinfadi since May 30 will be required to report to their work or residential units and get tested for coronavirus, the Beijing Daily said on Saturday. "

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by tobyjugg2

[honeybee13]

Campaigners are asking why a small pest control company in Sussex has been awarded a £108 million contract for PPE for the NHS. This was done in April and didn't go out to tender.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8394309/Small-family-run-pest-control-firm-won-108m-contract-procure-PPE-frontline-NHS-staff.html

[Andyorch]

No prizes for guessing why...Ill let you decide    Check the surnames of the Directors of the Pest Control Company.

[honeybee13]

England, do you mean, Andy?

[brassnecked]

Joseph & Matthew England.

[Andyorch]

6 hours ago - Dan England, co-founder of PestFix, said it had won the contract ... have had close links with the Conservative party (including financial).

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/h9hoxj/uk_campaigners_seek_judicial_review_of_108m_ppe/

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/h9f56l/the_uk_government_is_being_sued_for_awarding_a/

 

[brassnecked]

No surprise there then, funny handshakes as well possibly.

[unclebulgaria67]

Many questions being asked about Government decisions at the moment, where someone with financial links to the Conservative party, has received a positive decision.

 

You would think that Ministers would have to apply very strict rules, so that decisions made can be properly explained if there was a later inquiry.

[brassnecked]

Probably think that any EU procurement rules don't apply as the Coronavirus act makes them Henry VIII so can do as they wish with no comeback.

[honeybee13]

Is that the emergency powers act, BN?

 

From what I've read they were in blind panic after waking up after weeks and weeks of doing hardly anything. They've been playing catch up throughout.

[honeybee13]

Article in the Guardian about why from Germany to Vietnam got testing and tracing right when the UK didn't.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/16/germany-vietnam-test-trace-england-coronavirus

[brassnecked]

Yes HB they will be referring to that Act a great deal going forward.

[honeybee13]

They will have to I guess, it's the only excuse.

[tobyjugg2]

UK fast becoming a pariah on the world travel stage

 

Coronavirus: New Zealand confirms two cases after 24 days without infections – and says both came from UK

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/coronavirus-new-zealand-two-new-cases-uk-travellers-a9567941.html

 

 

 

[tobyjugg2]

From the New York Times

 

 

England’s contact tracing shortfalls

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is betting he can safely reopen a country hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than any other in Europe.

But he has fielded criticism over a botched school reopening plan, a controversial 14-day quarantine and an inconsistent contact-tracing operation that may risk a second wave of deaths.

The “world-beating” operation was supposed to trace people who had been exposed to the virus, bridging the time between lockdown and a vaccine. But more than a dozen public health officials, local government leaders and contact tracers told our reporters the system was begun on May 28 before it was ready.

Details: Since the operation began, some contact tracers have failed to reach a single person. Many, paid barely above minimum wage, began the work with little to no training. Call handlers have mistakenly tried to send patients in England to testing sites in Northern Ireland. And a government minister threatened to stop coordinating with local leaders if they publicly revealed the operation’s failings, three officials said.

Context: While the virus is cooling in London, infection rates remain high in parts of England, notably the northwest. Other European nations are building systems to pinpoint infection clusters for years to come. Germany, for instance, has hired contact tracers in 375 public health authorities, with doctors on hand to administer tests.

[honeybee13]

I read that earlier, TJ. It's interesting to see the perspective from the US.

[tobyjugg2]

I think

"Other European nations are building systems to pinpoint infection clusters for years to come. Germany, for instance, has hired contact tracers in 375 public health authorities, with doctors on hand to administer tests. "

 

.. nails it.

 

 

 Wonder how much those UK tracers are costing the British tax payer, and what profit is being made from it and by whom?

 

Last I heard, a number of the UK tracers had not actually traced a single contact ..

[tobyjugg2]

Coronavirus contact tracing apps were meant to save us. They won’t

With little evidence to show how effective such apps are and growing privacy concerns, there’s a risk they could do more harm than good

---

 

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/contact-tracing-apps-coronavirus

 

 

 

 

"we do know that manual contact tracing itself can be effective. Singapore, a technologically advanced but authoritarian state, was one of the first countries to introduce a contact tracing app. It (Singapore NOT the App) was initially able to contain the spread of the virus.

 

The conclusion many have come to is wrong:

the contact tracing app had little to no effect."

 

 

"Far more important was the role of human-led contact tracing. Teams of people, including police officers drafted in to help with the effort, conducted interviews with people who had contracted coronavirus. They asked where they had been for the last 14 days, who they had interacted with, and trawled through CCTV footage to track movements. Once an investigation had been completed and individuals identified, they checked whether those who had been in close contact with the infected person were unwell or showing any symptoms of the coronavirus."

 

 

Do note

that even with the negative perspective, the wired article is assuming that people notified by the app will get automatically booked tests

... there's no evidence that will be the case in the UK, automatically booked or otherwise ... unless your name is Gove maybe.

 

[45002]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place

 

Has anyone ordered facemask on line and got a fast delivery ?

 

I'm looking for a good supplier anyone has used and no problems, any recommendations.

[honeybee13]

Hi 45002.

 

There's a non-discussion thread in the NHS forum, you could try posting there.

 

HB

[cjcregg]

10 hours ago, 45002 said:

Sorry if this is in the wrong place

 

Has anyone ordered facemask on line and got a fast delivery ?

 

I'm looking for a good supplier anyone has used and no problems, any recommendations.

 

You can get them at Screwfix click & collect https://www.screwfix.com/p/type-1-single-use-3-ply-face-mask-10-pack/894kh

[cjcregg]

10 hours ago, honeybee13 said:

Hi 45002.

 

There's a non-discussion thread in the NHS forum, you could try posting there.

 

HB

 

What's inappropriate with posting it here ? 

[tobyjugg2]

Might be informative or at least offer some ideas

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/travel-outdoors/coronavirus-face-mask-covering-cloth-buy-online-uk-a9580791.html

 

 

Edited June 24, 2020 by tobyjugg2

[tobyjugg2]

Some examples of issues Schools are having and how they are being addressed

 

Schools close over coronavirus cases in England

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/coronavirus-schools-closed-shut-cases-south-yorkshire-leeds-a9580676.html