26251 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

New York State hospitalizations:

 

https://coronavirus....ization-summary

 

[Victoria Watcher]

The Omicron variant has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director said Sunday.

 

"It's plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame," Hans Kluge told news agency AFP in an interview, adding that Omicron could infect 60 percent of Europeans by March.

 

Once the current surge of Omicron currently sweeping across Europe subsides, "there will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality."

 

"We anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back," Kluge said.

 

https://www.ndtv.com...ame-who-2725674

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 January 2022 - 02:48 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

Florida, a little more than 1/2 our Canadian population.  Down to 11 deaths average per day.    No restrictions, no masking.

 

Canada averaging 148 deaths per day.  Lots of restrictions, masking.    

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 January 2022 - 03:50 PM.

[todd]

Edited by todd, 23 January 2022 - 03:56 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

For many Canadians, the Omicron variant wasn't going to stop their holiday travel plans.

 

Despite the federal government's advisory against travelling outside of Canada amid surging COVID-19 cases taking effect midway through December, last month saw more international travel to and from Canada than any other period since the start of the pandemic.

 

Data collected by the Canada Border Services Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada shows that 742,400 Canadians flew back into the country through Canadian airports in December. That's a nearly eight-fold increase from December 2020, which only saw 93,800 Canadian travellers.

 

 

https://www.ctvnews....surge-1.5751498

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 January 2022 - 04:24 PM.

[qv]

screenshot-www.worldometers.info-2022.01.23-18_46_17.png
screenshot-www.worldometers.info-2022.01.23-18_46_00.png



Florida, a little more than 1/2 our Canadian population. Down to 11 deaths average per day. No restrictions, no masking.

Canada averaging 148 deaths per day. Lots of restrictions, masking.

Did they peak earlier?

[LJ]

In Hong Kong there are random testers going around to different apartment buildings testing the residents. If one resident in the building is tested positive, every resident is placed in a quarantine facility at their expense.

[Victoria Watcher]

In Hong Kong there are random testers going around to different apartment buildings testing the residents. If one resident in the building is tested positive, every resident is placed in a quarantine facility at their expense.

 

At least the trains run on time.

[Matt R.]

Florida, a little more than 1/2 our Canadian population. Down to 11 deaths average per day. No restrictions, no masking.

Canada averaging 148 deaths per day. Lots of restrictions, masking.

How does that number average out over the last 22 months?

Edited by Matt R., 23 January 2022 - 08:01 PM.

[lanforod]

Are you sure Bonnie is right about the unvaxed being the breeding ground for more variants? Because the history of leaky vaccines demonstrates the exact opposite.


For what it’s worth though, there’s no need to worry about new variants because viruses only mutate in one direction: to be more transmissible and less lethal. That’s how evolutionary fitness works, regardless of where you believe the evolutionary pressure comes from(vaxed or unvaxed).

 

I don't think that statement is true. Mutation is random. Just look at influenza; clearly it doesn't mutate weaker only.

[Ismo07]

How does that number average out over the last 22 months?

They have been doing funky reporting for the last few months…. Worse than the complaints about how BC does it…

[sebberry]

In Hong Kong there are random testers going around to different apartment buildings testing the residents. If one resident in the building is tested positive, every resident is placed in a quarantine facility at their expense.

 

Someone should tell the anti-5G COVID protestors on the legislature lawn what the loss of freedom really looks like.

[max.bravo]

I don't think that statement is true. Mutation is random. Just look at influenza; clearly it doesn't mutate weaker only.

You’re right. More precisely I should have said evolutionary fitness favors the right balance between transmissibility and lethality. A virus that kills its host before it has a chance to spread will not be successful. So we’re likely to see variants emerging within a fairly narrow spectrum of lethality, generally tending toward less lethal variants seeing more success.

[amor de cosmos]

Longitudinal survey data of more than 3,000 adolescents ages 11-14 recorded before and during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 found that supportive relationships with family and friends and healthy behaviors, like engaging in physical activity and better sleep, appeared to shield against the harmful effects of the pandemic on adolescents' mental health.
 
The research, published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other entities at the National Institutes of Health. The research is based on data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the United States.
 
Researchers also explored predictors of perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, and found that girls were more likely than boys to experience psychological distress during the pandemic. Psychosocial factors, including poorer quality and functioning of family relationships, more screen time, and witnessing discrimination in relation to the pandemic, also predicted youth distress.             
 
“Early adolescence is a time when youth are already experiencing rapid change physically, emotionally, and socially, and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption to this sensitive stage in life,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. “This study helps us understand how modifiable lifestyle factors affect the mental health and well-being of adolescents, and it can inform the development of interventions to protect youth during a major life stress. This is important now, as we continue to grapple with the pandemic, and also in future crisis response at the local or national level.”

https://www.eurekale...releases/940924
 

The COVID-19 research brief and literature review has explored the significant toll of the pandemic on children’s mental well-being, academic results and physical health, noting the impacts would likely be more severe if policy responses and action weren’t taken as the country emerged from the pandemic.
 
The review, led by the Centre for Community Child Health at MCRI and published in the Medical Journal of Australia, also explored the findings from previous pandemics, epidemics and natural disasters. The review found the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children were either repeated or extended from previous large-scale outbreaks of infectious disease and were exacerbated by a lack of health services to meet demand and family pressures. 
 
Murdoch Children’s Professor Sharon Goldfeld said children were facing a “generation-defining disruption” with public health restrictions to mitigate COVID-19 infection such as virtual learning, social distancing, increased screen time, reduced access to healthcare, no structured sport and less outside play, to have both immediate and longer term impacts. 
 
“The public health measures have resulted in positive benefits for some, while others have been adversely and inequitably impacted,” she said.
 
“Children and adolescents experiencing adversity before the pandemic have been disproportionately affected, potentially leading to a widening of disparities in child health, wellbeing, and developmental outcomes. But as with previous global crises and pandemics, this can provide an opportune moment for creative change to reduce social disadvantage.”

https://www.eurekale...releases/940986

Breakthrough COVID-19 infections spur strong antibody responses
People vaccinated three times or vaccinated after an earlier COVID-19 infection had comparable neutralizing antibody activity to those with a breakthrough case.
https://www.eurekale...releases/940931
 

The Beijing Olympic Committee and Chinese authorities are lowering the threshold for producing a negative COVID-19 test for any participant arriving at the Games, dropping the cycle threshold (Ct) value from 40 to 35.

A communication by Beijing 2022 was sent out Sunday explaining the change. The lower value makes it easier for participants to produce a negative test, especially if previously infected.

This comes 48 hours after the higher threshold value was questioned.

The higher the Ct value, the less infectious a person with COVID-19 is. Many places in Canada use a Ct value of 35.

The NBA and NHL use 30, while the NFL has set its threshold at 35.

"In order to adapt to the reality of the current environment and further support of Games participants, Beijing 2022 and the Chinese authorities, in consultation with medical experts and IOC, refined the countermeasures with the following changes effective 23 January 2022," it said in the communication.

Effective immediately for both airport testing and screening testing, participants whose PCR results have a Ct value greater than or equal to 35 will be managed in the same way as a close contact for seven days and will not generate any close contacts.

Anyone with a PCR result of less than 35 will be considered positive.

https://www.cbc.ca/s...an-23-1.6324718

Aussie Grocery Workers Are Sharing Horrific Stories Of Being Verbally Abused During The Pandemic And My Heart Goes Out To All Of Them
"I was yelled at and called a ****head, piece of **** and useless idiot by one lady, who also threw all her items on the ground in a tantrum."
https://www.buzzfeed...abused-pandemic
 

Beijing Municipality has swung into action, adopting swift and targeted measures to contain the spread of infections after a local resurgence in COVID-19 cases was reported recently.
 
On Sunday, Fengtai, a district of about 2 million people, conducted district-wide nucleic acid testing to mitigate the risk of community transmission after a cluster infection was detected.
 
Authorities in Fengtai set up over 1,000 sampling sites -- mostly in residential areas -- and dispatched over 13,000 medical and service support workers to ensure smooth and efficient testing. Besides, 10 other districts in the Chinese capital sent 4,600 medical personnel to Fengtai to help with the anti-epidemic work.
 
"Early in the morning, workers set up the sampling site in our residential compound and started knocking on doors to remind residents to undergo testing," said a woman surnamed Xu in Shouwei residential area on Sunday.

http://www.ecns.cn/n...fa9716687.shtml
 

A total of 72 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 have been reported related to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games between January 4 and 22, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) announced on Sunday.
 
Among those confirmed positive cases, 39 were detected in entry tests and 33 in closed-loop tests.
 
Beijing 2022 organizers have stressed that there is no widespread infection inside the closed loop and the epidemic is under control.
 
BOCOG revealed that there were 2,586 Games-related personnel entering China between January 4 and 22, among whom 171 are athletes and team officials and 2,415 are other stakeholders.
 
336,421 COVID-19 tests have been conducted within the closed loop in this span, with 175 by athletes and team officials and 336,246 by other stakeholders.
 
According to the Beijing 2022 Playbook, a closed-loop management is in place to ensure a safe and secure environment for Games-related personnel and work staff, who are completely separated from people outside the loop and local citizens.

http://www.ecns.cn/n...fa9716534.shtml

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Tests Positive for Coronavirus
https://sputniknews....1092485926.html
 

The US Department of Transportation has suspended 44 flights operated by Chinese airlines in a spat over coronavirus cases.
 
The flights were set to carry passengers from Los Angeles LAX and New York JFK to five airports in China.
 
The DOT issued the order Friday after China had itself suspended 44 flights operated by American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines.
 
The US' suspensions cover certain Air China flights from Los Angeles to Shenzhen, Air China flights from Los Angeles to Tianjin, China Eastern Airlines flights from New York JFK to Shanghai, China Southern Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, and Xiamen Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Xiamen. The flights were originally scheduled for between January 30 and March 29.
 
Carol A. Petsonk, deputy assistant secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the DOT, wrote in the order that it was issued in response to "recent actions by Chinese authorities impairing the operating rights of three US carriers."
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular press conference Monday that the US had "groundlessly" suspended the flights. "This act disrupts the normal operation of Chinese airlines and ignores the health and safety of Chinese and foreign travelers. It is arbitrary, unreasonable and extremely irresponsible," he said.
 
Chinese government regulations stipulate that if between five and nine passengers on a single inbound flight test positive for COVID-19 after arriving in China, airlines can choose between either suspending the flights for two weeks or restrict passenger capacity to 40% for a month. The restrictions start four weeks after the flight in question and the policy was introduced by Chinese authorities as part of the country's circuit-breaker lockdown.

https://www.business...airlines-2022-1
 
The city of Xian, China lifted its covid-19 lockdown on Monday after a month of imposing some of the toughest public health measures in the world, according to Chinese state media the Global Times. But the lockdown worked. Xian, which has a population of 13 million people, hasn’t had a new case of covid-19 since three cases were detected on Jan. 20.
https://gizmodo.com/...dail-1848408738

[AllseeingEye]

And now just because we're all tired of plain old Omicron, per Global News this morning, we now have *STEALTH Omicron* courtesy of the Nordic Countries. Who else pines away for the good ol' days of the Delta variant?

[Mike K.]

Turn your TV off, ASE. It does you no good.

[dasmo]

Someone should tell the anti-5G COVID protestors on the legislature lawn what the loss of freedom really looks like.

That is what they are trying to prevent. I am glad you are getting warmer.... 

[dasmo]

In order for your generous donations to flow smoothly, the good people at Go Fund Me will be sending donations directly to our bulk fuel supplier and are working out the details now which means your hard earned money is going to straight to who it was meant for and need not flow through anyone else.   Any left over donations will be donated to a credible Veterans organization which will be chosen by the donors.

https://www.gofundme...dom-convoy-2022

 

[dasmo]

We got ourselves a CONVOY! 

https://www.bitchute...o/DpROodBeUkTb/

[AllseeingEye]

Turn your TV off, ASE. It does you no good.

 

C'mon you have to have a sense of humor about the situation, we all knew this was coming regardless which news outlet broke the story. And there will be doubtless many more variants until covid finally becomes endemic. Besides I refuse to watch the CBC.....