Britain says new virus strain 'out of control'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a ‘stay at home’ order for London and southeast England to slow a new coronavirus strain that is significantly more infectious. - AFP pic
LONDON: British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was "out of control".
Hancock warned that the strict measures that affect almost a third of England's population could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out.
"We acted very quickly and decisively," Hancock told Sky News, justifying the "stay at home" order, ban on family gatherings over Christmas and closure of non-essential shops.
"Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that millions must cancel Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly.
Around 16.4 million people entered the strictest "tier four" measures from Sunday, or 31 percent of England's population.
They are not allowed to hold family gatherings for Christmas, while in the rest of the country households are allowed to mix on Christmas Day alone.
London's Metropolitan Police said that it would take action against those who "make reckless decisions that risk lives."
Other UK regions have also tightened their anti-virus measures in response.
Wales introduced a strict lockdown from Sunday, while Scotland has banned travel to and from other UK regions for Christmas. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland will enter fresh lockdowns on December 26.
Hancock told Sky News that the situation was "deadly serious."
"It's going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out," he said, adding: "This is what we face over the next couple of months."
The UK hopes to reach a figure of half a million vaccinations over the weekend, the health minister said.
Scientists first discovered the new variant in a patient in September, Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told Sky News.
She said that scientists in November found the new strain was behind a cluster of cases in Kent and spreading into London and Essex and informed the government on December 11.
Public Health England then again notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain, she said.
She confirmed the figure given by Johnson that the new virus strain could be 70 percent more transmissible while saying this was an initial figure.
"I think 70 percent looks like a good number to land on at the moment," she said.
The virus has been found in all regions of England but in small numbers, Hopkins said.
Hancock said cases have also been identified in Australia and Europe.
Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, said Saturday that the new strain "contains 23 different changes," including to the way the virus binds to human cells and enters cells.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News that London now has the same number of inpatients with the virus as during the peak of the first wave in April. Cases have also grown rapidly among those aged 10 to 19, he said.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Observer weekly that "if this new variant is behind the increase in this age group, then that is a big worry."
The grave situation prompted widespread criticism of the prime minister for promising last week not to "cancel Christmas."
"Not much was understood about this mutant virus. But that uncertainty should have been enough for the PM to see that then was the time to call off Christmas," wrote The Sunday Mirror weekly.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer said in a video statement: "We have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late."
Some Londoners backed the lockdown measures.
"See I think it's the right move at the moment," said Marcel Hadula.
"We don't want to overwhelm the NHS, because if we do that, then how can we effectively treat everybody that will come into contact with this new strain of the Covid virus?"
But Chiara Morreale said her relatives were likely to break the lockdown rules over Christmas.
"On Christmas (Day) there's a good chance, my auntie and uncle will come around," she said. -- AFP
Hancock warned that the strict measures that affect almost a third of England's population could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out.
"We acted very quickly and decisively," Hancock told Sky News, justifying the "stay at home" order, ban on family gatherings over Christmas and closure of non-essential shops.
"Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that millions must cancel Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly.
Around 16.4 million people entered the strictest "tier four" measures from Sunday, or 31 percent of England's population.
They are not allowed to hold family gatherings for Christmas, while in the rest of the country households are allowed to mix on Christmas Day alone.
London's Metropolitan Police said that it would take action against those who "make reckless decisions that risk lives."
Other UK regions have also tightened their anti-virus measures in response.
Wales introduced a strict lockdown from Sunday, while Scotland has banned travel to and from other UK regions for Christmas. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland will enter fresh lockdowns on December 26.
Hancock told Sky News that the situation was "deadly serious."
"It's going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out," he said, adding: "This is what we face over the next couple of months."
The UK hopes to reach a figure of half a million vaccinations over the weekend, the health minister said.
Scientists first discovered the new variant in a patient in September, Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told Sky News.
She said that scientists in November found the new strain was behind a cluster of cases in Kent and spreading into London and Essex and informed the government on December 11.
Public Health England then again notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain, she said.
She confirmed the figure given by Johnson that the new virus strain could be 70 percent more transmissible while saying this was an initial figure.
"I think 70 percent looks like a good number to land on at the moment," she said.
The virus has been found in all regions of England but in small numbers, Hopkins said.
Hancock said cases have also been identified in Australia and Europe.
Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, said Saturday that the new strain "contains 23 different changes," including to the way the virus binds to human cells and enters cells.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News that London now has the same number of inpatients with the virus as during the peak of the first wave in April. Cases have also grown rapidly among those aged 10 to 19, he said.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Observer weekly that "if this new variant is behind the increase in this age group, then that is a big worry."
The grave situation prompted widespread criticism of the prime minister for promising last week not to "cancel Christmas."
"Not much was understood about this mutant virus. But that uncertainty should have been enough for the PM to see that then was the time to call off Christmas," wrote The Sunday Mirror weekly.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer said in a video statement: "We have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late."
Some Londoners backed the lockdown measures.
"See I think it's the right move at the moment," said Marcel Hadula.
"We don't want to overwhelm the NHS, because if we do that, then how can we effectively treat everybody that will come into contact with this new strain of the Covid virus?"
But Chiara Morreale said her relatives were likely to break the lockdown rules over Christmas.
"On Christmas (Day) there's a good chance, my auntie and uncle will come around," she said. -- AFP
5,000 yo Bullyland has genetic and dietary superiority, that is why virus is well under control there, even Covid-19 kena bullied, ha ha ha....but others say BullyDNA and diet makes no difference. Same same as 500 yo Bully's genes and diet of bull(y)meat and potatoes, but how to explain they now have Nambar 1 cases.
ReplyDeleteSimple!
DeleteBcoz of blurred mfer like u who keep upstaging their spurious superiorities in every which ways!
It is clear by now that the Covid-19 virus frequently mutates as it spreads - wherever it is spreading.
ReplyDeleteI remember there was some Bullshit being propagated some months ago that used the existence of different strains of Covid-19 in USA and Europe to "prove" that the virus did not originate from China.
On moneyed mfer, reads carefully lah. If u DON'T know, stay the f*ck down that fart filled well.
DeleteOoop… different strains vis-a-via timelines
But can u understand such intricacies of DNA tracings?
Keep to counting yr soiled moneies lah.
So-caller Timelines on Covid-19 before mid-January 2020 are either useless or dishonest.
DeleteThis is because,
1) No Covid-19 infection test was available at the time.
2) Near 100% of doctors would have thought it was just a case of flu.
3) CCP was covering up the infection.
In all likelihood, the virus was already spreading in Hubei province in China, and infected people had already spread the virus to the US and Europe in December 2019 or even November 2019.
Wakakakakaka…
DeleteKnow-nothing cloaking about virology, epidemiology & genetic coding studies!
1) based on the progression of virus mutations & numerous of child strains, a plausible timeline of the covid-19 can be traced & established.
Liken to tracing the origin of yr katak ancestry!
Nothing to do with when a covid test (or where u was born) is been developed (found)!
2) ignorance doesn't justify hidden threats.
Again nothing to do with when the covid virus appeared.
Liken to been caught running a red traffic light then claimed didn't see the traffic light!
3) don't u think that regurgitated lie has passed it's shelf life?
In all likihood, u r still dreamingly cloaking yr farts within that fart filled well!
New Report : Four months BEFORE Covid19 was officially identified in China in Dec 2019, scientists said that IN THE UNITED STATES, the true number of coronavirus cases might have reached 53 millions BY SEPTEMBER 2019. 53 Millions !!
ReplyDeleteRead this :
There were COVID-19 infections in the U.S. as early as mid-December 2019, weeks before it was first identified in China and a month earlier than the first case was reported in the U.S. on January 19, according to a new study by the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The findings add to growing evidence that the novel coronavirus emerged and was circulating outside of China earlier than previously known.
In the study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on Monday, CDC researchers tested blood samples from 7,389 routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from December 13, 2019 to January 17, for antibodies specific to the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2.
A person's immune system develops antibodies when exposed to a pathogen like a virus to fight it off. Their presence suggests exposure to a virus.
The blood tests found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 106 of 7,389 blood donors, which suggests they had been exposed to the virus.
"SARS-CoV-2 infections may have been present in the U.S. in December 2019, earlier than previously recognized,” the authors wrote.
Virus In U.S. Not Only Earlier, But Also More Widespread
Not only do researchers believe the coronavirus emerged earlier in the U.S. than previously known, but they found evidence that it was far more widespread in the country than reported.
The true number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. might have reached 53 million by the end of September, which is eight times more than previously reported, according to a new estimate by the U.S. CDC published on November 25.
The CDC said it's because of the incomplete reporting of cases, the neglect of asymptomatic or mildly ill individuals who never got tested, as well as those who got false-negative test results.
That means people may carry and spread the coronavirus while showing only minor symptoms or even no symptoms at all, they warned.
Read more: CDC says COVID-19 cases in U.S. may be 8 times higher than reported.
Bigoted Monstrosity commented :
ReplyDelete"So-caller Timelines on Covid-19 before mid-January 2020 are either useless or dishonest.
This is because,
1) No Covid-19 infection test was available at the time.
2) Near 100% of doctors would have thought it was just a case of flu.
3) CCP was covering up the infection."
What could be more lame than that !! The dishonest one is no one else but your bigoted self !
[1) No Covid-19 infection test was available at the time.]
Dumb&Dumber.... A person's immune system develops antibodies when exposed to a pathogen like a virus to fight it off. Their presence suggests exposure to a virus. You don't need testing kits to do this sort of investigation. You are just a sniveling BANANA sucking up to the WhiteCock no matter what, even if it doesn't make sense at all.
[2) Near 100% of doctors would have thought it was just a case of flu.]
So ? Go read the report above. Dumb&Dumber
[3) CCP was covering up the infection]
Just because you are stuck deep in the armpits of the Western echo chamber, and merely parroting endlessly the Western campaign of smearing China just won't cut it. It is becoming clearer that the US is the one covering up the infection. Suspicions were swirling around the US clampdown after the hasty quiet closure of the biolab in Fort Detrick....their CDC director Robert Redfield had admitted that bodies exhumed with autopsies done had revealed the presence of coronavirus as early as August 2019 around Maryland in the vicinity of Ft Detrick. The US should remove such black out on this news reporting and also remove the high security clearance needed to investigate this cover up.
[ In all likelihood, the virus was already spreading in Hubei province in China, and infected people had already spread the virus to the US and Europe in December 2019 or even November 2019.]
Who cares what "likelihood" you harbour when you cannot even be logical or support your assertions with actual, substantiated facts or credible peer-reviewed studies...NOT those "facts which are known throughout the world", hehe
You three cinakoois in the BlindMiceClub will forever be swirling in the echo chamber of the Western Fake News Media and no amount of facts and truths will dissuade such bigoted minds.
A commentary found in social media :
ReplyDelete"New Coronavirus actually started from America.
Genetic study by Cambridge scientist Dr Forster found that the strain prevalent in China is the daughter strain whose parent strain is found in the USA. What is most AMAZING is that the paper mentioned an American infected by the parent strain has Wuhan travel history. This is equivalent to the US being caught red handed in bringing this virus to China. ( Some reports also mentioned the 5 US soldiers who went to Wuhan for the Military Games)
Prior to the whole incident of the virus being identified in Wuhan, a Professor Baric from UNC developed a method of artificially creating a new variant of the corona virus now known as Covid19 in a bioweapon laboratory. His experiments were repeated by many labs in USA. The US army lab Ft. Detrick created this Covid19 virus by using Prof. Baric’s method. Unfortunately it was leaked from the lab. Soon the retirement community in Springfield not far from Ft Detrick was plagued by unknown pneumonia in June 2019. This incident prompted the CDC to shut down Ft Detrick. Fast forward to November, the CIA realized the Covid plague was out of hand and had briefed the US government and all American allies. All these happened before the first Covid19 virus appeared in Wuhan."
Mmm....we need to check this out, who is this Prof Baric, although it was confirmed that the army bioweapon lab in Ft Detrick was shut down and that the US intelligence did send warning advisory to all the allies of the US, including Israel. It was Israel who first reported that they received this warning advisory of a new virus danger at a much earlier time than the first case of Covid19 appeared in China. Could this be the reason why Trump pulled out of WHO and refused to be included among the countries to be investigated for the search for the origin of Covid19 ?
"Not RPK" @"JJ" @ God knows What other nick Internet Scammer strikes again.
DeleteJust like in real life, people with multiple changeable Identities are almost always up to nefarious activities.
What JJ the Troll has written has Zero credibility.
DeleteOnly CCP Fart that smells good to their Myrmidons.
& causing a revolt within the katak pact!
DeleteNot a single word, not a single sentence or any cogent attempt to rebut the postings...hehe...raging away resorting to ad hominem and empty flailing over and over again...that's the Bigoted Monstrosity ad nauseam...bosan la
Delete