Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Sheilbh]

There's a difference between saying no and saying I'm not sure

[Tamas]

There's a difference between saying no and saying I'm not sure

Not in result there ain't.

[Sheilbh]

Not in result there ain't.

Sure there is. In the UK (and the US - except amont Republicans) vaccine hesitancy's been falling as the vaccine's getting rolled out. The not sures are changing their minds - because they're not anti-vax nutters.

[Zanza]

Germany now has exponential growth of B117, but will open up again as the other variants had fallen considerably and political fatigue does not allow a longer lockdown. Third wave, here we come!

[Josquius]

I'd agree age is likely a factor. I notice in the north student heavy newcastle is slightly less than the more student free surrounding places (Durham is shown as the whole county) and retiree filled Northumberland as very dark.

[Sheilbh]

Stats on Sundays and Mondays are always lower but this is the first time in six months that daily deaths have been below 100 - cases and hospitalisations are also lower than they've been since October. It just shows what a lethal stupid idea December was

[Maladict]

Germany now has exponential growth of B117, but will open up again as the other variants had fallen considerably and political fatigue does not allow a longer lockdown. Third wave, here we come!

Yep, same here. Just had a hard conversation with my parents, telling them I don't want them to come visit me on my birthday. They were planning to, even though only one visitor is allowed. But apparently, everyone in their social circles (70+) has started doing house visits again, because it's just taking too long. I wish they could just wait a couple of months until they get the vaccine.

[celedhring]

Yeah, my dad has started misbehavin' too. Seeing his friends and such, he's gonna get vaccinated soon which will probably make things worse (I'm trying to get him at least to stay at home until 10 days after the shot).

My mother has also revealed herself as vaccine-hesitant, but she's 64 without preconditions so it will still take some time before it gets to her (unless they reclassify AZ).

[celedhring]

Eric Feigl-Ding
@DrEricDing
BRAZIL COVID EMERGENCY—Entire Brazil is now "Manaus". 1700+ deaths in 24 hours, ICUs critical.

Brazil variant is ~2x-2.5x more transmissible, says
@obscovid19br

state capitals ICUs >80% full

Exponential #COVID19 growth unlike any other that we have seen"
@bollemdb

The whole thread reads like a horror movie, 25-60% reinfection chance 

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1367148840596475920

[Duque de Bragança]

I am sure Mijairzinho will come up with something, given his athletic record etc.

[Sheilbh]

The whole thread reads like a horror movie, 25-60% reinfection chance 

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1367148840596475920

I would slightly handle him with care. I've seen lots of other epidemiologists and experts attacking him quite a lot for jumping on the most sensationalist reports about everything and basically using the pandemic to build his platform rather than actually informing the public and use his expertise.

But the situation in Brazil looks really bad - and Mexico which has recently overtaken Peru as the worst hit country in Latin America. The good news is that the AZ vaccine works against this variant so hopefully that can help support Brazil in getting on top of this/recovering. I think there is an interesting piece to be done comparing AMLO and Bolsonaro in response to covid because I think there's quite a lot of cross-over despite their very different political goals (if slightly similar style).

[Legbiter]

Got a bit of a scare here right now. Healthcare worker returns from abroad, shows a negative PCR test at the border, tests negative again on the border, and then again when retested 5 days later after quarantine, shows up for work and in the evening goes to a piano concert with 800 other people. The day after he's struck down with symptoms, gets tested, turns out positive for the Brit zombie mutant variant.

He managed to infect 2 neighbors in his apartment complex via droplet or surface contamination en route to his apartment where he dutifully stayed in quarantine, so it's not like he purposefully violated it to nip out for cigs or something. An entire hospital shift, all his neighbors and their families and all 800 concert goers are now either in quarantine and/or being tested.

[DGuller]

Here's your creepy Covid article of the day: https://theconversation.com/a-year-into-the-pandemic-the-coronavirus-is-messing-with-our-minds-as-well-as-our-bodies-155213.  Some people are theorizing that Covid-19 has an anti-depressant effect when people are asymptomatic and contagious, helping the spread of the virus.  Now you can't even feel good, physically or emotionally, without becoming paranoid.

[Caliga]

Here's your creepy Covid article of the day: https://theconversation.com/a-year-into-the-pandemic-the-coronavirus-is-messing-with-our-minds-as-well-as-our-bodies-155213.  Some people are theorizing that Covid-19 has an anti-depressant effect when people are asymptomatic and contagious, helping the spread of the virus.  Now you can't even feel good, physically or emotionally, without becoming paranoid.

Awesome!  It's like that fungus that infects ants and messes their brains up.

[The Brain]

Color me skeptical. They said that the alien tracking device they installed while probing would cause feelings of intellectual superiority.