COVID-19 (Coronavirus) discussion

dlockers · 24 Mar 2022 at 17:39

Rroff said:
Sadly seems to be the minority of people who seem able to employ rational, proportional measures - it is bizarre. Most people seem polarised between complete disregard for any measures - until they get a personal experience with it when they often flip to the other extreme or way over the top.

I think I fall into this camp. You fear the unknown, then it happens and you're over it. Unfortunately without total lockdown it is completely unavoidable. I feel for those who are vulnerable.

neoboy · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:02

The irony of me catching it now for the first time when most measures are coming to an end

arknor · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:07

My dental appointment got cancelled the other day apparently they caught covid...

When I go to my appointment in a few days I'm tempted to ask her how covid was.... bet she will be like what are you talking about?

they probably just wanted to boot my appointment to fit someone paying private costs in

Rroff · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:09

dLockers said:
I think I fall into this camp. You fear the unknown, then it happens and you're over it. Unfortunately without total lockdown it is completely unavoidable. I feel for those who are vulnerable.

Somehow my household seems to have escaped it... so far... we've taken measures throughout but not gone overboard in trying to avoid it either. My grandad managed to get it a few days back despite practically existing in isolation since my gran died last summer, the carers are very careful as well.

CapitalOne · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:25

New work procedure - if you are going on holiday work from home for 2 weeks before departure. Very sensible as being positive could smash your trip abroad. Was always this way really in the last two years but now formalised.

To add, you can now work remotely for 2 weeks a year “away from home” i.e. overseas.

neoboy · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:46

I'm actually pretty lucky that my new job can be done remotely, just picked up my laptop and working from home until I'm clear.

do_ron_ron · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:48

England, Wales are just at the start of the fourth wave. Expect it to get much worse. Scotland and NI are both around the peak of the BA.2 variant.

tom_e · 24 Mar 2022 at 18:55

In two weeks time? Been a while since anyone's mentioned a time frame like that...

inogen · 24 Mar 2022 at 19:12

Hmmm. Things are starting to look a little dicey again.

Surveyor · 24 Mar 2022 at 19:49

The Running Man said:
Does anyone fully understand the covid rules for entry to Germany?

Do I need to be double vaxxed or will a certificate or recovery do - for tourism?

You don't seem to have a recovery certificate, did you get vaccinated?

The Running Man said:
Wait what? I wish I was in it and had covid because that recovery certificate is like pure gold for worldwide travel

Duke · 24 Mar 2022 at 20:24

Tephnos said:
That and people are still peddling the 'Omicron is milder strain' which is blatantly false. It's still as deadly as the original strain, if not Alpha. This is solely vaccine induced immunity (or prior exposure) doing its job that is making it look mild, relative to Delta.

Where on earth did you get that from?

The Running Man · 24 Mar 2022 at 20:24

Surveyor said:
You don't seem to have a recovery certificate, did you get vaccinated?

I have one but it was from an antigen test not a PCR so the validity on the continent varies country by country.

And Germany seems pretty strict on what it classes as vaccinated/recovered etc.

Surveyor · 24 Mar 2022 at 20:51

The Running Man said:
I have one but it was from an antigen test not a PCR so the validity on the continent varies country by country.

And Germany seems pretty strict on what it classes as vaccinated/recovered etc.

https://bit.ly/3D7eExI

What constitutes proof of recovery

This proof must comply with the following criteria published in section 2 number 8 of the Ordinance on Coronavirus Entry Regulations:

direct pathogen detection of the prior infection,

The test to prove the prior infection was performed no less than 28 days and no more than 90 days earlier.

8. proof of recoveryʼ

means proof of immunity acquired through previous infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus issued in written or digital form in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish if the proof complies with the
requirements published on the internet by the Robert Koch Institute at www.rki.de/covid-19- genesenennachweis taking into account state-of-the-art medical standards with regard to the following
criteria:

a) the type of testing that may be used to prove prior infection,
b) the amount of time that must have elapsed after the test performed to prove prior infection or the test
result needed to lift the isolation required due to the prior infection,
c) the maximum amount of time that may have passed sincethe test performed to prove the prior infection.

Simon0001 · 24 Mar 2022 at 21:58

When's the next lockdown? Fed up of queuing for so long while doing my shopping.

Rroff · 24 Mar 2022 at 22:02

Simon0001 said:
When's the next lockdown? Fed up of queuing for so long while doing my shopping.

Gotta be honest I'm missing the days when I could drive to work and see maybe 1 car every 6 miles, now it is more often 6 cars all trying to get into the space of 1

Tephnos · 24 Mar 2022 at 22:11

Rroff said:
Vaccines are helping but also the shift with Omicron variants from reproducing faster in the back of the throat/nose makes it a lot easier to treat and/or less serious for those less vulnerable as you don't get the same extent of inflammation in the lungs. Where deaths are mounting up again is mostly due to hospitals being overstretched with Germany for instance over 200K new cases a day and struggling because so many health care staff are out of action with it so deaths are starting to mount again. (If anyone thinks this is over places like Germany and South Korea maybe suggest otherwise).

I've explained before that Delta showed this same reproduction of in the throat/nose compared to earlier strains (Omicron just does it more vs Delta), and yet it was still more severe, quite a bit so. What you're describing is a petri dish study done a couple of months ago that is an interesting data point, but nothing more. Unless you can explain why Delta showed this same trend but was more deadly regardless?

There has been no evidence (that I am aware of) that Omicron is any milder whatsoever in the immune-naive compared to the wild type strain. In the grand scheme of things in this country, it doesn't matter that much because virtually everyone has some form of immunity by this point, so it is just me being pedantic. I just don't like it because it keeps people clinging to the myth that viruses inherently evolve to become milder. They do not.

Tephnos · 24 Mar 2022 at 22:15

Duke said:
Where on earth did you get that from?

Sadly, the media was pushing it a lot during the big Omicron wave in Dec/Jan and the average person has taken it as face value, and genuinely believes Omicron is inherently a milder strain. It is when compared to Delta, it isn't when compared to the same virus of early 2020.

Rroff · 24 Mar 2022 at 22:20

Tephnos said:
I've explained before that Delta showed this same reproduction of in the throat/nose compared to earlier strains (Omicron just does it more vs Delta), and yet it was still more severe, quite a bit so. What you're describing is a petri dish study done a couple of months ago that is an interesting data point, but nothing more. Unless you can explain why Delta showed this same trend but was more deadly regardless?

There has been no evidence (that I am aware of) that Omicron is any milder whatsoever in the immune-naive compared to the wild type strain. In the grand scheme of things in this country it doesn't matter that much because virtually everyone has some form of immunity by this point, so it is just me being pedantic.

The shift is what is critical - the balance of reproduction throat vs lungs at the point the immune system kicks in makes a big difference as there is far less inflammation on the lungs which is one of the aspects which was killing a lot of people - it is noticeable how much more frequent a sore throat is with Omicron variants as well vs older variants.

Simon0001 · 24 Mar 2022 at 22:23

Rroff said:
Gotta be honest I'm missing the days when I could drive to work and see maybe 1 car every 6 miles, now it is more often 6 cars all trying to get into the space of 1

I know and lowering duty is just going to keep more poor people on the road so it's just going to get worse

Freefaller · 24 Mar 2022 at 23:03

Things change I've changed said:
There is a middle ground, you can be aware of Covid without living in full personal lockdown for the rest of your life!, people just need to use their common sense, If I have a bad cold/flu I don't go into work because I'd rather not inflict my illness upon others.

But that middle ground approach doesn't work if you don't know you're ill which a lot of people seem to have as well.

Some people get a mild headache which they got before covid, and a sniffle could be hayfever (over summer for example) etc...

But since taking away free testing it's going to be harder for people to self diagnose (regardless of how accurate those tests were it still gave you a moral carte blanche).

Unfortunately with the pressures of oil and gas prices and cost of living prices etc more people feel less inclined to call in sick. Furthermore, I think people have had a flavour now of life back to normal and realised that it's far more fun and willing to take the chance.

Did I read somewhere that nearly 1/3 of the UK has had it at least once (if reported)? Many of people probably never reported it or knew that had some of the strains either? The chances of not being in contact is decreasing day by day now, especially if you travel a lot or do a lot of activities.

One thing I noticed in town today, people are definitely being less apprehensive about hugging etc....