Covid 19 C&P

The danger of asymptomatic cases of COVOD-19. Studies in the UK show the virus may be asymptomatic in 20 % of people tested. This means without testing the whole community, you will never find the extent of infection. This puts Australia's system of contact tracing and testing of individuals under scrutiny. Should we be testing the entire population of centres of infection, instead of close contacts. Perhaps we are doing it wrong, and will never be free of the virus . I guess that is the argument between suppression and eradication. An interesting article about Asymptomatic cases;

The COVID wild card: Researchers battle to solve the riddle of asymptomatic cases | The New Daily

I think sewage testing could pinpoint areas for mass testing.
I also think you are right that we will never be free of Covid 19, it will stay around forever. Vaccines will just suppress it, if at least 80% of punters actually get vaccinated.
Otherwise, we're screwed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I think sewage testing could pinpoint areas for mass testing.
I also think you are right that we will never be free of Covid 19, it will stay around forever. Vaccines will just suppress it, if at least 80% of punters actually get vaccinated.
Otherwise, we're screwed.

---

Well, I wish I were smart enough to make educated statements about COVID, I have to settle for informed statements. Finding the best information isn't easy, and often that information changes from morning to night. But it has become obvious to me, a vaccine is our only long term hope. And discipline. Get slack with that, we are screwed. To me, it seems our Federal government is driven by big business, and profit. I can not believe our leaders would put pressure on states to open up , knowing the consequences of such action if it all went pear shaped, if not put under such pressure themselves from their major donors. Qantas is a prime example. Thousands of Australians overseas stuck, and Qantas would not bring them back using cheap fares. Then cry foul if the borders aren't opened , stating they had thousands of seats available for internal flights for tourism. I can't help thinking the founders of Qantas would be appalled at such heartless business acumen. Especially when JobKeeper has allowed big business to game the system. It's time we shifted away from the American political model, and back to the Australian one. [ I feel better now]

I've had some interesting conversations with my brother in law the vet who specializes in treating exotic diseases like Hendra in livestock and thinks humans are complacent.
He thinks of Coronaviruses as normal, says there are millions of them and they will never be eradicated, and all that has happened is one of them has jumped to humans.
He points out this has happened three times in 20 years (SARS, MERS and SARS2) and expects it to keep happening.
So we're going to be chasing our tails. Not a happy thought. Reality bites.

Dr Deborah Birx, privately warns White House officials of a new deadly phase of the virus in the USA.

Covid-19: Birx Delivers Stark Warning to White House on Eve of Election Day - The New York Times

How the coronavirus hacks the immune system.

How the Coronavirus Hacks the Immune System | The New Yorker

WHO probes coronavirus mutation in minks as millions of animals culled

COVID Nasal Spray vaccine begins human testing in Perth, W.A..

Nasal spray vaccines under way: How to beat COVID-19 by a nose

Italy struggles, " COVID -19 is not tired ".

A man who had been waiting to get tested for the coronavirus has been found dead in the bathroom of a busy hospital emergency room in Italy as the virus runs ‘out of control’.



Video of corpse in hospital toilet shocks Italy as virus runs 'out of control'

The pandemic's winter surge has hit the USA.
The mortality rate for the virus has fallen substantially since the start of the pandemic, probably because of improvements in care and a shift in viral demographics: many of the newly infected are young. But a lower death rate combined with a vast rise in infections will still create profound suffering. One model predicts that, by the end of the year, two thousand Americans could be dying from covid-19 each day. The American death toll could reach four hundred thousand by January. Speaking about the coming winter with the Washington Post, Anthony Fauci concluded that the U.S. is “in for a whole lot of hurt.” The challenge now, for citizens and leaders, is to shift from anticipating the winter surge to recognizing that it is already here.




The Pandemic’s Winter Surge Is Here | The New Yorker