Corona Virus - Indian Variation

[Saga Lout]

Bear in mind that you do have to be a UK citizen to get in at all at the moment.

Not exactly true. Mrs Lout flew into Heathrow from Hong Kong on Friday. She's not a UK citizen, she has indefinite leave to remain.

[Yorick]

Pen's flying to UK today. She was online an hour last night doing all the paperwork. It's gonna cost over €300 for all the tests.
Flights were less than half that

[Supermofo]

Yup glad we cancelled our foreign holiday this year. SIL was looking into coming back to UK at some point but is looking at well over 500 quid in tests.

[Noggin]

I really want to go to the UK in September for my sister's 50th. Just hoping that things will be easier/cheaper by then - hopefully!!!

[Cousin Jack]

Expats and business travellers are the type of people that will find a route if they need one, they'll take transits and convoluted journeys if it means they can still get to their destination. The average UK holiday maker probably won't.

The Australian model worked well.

Book your quarantine hotel first, and IF you test clear before take-off we will let you in, at least as far as the hotel. Essential business travel sir, fuck right off.

Actually they didn't need to tell people to fuck-off, they told the airlines, and airlines don't like being told they have to carry someone away again, so they do the checking before they let you board.

[Cousin Jack]

The Australian model worked well.

Book your quarantine hotel first, and IF you test clear before take-off we will let you in, at least as far as the hotel. Essential business travel sir, fuck right off.

Actually they didn't need to tell people to fuck-off, they told the airlines, and airlines don't like being told they have to carry someone away again, so they do the checking before they let you board.

I thought all airlines did that? You can't board unless you have a negative test from <24hrs before you are due to take off. It's been like that here for about a year.

Yes, but while Australia was in lockdown you also had to show evidence that you had booked your quarantine hotel. Hotels were very limited, and expensive. That may have relaxed a bit now.

[Saga Lout]

...My criticism is the traffic light system in the UK which doesn't stop anything, it just makes it less convenient to get there if you want to.
[/quote]
Not only that, but the government doesn't tell you all the hoops you have to jump through. Mrs Lout was turned away from check in because I had ordered the two COVID tests and she didn't have the receipt email for them. On the government website it says to order the tests and put the reference on the passenger locator form, no mention of needing the receipt as well. If they'd told us it was needed I could have forwarded the email to her. That little bit of red tape cost her about an extra 6,000 Renminbi, about £650.

[Horse]

Best story I heard was one of the blokes in a quarantine hotel gets taken outside for a fag by a security guard. The fella has just lit his fag and the security guard who doesn't appear to speak brilliant English asks if he's got a spare fag. He's only just lit it up and without thinking he passes that one to the security fella and lights another one for himself. A few pulls later he then realises what he's done and stands there amused whilst the security bloke happily smokes the cigarette that he'd lit.

That's tame compared to what was alleged to have happened in the Oz places, 'cigarette afterwards', etc.

[Phoenix]

“The dramatic rise in UK cases of a variant first discovered in India could undermine the country’s roadmap for reopening, scientists are cautioning.

The variant, called B.1.617.2, is one of three closely related variants that were initially detected in India. Public Health England designated it a “variant of concern” on Friday, acknowledging it appears to be at least as transmissible as the dominant so-called Kent variant in the UK. It is unclear if and to what extent B.1.617.2 can reduce vaccine effectiveness.

Prof Christina Pagel, director of the clinical operational research unit at University College London and a member of the Independent Sage group of experts, speaking in a personal capacity said the rise in B.1.617.2 cases was concerning enough to delay the next stage of the roadmap scheduled for Monday, when a range of restrictions are to be lifted.”

and more...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... ay-experts

So far, the fat lady has yet to make her appearance.

[irie]

So ...

... B.1.617.2 ... appears to be at least as transmissible as the dominant so-called Kent variant in the UK ...

Much ado about what may be something or may be nothing.

[Hoonercat]

So ...

... B.1.617.2 ... appears to be at least as transmissible as the dominant so-called Kent variant in the UK ...

Much ado about what may be something or may be nothing.

That's the attitude, it worked so well last year.
Nothing?

The highly infectious nature of the Indian variant, B1617.2, means it is now the dominant strain in five out of the six UK areas with the biggest increase in cases over the last week.

The following area are those with the biggest rises per 100,000 - with the respective figures shown after each.

Erewash - 28.6 to 205.4
Bolton - 83.5 to 162.4
Blackburn with Darwen - 53.4 to 99.5
Bedford - 38.7 to 71.6
Sefton- 25.7 to 52.1
South Northamptonshire - 23.3, to 46.6

[Yorick]

The following area are those with the biggest rises per 100,000 - with the respective figures shown after each.

Erewash - 28.6 to 205.4
...

Oh fecking joy
And to make it even better I did an antibody test today which came back negative despite having had my first shot of AZ in March. Bugger.

Bugger

[irie]

Judging by the various media news reports about the Indian Covid variant B.1.617.2 there appear to be at least 3 local factors driving increasing infection levels in the NW:

1. Relatively low vaccination levels.
2. Many not wearing masks.
3. Visiting and mixing households.

In other words, a nice Covid friendly environment for the Indian variant to thrive.

[MingtheMerciless]

And don’t forget it’s bouncing round in households that have a mix of vaccinated older people and non vaccinated youngsters, a perfect melting pot for selecting a lovely vaccine resistant mutation, maybe a “Captain Tripps” variant this time.

Utterly fucktangular management by politicians, nature loves nothing better than smacking a “stupid” species with the extinction stick……….

Sorry I’ve had too much wine and I’m getting maudlin.

[Cousin Jack]

Utterly fucktangular management by politicians, nature loves nothing better than smacking a “stupid” species with the extinction stick……….

Extinction? FFS, we haven't even been decimated yet!

A decrease in the number of homo sapiens may actually be good for all species, including home sapiens.

[irie]

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, revealed on Sunday that in Bolton, a hotspot for the Indian variant, the "vast majority" of the people hospitalised had been eligible for the vaccine but not taken it up.

So no need for a national lockdown, only need to lockdown vaccine denier areas.

Low vaccination rates, low mask wearing, mixing in households: these deniers thought they knew better and now it's kicking them in the arse ...

[Supermofo]

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, revealed on Sunday that in Bolton, a hotspot for the Indian variant, the "vast majority" of the people hospitalised had been eligible for the vaccine but not taken it up.

So no need for a national lockdown, only need to lockdown vaccine denier areas.

Low vaccination rates, low mask wearing, mixing in households: these deniers thought they knew better and now it's kicking them in the arse ...

It does piss me off. I didn't see family/friends for near on 5 months whilst some people were flying to India, not quarantining, not wearing masks, mixing etc. And now we could go backwards Now the cats out the bag and restrictions relaxing we've gone from a decent place to potentially back to square one.

Kick in the balls to the government too as they should have stopped travel way earlier.

[irie]

Kick in the balls to the government too as they should have stopped travel way earlier.

Earlier travel bans would not have prevented the spread of the 'Indian' variant, they would have merely delayed the inevitable.

If the government had brought in immediate travel bans there would have been screams of racism, splitting families asunder, and so on.

The government was damned if it did and damned it it didn't. The local communities are reprehensible.

[Supermofo]

Earlier travel bans would not have prevented the spread of the 'Indian' variant, they would have merely delayed the inevitable.

Absolutely we'd have got it, but no way as fast or in the number we already have. We've managed to keep a lid on the SA and Brazilian variants, we've opened the door to the Indian one.

[Horse]

Earlier travel bans would not have prevented the spread of the 'Indian' variant, they would have merely delayed the inevitable.

Apart from having more people vaccinated in the intervening time.

The local communities are reprehensible.

But that & irresponsible.