"It looks like this new variant may be slightly more contagious than Omicron, but it does not appear to be more dangerous than Omicron. It does not seem to cause more serious disease," Bailey said.
Bailey said it's more important than ever to be wearing masks because Omicron, and now BA.2, are so easily transmitted from person to person.
"These new variants, because they are so contagious, we get such high viral loads," Bailey said. "It's much more helpful to use an N95 type mask than just a regular surgical type mask or cloth face covering."
Read more at:
Health experts warn of new COVID variant already making its way across the country | WCHS
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
India: COVID: India′s economy battles widespread unemployment, inflation
turned violent, as groups protesting mass unemployment blocked roads and railway lines.
Protester Navin Kumar Jha, 28, told DW he was among 10 million applicants for roughly 36,000 total jobs being offered.
"The authorities had to finally suspend the recruitment. We wanted to draw attention to joblessness that is worsening in the country," Jha said.
Read more at: COVID: India′s economy battles widespread unemployment, inflation | Asia | An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 31.01.2022
Protester Navin Kumar Jha, 28, told DW he was among 10 million applicants for roughly 36,000 total jobs being offered.
"The authorities had to finally suspend the recruitment. We wanted to draw attention to joblessness that is worsening in the country," Jha said.
Read more at: COVID: India′s economy battles widespread unemployment, inflation | Asia | An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 31.01.2022
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Canada: Omicron infections have peaked nationally, Canada's top doctor says - by John Paul Tasker
Canada's chief public health officer said Friday that cases of the Omicron variant have peaked nationwide and the number of new infections has dropped significantly over the past week.
Canada's molecular testing system has been hampered by constrained capacity and staffing issues that have made PCR tests unavailable to many. Dr. Theresa Tam pointed to other indicators — daily case counts, test positivity rates and wastewater surveillance trends — that she said suggest Canada is now through the worst of the Omicron wave.
But the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 is still at a record high, putting Canada's health care system under severe strain.
Read more at: Omicron infections have peaked nationally, Canada's top doctor says | CBC News
Canada's molecular testing system has been hampered by constrained capacity and staffing issues that have made PCR tests unavailable to many. Dr. Theresa Tam pointed to other indicators — daily case counts, test positivity rates and wastewater surveillance trends — that she said suggest Canada is now through the worst of the Omicron wave.
But the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 is still at a record high, putting Canada's health care system under severe strain.
Read more at: Omicron infections have peaked nationally, Canada's top doctor says | CBC News
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Covid variant or ‘scariant’? Experts warn a future ‘Deltacron’ is possible
Health experts have cast doubt on reports of a possible Covid-19 mutation combining elements of both the Delta and Omicron variants. While the evidence on “Deltacron” remains scarce, French virologists warn that the emergence of such hybrid strains is a distinct possibility.
Talk of a possible new hybrid variant with a name from a Hollywood disaster B-movie spread like wildfire on social media at the weekend, leaving behind the now customary trail of conspiracy theories and black humour. While some prominent scientists rushed to warn against the risk of peddling disinformation, others have argued that rampant variants make the threat of such mutant strains all too real.
The controversy kicked off on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, currently roiled by Europe’s highest Covid-19 rate of infection, where a local team of scientists claimed last week to have discovered the new variant. Led by Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, the scientists said the new strain presented Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes – hence the name “Deltacron”.
Read more at: Covid variant or ‘scariant’? Experts warn a future ‘Deltacron’ is possible
Talk of a possible new hybrid variant with a name from a Hollywood disaster B-movie spread like wildfire on social media at the weekend, leaving behind the now customary trail of conspiracy theories and black humour. While some prominent scientists rushed to warn against the risk of peddling disinformation, others have argued that rampant variants make the threat of such mutant strains all too real.
The controversy kicked off on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, currently roiled by Europe’s highest Covid-19 rate of infection, where a local team of scientists claimed last week to have discovered the new variant. Led by Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, the scientists said the new strain presented Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes – hence the name “Deltacron”.
Read more at: Covid variant or ‘scariant’? Experts warn a future ‘Deltacron’ is possible
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
The Netherlands: COVID-19 in Europe: Netherlands to allow bars, restaurants and cultural venues to reopen
The Dutch government has announced that bars, restaurants, museums, theatres and other venues are to be allowed to re-open under conditions, loosening some of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in Europe.
For more than a month, bars, restaurants, and cultural venues have been closed, while strict quarantine rules have shut a quarter of primary school classes in the Netherlands.
The announcement by Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday evening comes despite record new coronavirus infection levels, as hospitalisations from the country's Omicron wave have been lower than initially feared.
Read more at: COVID-19 in Europe: Netherlands to allow bars, restaurants and cultural venues to reopen | Euronews
For more than a month, bars, restaurants, and cultural venues have been closed, while strict quarantine rules have shut a quarter of primary school classes in the Netherlands.
The announcement by Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday evening comes despite record new coronavirus infection levels, as hospitalisations from the country's Omicron wave have been lower than initially feared.
Read more at: COVID-19 in Europe: Netherlands to allow bars, restaurants and cultural venues to reopen | Euronews
Monday, January 24, 2022
The Netherlands: Dutch cabinet to discuss COVID-19 rules as OMT advises further relaxations
The government’s decision to leave a number of lockdown measures in place at the last press conference was met with much controversy and various protests and demonstrations across the Netherlands. Now, however, less than two weeks later, the outlook appears to be more positive and Prime Minister Mark Rutte is optimistic about lifting various COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday.
The OMT is also feeling more hopeful, with the latest report from medical experts advising the Dutch government to reopen the hospitality and cultural industries, albeit with an enforced closing time of 8pm.
Sources in The Hague have suggested that Rutte and Health Minister Ernst Kuipers will opt to open restaurants, museums, theatres, and cinemas, with an enforced closing time of 10pm. With these venues reopening, the government will also reintroduce the use of coronavirus certificates.
Read more at: Dutch cabinet to discuss COVID-19 rules as OMT advises further relaxations
The OMT is also feeling more hopeful, with the latest report from medical experts advising the Dutch government to reopen the hospitality and cultural industries, albeit with an enforced closing time of 8pm.
Sources in The Hague have suggested that Rutte and Health Minister Ernst Kuipers will opt to open restaurants, museums, theatres, and cinemas, with an enforced closing time of 10pm. With these venues reopening, the government will also reintroduce the use of coronavirus certificates.
Read more at: Dutch cabinet to discuss COVID-19 rules as OMT advises further relaxations
Sunday, January 23, 2022
The Netherlands: Inside the surreal Dutch lockdown - by Senay Boztas
Sitting respectfully in our ‘pews’, we put our hands together… and clap. This is not a service but a comedy night. And Amsterdam’s newest ‘church’ is really a theatre for debate and cultural centre in disguise. Incensed by the illogical nature of the current Dutch coronavirus restrictions, Yoeri Albrecht, director of De Balie, last week changed the statutes of his organisation and registered it with the chamber of commerce as a faith-based movement: overnight, The Philosophical Society; the Community of Reason was born.
It is unlikely to be the last. His example, a group of Dutch mayors predicted wryly in an open letter to the government, is likely to mark the start of “an unprecedented religious revival in the coming weeks”.
The Netherlands has been in partial or full lockdown since November, primarily due to the pressure of patients with the Delta variant on the hospital system and one of Europe’s least efficient booster campaigns. But just over a week ago, the restrictions were loosened — albeit in a strikingly surreal fashion.
Read More at: Inside the surreal Dutch lockdown - UnHerd
It is unlikely to be the last. His example, a group of Dutch mayors predicted wryly in an open letter to the government, is likely to mark the start of “an unprecedented religious revival in the coming weeks”.
The Netherlands has been in partial or full lockdown since November, primarily due to the pressure of patients with the Delta variant on the hospital system and one of Europe’s least efficient booster campaigns. But just over a week ago, the restrictions were loosened — albeit in a strikingly surreal fashion.
Read More at: Inside the surreal Dutch lockdown - UnHerd
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