170 workers at a factory in Cornwall test positive for Covid. Most totally unaware and had no symptoms.

[Treesofwood]

What is going on? Do these tests even work? How can that any people have a deadly disease that kills 1% of people it infects and not even know?

This whole situation baffles me. Do you have a link?

Does this virus even spread or behave in the way other viruses do? Why does it behave differently in different areas of the country under the same rules?

www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-cornwall-54361824?__twitter_impression=true

Again a meat processing plant?
Like the one in Bavaria which also had 170 positive tests in the workforce.

I'm glad they are pretty much well.
The illness can take time to progress, some of them may get fairly sick yet, but hopefully not.

Do meat processing plants often have large viral outbreaks, such as flu or norovirus? Would be interesting to know. So many of these large outbreaks are at meat processing plants.

That's the way that a lot of diseases work. Some people are carriers and never know. Others will carry and spread the disease before they go on to develop symptoms.
I don't know about the case you are talking about but if 170 have tested positive then a lot of them will go on to develop symptoms. All could infect others, including very vulnerable groups, if they don't isolate themselves.

Obviously it's good they are well! But so many people taking about Long Covid, claiming 10% of people who catch it will end up with it. And the death rate or risk of severe illness does not fit these type of outbreaks at all.

But then you can live closely with someone with the virus and not catch it. I know of a situation with three adults in the house, 2 have it, and are currently isolating, one doesn't. Do some people get it and not pass it on?

They would be of working age, so much less likely than elderly people to have serious symptoms

Some would not have symptoms yet, but they'll develop within a few days

Some wrote off symptoms as the usual sniffles & coughs

Some deliberately didn't report symptoms, especially if sick pay is crap and absenteeism puts their job or their shifts at risk

Some will have no symptoms, but previous studies of whole populations of all ages found this usually applies to 20% or less
e.g. serology & swab studies in Germany of the towns Bad Feilbach and Kupferzell found 14% and 17% had no symptoms

https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Gesundheitsmonitoring/Studien/cml-studie/cml-studie_node.html

To me the meat processing thing is weird. I don't understand why meat plants?

I read somewhere that about 50% of people you live with will catch it. But I can't find the link to back that up!

Afterschoolworry The cold does lead to increase in runny noses etc.

The explanation given for meat plants here in Ireland has 'oh they are all non-nationals who tend to share accommodation' , but then why not fruit pickers, other food industries?

What is it about meat processing plants?

@waitforitwaitforit

But then you can live closely with someone with the virus and not catch it. I know of a situation with three adults in the house, 2 have it, and are currently isolating, one doesn't. Do some people get it and not pass it on?

... Covid is a virus with a high "dispersion factor":

About 10% of people are responsible for transmitting about 80- 90% of infections
i.e. superspreaders are a key factor for Covid

Most people infect 0 or 1 person,
but a few people can infect 10+

A big problem with Covid is that people are infectious for days before they have symptoms

Apparently it's partly because of the cold temperature, the fact that they have to work in close proximity to one another, and because it's very noisy so they have to shout.

I guess we need to wait and see whether those who have tested positive actually become ill.

Though how long are we supposed to wait before we are able to say "Er actually, it didn't make them ill."

Sorry, typo:
Covid is a virus with a high low "dispersion factor"

Working age people are much less likely to suffer severe symptoms,
but they may visit or live with an elderly or vulnerable relative

@BigChocFrenzy

Working age people are much less likely to suffer severe symptoms, but they may visit or live with an elderly or vulnerable relative

Yes they might, and they have all been sent home to self isolate.

There’s been lots of info on why meat plants are super spreader places. It’s lots of workers working close to each other, with noisy machinery meaning they raise their voices to speak to each other, and cold temperatures that allow virus to thrive

@AfterSchoolWorry

The explanation given for meat plants here in Ireland has 'oh they are all non-nationals who tend to share accommodation' , but then why not fruit pickers, other food industries?

What is it about meat processing plants?

Lots of people working close together, as in lots of factories, noisy environment so people have to shout to communicate easily, poorly ventilated as they are a temperature controlled environment

Perhaps they should all wear masks?

I wonder if the tests are actually all that accurate. ?

So could one solution be everyone becomes vegetarian - even if just temporarily?

I think that's the point isn't it? It presents as either no symptoms or indistinguishable from a mild cold in the vast majority of cases. As per Boris 'your mild cough could be someone else's death knell'. It's precisely because it's so mild and most people don't suspect they have it that it spreads. In a very small % (but a large % of our elderly people) it's very dangerous, a lot of other people won't know they've had it.