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Original poster

New Covid variant *title edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

998 replies

Wingingthis · 25/11/2021 11:56

Can anyone talk some sense about how dangerous this is or is it just the media over exaggerating?

OP posts:
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isthismylifenow · 26/11/2021 11:46

@theDudesmummy

She is being incredibly naive. Both her and her boyfriend are medical students in ther final years. No idea what will happen about their studies if they are stuck for any length of time. You can't do clinical shifts on Zoom. I have told her to get to the airport and get on any flight to Europe asap, but she isn't even reading her messages now...I know she thinks I (and DH) are being over dramatic.
@TheDudesmummy

I think she needs to get on a flight asap, the the EU are due to red list us as well.

If I look back to when we were on the red list last time, UK were very hesitant to take us off. We stayed on the RL even though we had very few cases. So we have no idea of time frames here. If she is pushed for time, she should not take a chance. She may be able to get back on a repat flight and quarantine, but that costs a fortune. Although any flight changes are not going to be cheap now either.

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 11:50

@isthismylifenow Me and DH have been WhatsApping this to her all morning. We told her to go NOW to the airport and get on any plane to Europe that she can. She is not responding (lthough she has seen the messages). She is not answering her phone. DH is beyond furious.

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 11:52

There are two issues. Whether the EU country she lives in will let her in is one (she is a resident there but not a citizen), but if there are no flights that becomes irrelevent anyway. Her boyfriend is in the same situation, he is also not a citizen of the country they live/study in.

IndigoC · 26/11/2021 11:56

Belgium are now reporting 2 suspected cases.

isthismylifenow · 26/11/2021 11:56

[quote theDudesmummy]@isthismylifenow Me and DH have been WhatsApping this to her all morning. We told her to go NOW to the airport and get on any plane to Europe that she can. She is not responding (lthough she has seen the messages). She is not answering her phone. DH is beyond furious.[/quote]
Where are they?

I can check which flights are leaving from the airport closest to them.

JanglyBeads · 26/11/2021 12:01

NBfor anyone worried about recent contact, LFTs are, AFAIK, unaffected by new variants. Although of course a negative doesn’t make it anything like definite you haven’t got covid.

Madmog · 26/11/2021 12:02

theDudesmummy - I so feel for you, they can be stubborn at times, but you don't stop worrying about them. The one positive thing is that she's not there on her own.

My DD is actually doing a year abroad, rather than travelling. If her course goes online, or she comes home and can't return, she has to resit the whole year - it's not great is it?

JanglyBeads · 26/11/2021 12:10

Javid has just updated the Commons, lots of reporting on BBC website, Live feed

Octavia174 · 26/11/2021 12:15

There is a lot going on in the world at the moment, not least for the UK 's government.
So a new CV variant that creates mass hysteria may suit the UK.

Yes all these reports are scary but until we know it is vaccine resistant and more transmissible, there is no point worrying too much about it.

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 12:19

She is with plenty of family, that is all fine. It's the possibility of her not being able to get back to her medical course that is the problem. She is in Pretoria so was due to leave from OR Tambo. She is perfectly able to find out what flights are going if she wants to. I have repeatedly messaged her to tell her to just go to the airport now and get on absolutely any flight to anywhere but she is ignoring me.

manolantern · 26/11/2021 12:21

Prof Francois Balloux definitely someone to follow for news on this. He thinks it is unlikely this variant has just appeared in the past 14 days because there's already some variation within the variant. So the R-rate is not actually 6 times higher than Delta! (Can we take that as a win?):

twitter.com/BallouxFrancois/status/1464181335338139653

catgirl1976 · 26/11/2021 12:29

Place marking as watching with dread interest

I really hope this is over caution from the government and not a sign that this is really bad but they have been so slow to act previously it feels blindly optimistic to think they have actually learned lessons

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 12:34

It's not just UK government though. Germany, Italy, Japan...

catgirl1976 · 26/11/2021 12:39

@theDudesmummy that is true. Worrying. :(

Cornettoninja · 26/11/2021 12:48

@IndigoC

Belgium are now reporting 2 suspected cases.
I wonder if this is implying a variation in the symptoms/progression or is it more likely that two cases are linked to travel? Otherwise I can’t see how a suspicion is newsworthy until it’s been sequenced at which point it’s not a suspicion iyswim.
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 26/11/2021 12:49

@Puzzledandpissedoff

... right on cue every time we have a vaccine push (currently the booster) another scary variant pops up ...

Well spotted, ElectraBlue

It's being reported on in several countries around the world. The entire world is not conspiring to make sure your auntie gets her booster in time for Christmas.
IndigoC · 26/11/2021 12:56

@Cornettoninja

I had similar thoughts. But apparently this variant has the S gene dropout on the PCR testing so maybe that’s caused a red flag in Belgium? And perhaps these cases have flown in from Southern Africa? Alpha had the S gene dropout too but seems to be nearly extinct.

Cornettoninja · 26/11/2021 12:58

Ah, thanks for that info @IndigoC. That’s slightly reassuring in some ways.

On one hand it might be a good thing if covid developed a specific hallmark for infection, on the other we probably don’t want to roll that dice!

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 13:01

FFS the conspracy theorists on here are so parochial! Right, this acute worldwide crisis is all something to do with the government of one medium-sized (admittedly very poorly governed) country off the northern European coast...

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 13:25

My daughter has been in contact. She was driving around in the Kruger Park FFS! So no signal.

She says the SA media are "not making a big deal" about it so she is "not that worried" as she "doesn't think it will last". I can't really do anything more for her if that is her view. I told her to go to the airport and she said she just said she will call me tonight to talk. She did say that the university just sent an email saying the last three weeks of term will be all online, because of the concerns about the new varient, so there is that I suppose. But who know how long this will last?

isthismylifenow · 26/11/2021 13:31

@theDudesmummy

She is with plenty of family, that is all fine. It's the possibility of her not being able to get back to her medical course that is the problem. She is in Pretoria so was due to leave from OR Tambo. She is perfectly able to find out what flights are going if she wants to. I have repeatedly messaged her to tell her to just go to the airport now and get on absolutely any flight to anywhere but she is ignoring me.
I am sorry, it is stressful @theDudesmummy

I see our President is meeting with the Corona council on Sunday, which means we may go to a higher level of restrictions. Our restrictions always involve the restriction of alcohol. Either restricted (available to buy Tues to Thurs) or on higher levels, a complete ban.

From what I have seen today, everyone seems to be stocking up, and I am quite sure it is not just a BF rush.

I doubt very much we will go to that level if this they were not all that concerned, as it is a killer to the alcohol industry.

The feeling here today, is quite mixed. We know that countries locking us out are doing this as a precaution. But the other line of thought is that we are our own worst enemy for having superior testing systems, picking up on new variants fast and then advising of these immediately.

It's been a lot to digest is such a short time. We have gone from hardly any cases to this, in just a few days.

The conspiracy theorists are on a roll here.

AlecTrevelyan006 · 26/11/2021 13:35

isn't the "Nu" variant doing what viruses are supposed to? That is, being more transmissible in order to outcompete the prevalent strain (i.e. Delta), whilst being less deadly? Weren't we told all along that the virus will mutate to become endemic but causing no more harm than the common cold?

In other words, why are the 'experts' panicking about something they said was bound to happen anyway? Perhaps they're just doom mongers who prefer to focus on a worst case scenario. I mean, we've seen that before, have we not?

PurpleDaisies · 26/11/2021 13:40

That is, being more transmissible in order to outcompete the prevalent strain (i.e. Delta), whilst being less deadly?

We don’t know that it’s less deadly. We need more data.
It’s a misconception that viruses automatically evolve this way.

theDudesmummy · 26/11/2021 13:42

@isthismylifenow Yes, my parents live in SA, I know all about the lockdowns there and the alcohol bans. Various family members have been making their own booze for 18 months! The SA media does certainly seem so far more sanguine in the current crisis than many European/UK media outlets. Not sure why.

I do think SA should be praised for their transparancy, especially as the travel industry is about to be decimated, lack of Xmas tourism is going to be devastating and they knew that, but decided to warn us all anyway.