Omicron found in the UK [title edited by MNHQ]

[manolantern]

Health Secretary has just said two cases have been found here. That was quick!

@Againstmachine

Absolutely NO need for this kind of post. None.

Why isn't there a need people losing livelihood jobs ect. Covid isn't the only thing in the world.

Coronavirus isn't the only thing the world no, but has the potential to impact everything else.

Uncontrolled pandemics affect livilihoods as well as mitigation policies do.

Inevitable yes, but thought we would have a few days/couple of weeks longer. I'm more worried about this one than I was about Delta to be honest.

@Amberflames

it will be all over the UK. It will have been here for weeks.

We do a lot of sequencing here. Wouldn’t we have found more by now if the country was riddled with it?

agree on this

Ooops sorry for the type in the title, must have been thinking of this.

@ComtesseDeSpair of course the timing is horrific, I’ve said on another thread it’s the Perfect storm of winter festivities, no mitigation’s and Covid fatigue. Those combined with a variant which so far has had a swift initial response internationally does not fill me with confidence. .

Yes of course the hope is it doesn’t cause spikes in cases and sickness but sitting on our hands just to hear the jingle of the tills during December waiting for pressure on the NHS is not going to bode well should this not be a benign evolution of the pandemic.

I imagine there may be a few difficult conversations happening behind closed doors.

Wow. What a shock🙄

@TwilightSkies

There’s pretty much no restrictions anymore, of course it’s here. And there will be MANY more than 2 cases.

Isn't it great that once again the UK becomes England?

The two UK cases are related. Happily I'm getting my booster tomorrow.

I go back to something I heard from a virologist right back in February last year, to paraphrase: viruses don't aim to kill people, they aim to be transmitted from person to person. Delta is more transmissible, but doesn't appear to be as deadly to humans as the original virus. Omicron could be super transmissible with very few symptoms. We just don't know yet.

If it is already rife, that might be a good thing. Because it might mean that it is not producing a more serious version of the disease.

Though of course case number started to rise again only a week ago and, if that's connected to omicron, what that means in proportion of cases requiring hospital admission will only become clear from hospitalisation numbers over the coming week

@Mantlemoose

Meh it will be another version in a month. I'm past caring. I am being sensible but I'm not putting my life on hold ever again.

I agree. This isn’t the last variant- there will be new variants multiple times a year. This isn’t going to end any time soon. Are we supposed to lockdown for the next 20 years????

So is this two people who were on the same flight from SA? It says on BBC the cases were linked. Are they testing PCRs from travel from SA for the new variant?

I am with PPs though - I am struggling to care any more. This is exactly what they knew would happen, because it's exactly what viruses do. Flu mutates all the time, thousands of people in the UK die of flu every single year, no one gave a flying fuck.

I think the press and certain 'knowledgeable tweeters' who want to retain their moment in the spotlight have a lot to answer for.

What time is the press conference then ?

If it is already rife, that might be a good thing. Because it might mean that it is not producing a more serious version of the disease.

Yes, good point. Bring it on!

Not me then . I'm neither Chelmsford or Nottingham. I wonder what variant I've got ?
It says those contacts are linked . Were they on the same flights then ?

@Mantlemoose

Meh it will be another version in a month. I'm past caring. I am being sensible but I'm not putting my life on hold ever again.

Same. I was the most cautious person ever for the first year of it but for goodness sake, it's just getting silly.

I bitterly regret now not just doing more last summer and this summer. I thought it would be 'over' by now as in we'd stop caring about case numbers and variants but no...here we are. I've learned to just go ahead and do things while I'm still legally allowed to. It's not good for my mental health to live in this 'now or never' situation, but what good has staying at home isolated done me?

to paraphrase: viruses don't aim to kill people, they aim to be transmitted from person to person

As covid is infectious before symptoms, it means there is no evolutionary pressure to produce less serious disease, because the aim has been achieved before the actual illness begins. It also means there is no advantage in producing a more serious disease (though if increased transmission is because of higher viral load, it might have that effect)

@HaveANiceFuckingDay

Not me then . I'm neither Chelmsford or Nottingham. I wonder what variant I've got ? It says those contacts are linked . Were they on the same flights then ?

I think they had both been to SA but not sure.

We were talking about how they knew the two cases were the new variant and concluded positive PCR and LFTs must then be screened to see which variant they are.

@the80sweregreat

What time is the press conference then ?

5 pm.

Boris at 5pm ‘setting out new measures’

Time for a mass panic then 🙄.
It’s a corona virus. It mutates. It will keep on mutating.

I did notice that after several weeks of being one of a vanishingly small minority in the shops wearing masks that in Aldi this morning it was almost full mask adherence.

How did they have the tests for that variant already?

@HaveANiceFuckingDay

Not me then . I'm neither Chelmsford or Nottingham. I wonder what variant I've got ? It says those contacts are linked . Were they on the same flights then ?

From The Telegraph (which is behind a paywall, which is why I'm only posting three sentences from the whole article):

"The cases, in Chelmsford and Nottingham, were identified after overnight genome sequencing. The two individuals who tested positive are being re-tested and told to self-isolate in the meantime, along with all members of their households, while contact tracers track others they may have infected. Officials said the two cases were connected and that there was "a link to travel to Southern Africa"

Boris can set out whatever measures he likes but I'm not sure anyone is listening any more.
I'll catch a summary of it later put of interest but I don't care enough to watch him wittering on live.