Coronavirus

[Dave2002]

It is. They have sequenced the DNA. If it was not new then I think they might have given us a bit of positive news.

I think technically it's an RNA virus, so I assume it doesn't have DNA. I could be wrong.

[Anastasius]

I think technically it's an RNA virus, so I assume it doesn't have DNA. I could be wrong.

You're not...my bad. But the end result is the same

[kernelbogey]

What we wouldn't give for a Gordon Brown or John Major right now
A fine piece of journalism in today's Guardian from John Crace, whose political sketches are usually more whimisical than this.

I think he absolutely nails Johnson here.

[kernelbogey]

Exercising indoors today. Weather too drab to entice me outside. Early next week looks better though. I will have to be more careful when walking in the usually deserted woods then. With the schools closed, who knows what feral kids might get up to?

Do you carry a mobile phone with you when walking in the woods? Seriously.

[kernelbogey]

I think technically it's an RNA virus, so I assume it doesn't have DNA. I could be wrong.

A biology illiterate writes: but could it still have variable symptoms?

My interest in Bridgen's idea - setting aside whatever he may personally be like - is that I had a series of very persistent cold/cough infections over the winter. They seemed to go on for weeks; no sooner I thought I was recovering than a mutated version would appear. Several people I know reported having these drawn out symptoms. (I had had the flu jab; and also a 'lifetime' pneumonia jab circa two years ago; but still had a horrible very productive cough some of that time.) I wonder if this could have been some virus closely-related to the current one. Am ok now.

[MrGongGong]

For those with access to FB

https://www.facebook.com/bowjanglesmusic/videos/913757749055023/?t=11

Worth following IMV

[LHC]

A biology illiterate writes: but could it still have variable symptoms?

My interest in Bridgen's idea - setting aside whatever he may personally be like - is that I had a series of very persistent cold/cough infections over the winter. They seemed to go on for weeks; no sooner I thought I was recovering than a mutated version would appear. Several people I know reported having these drawn out symptoms. (I had had the flu jab; and also a 'lifetime' pneumonia jab circa two years ago; but still had a horrible very productive cough some of that time.) I wonder if this could have been some virus closely-related to the current one. Am ok now.

I think Bridgen’s idea is unlikely to be correct. The medical evidence suggests the virus was identified fairly soon after people started to be infected:

Based upon the low variability exhibited among known SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences, the strain is thought to have been detected by health authorities within weeks of its emergence among the human population in late 2019.[31][67] The earliest case of infection currently known is thought to have been found on 17 November 2019.[68] The virus subsequently spread to all provinces of China and to more than one hundred other countries in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Oceania.[69] Human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed in all of these regions.

[LMcD]

What we wouldn't give for a Gordon Brown or John Major right now
A fine piece of journalism in today's Guardian from John Crace, whose political sketches are usually more whimisical than this.

I think he absolutely nails Johnson here.

Some (but not all ...) PMs whom we may have criticized in the past and not treated kindly were, we now realize, political giants from a golden era. I'm going to stop watching the press conferences, since they have done nothing to enlighten me let alone cheer me up.
Did anybody else see on the BBC 1 news last night the critical care nurse who begged people not to strip supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetable before she comes off her shift - and that shot of the Italian supermarket with shelves full of those very items?

[LMcD]

Do you carry a mobile phone with you when walking in the woods? Seriously.

Wouldn't that increase the risk of having it stolen? Seriously.

[Dave2002]

I think Bridgen’s idea is unlikely to be correct. The medical evidence suggests the virus was identified fairly soon after people started to be infected:

I agree that it does seem that this was a new development in November 2019.

The earliest case of infection currently known is thought to have been found on 17 November 2019.[68]

This was also stated in Whitty and Valance's press conference yesterday, though they didn't give more reasons or justification. Earlier I was merely considering the possibility that this virus had been a "hidden" hazard for some time - but that idea seems to have been more or less completely knocked on the head.

Also from your source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe..._coronavirus_2

The basic reproduction number ( R 0 {\displaystyle R_{0}} R_{0}) of the virus has been estimated to be between 1.4 and 3.9.[82][83] This means that each infection from the virus is expected to result in 1.4 to 3.9 new infections when no members of the community are immune and no preventive measures are taken.

The uncertainty about the values is still problematic. Social distancing measures are intended to put the reproduction number down closer to 1, and ideally below it.

[oddoneout]

TBH I think that the media (as ever) have a hell of a lot to answer for in making this front-page news all the time...it becomes self-perpetuating.

Indeed, as that is their raison d'etre, but social media is surely now an equal partner in that undesirable situation? The constant posting of images of queues, empty shelves etc, delivers panic straight to the jugular and can be kept constantly on the boil by those whose evolutionary state now is to have one hand permanently fiddling with a device, disseminating yet more unhelpful information. On Wednesday when I was doing the rounds trying to find some essentials (no, not toilet rolls or hand sanitisers) I came across a gaggle of folk grumbling about empty shelves, with a couple of them at the same time posting images of said shelves. If it had been in the spirit of helping friends or family("believe me there's no point you coming into -----") that might have been understandable, but it wasn't, and I don't imagine they would take kindly to the suggestion that they are part of the problem about which they complain.

[Dave2002]

Did anybody else see on the BBC 1 news last night the critical care nurse who begged people not to strip supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetable before she comes off her shift - and that shot of the Italian supermarket with shelves full of those very items?

Yes, and she was clearly very distressed. I think this "stockpiling is bad" business is incorrect though - different people behave differently. Stockpiling is bad when it deprives others of the means to support themselves. Clearly many people in cities live with only one or two days supplies of most things - which is very efficient if supplies are plentiful and continuous. People who live in more rural areas may be used to buying in bulk, and storing things for at least a month at a time in order to reduce travel. What is wrong with that?

One view might be that people who manage to plan ahead and at least keep more reserves/supplies are actually the more prudent ones, rather than those who expect everything to be available at the flick of a finger.

There should be protocols for people like the nurse to ensure that they do get the essentials they need.

The idea of having special opening hours for older people - at first sight seems a good thing but isn't it actually only going to ensure that a whole bunch of people who may have problems all get them together collectively?

There are some people, somewhat surprisingly, who may not be able to survive well because they don't know how to do simple things, such as boiling an egg, making an omelette, making porridge - just very basic cooking things. I'm not claiming to be a cook, or even that interested in cooking - being more of a consumer than a producer - but I do know how to do some basic cooking or even some more elaborate meals if I really have to. I have been surprised that some of our friends seem really phased by the current situation, in which they would have to buy in supplies of food, and then cook it - rather than simply ordering a take away, or going out to a restaurant.

Restaurants are probably going to be hit by this crisis, though in some areas they are now starting to offer a take away delivery service. That wouldn't ensure complete social isolation, but could go some way towards it, and would hopefully reduce the likelihood of a viable business being suddenly hit by a collapse of revenue.

[oddoneout]

A biology illiterate writes: but could it still have variable symptoms?

My interest in Bridgen's idea - setting aside whatever he may personally be like - is that I had a series of very persistent cold/cough infections over the winter. They seemed to go on for weeks; no sooner I thought I was recovering than a mutated version would appear. Several people I know reported having these drawn out symptoms. (I had had the flu jab; and also a 'lifetime' pneumonia jab circa two years ago; but still had a horrible very productive cough some of that time.) I wonder if this could have been some virus closely-related to the current one. Am ok now.

The pattern of 'here for the long haul' infections and after effects seems to be common now. It's noticeable at choir when folk who have maybe missed a rehearsal or two due to a bug take a long time to get shot of the resultant cough.
It came as a shock to many to find out that having the flu jab doesn't mean that one won't get flu; discovering that each year's jab is a cocktail based on an informed judgement about what will be an issue that year didn't go down too well with some. Mind you it doesn't help that so many these days don't understand the difference between flu and a cold.

[Anastasius]

.....
The idea of having special opening hours for older people - at first sight seems a good thing but isn't it actually only going to ensure that a whole bunch of people who may have problems all get them together collectively?

....

Not really. If they need to shop then the timing is irrelevant from the perspective of possibly being infected. Anyone of their fellow customers at any time could infect them. In any case, we're not all walking super-spreaders ! At least if we have our own slot, we don't run the risk of some greedy woman snatching the food from out of our hands as happened to a friend of mine.

I really despise the majority of the British TBH compared to how other nations are behaving. Watching dire soaps like Eastenders where the 'norm' is shoutie-shoutie confrontational interaction and so the great unwashed think that this is the only way to behave.

[BBMmk2]

Great to see HM etc doing their bit. Queen and Phillip are in Windsor Castle. Me and MrsBBM are self isolating too.