For something so simple and effective, why ever not save lives?

Assisting humanity is not part of the ethos of a certain class.

You're not wrong there Gary as the effects of recent mask mandates being lifted along several other restrictions combined with the Omicron BA. 2 variant have got numbers on the rise here yet again. :-(

What is it with conservative right wing pollies and their constant hunger for a buck?

Maybe our upcoming federal election might have something to do with it? They're even splashing $'s around now on developing green products (they could've done that 6yrs ago). :-O

Sadly, one part of the consequences of the covid pandemic:


Covid: Doctors who died in pandemic honoured at memorial service
wrote:

Doctors who died during the Covid pandemic have been remembered with a sculpture unveiled in their honour ... who died caring for patients were read at a memorial service in London...

Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
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The rise again in cases here down under is starting to show with hospitalisations back up to 1,859 nation wide, though those in ICU still continues to fall with just 98 in there now and just 24 of those on ventilation.

1 thing though is that we don't seem to be suffering the numbers of those with long COVID as many other countries are thankfully.

Vaccination wise >95% of the eligible population (5+yrs) have received 1 dose while 94.8% having received 2 doses and 59% of the 12+yrs age group have now got their booster shots (this number would be likely higher if it wasn't for infection rates putting this shot off).

[edit] Mind you Florida is still doing grubby work with their death rate with their numbers jumping from 70,247 to 70,790 to 71,326 to 71,474 to 72,039 to 72,246 over the last 3 weeks. A sure sign of stupidity in action there.

Anyhow stay safe.

For something so simple and effective, why ever not save lives?

Assisting humanity is not part of the ethos of a certain class.

You're not wrong there Gary as the effects of recent mask mandates being lifted along several other restrictions combined with the Omicron BA. 2 variant have got numbers on the rise here yet again. :-(

Masks are only useful if (almost) everyone wears them, as they protect others from the wearer about 10x more than the wearer from others, so a very few unmasked infected can transmit to many masked uninfected. Our mask mandates will be lifted in 5 days and only about 50% say they will continue wearing them, making them pretty much useless.

I purchased a P100 full-face respirator and will be using it whenever I have to be in a risky situation (ie public transport) stuck around un-known/masked/vaccinated people. I was an "early adopter" having caught COVID-19 in January of 2020 (ironically, but maybe not for me, while I was on my first vacation in 20+ years) before masks, vaccines, testing or even many doctors knowing what it was, while I was in another country and not near a hospital; thankfully there was a clinic onsite. It was very unpleasant and I am glad I was younger and in good physical shape or it would have possibly been fatal, and I would not like to repeat that so will take whatever steps are required.

(Edit: Wiggo, you are a firefighter so probably have one of those kicking around already. :^) )

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Likewise, I use very secure fitting FFP3 masks, and additionally keep my distance from the maskless.

After only few comments in the early days from the unknowing unmasked in my 'local-ish'[*] pub, I'm now very much accepted as "the one with the mask". (Mask only needed whilst inside briefly, before making a retreat back outside under a capacious marque with big gaping doors left unfitted so as to be always fully open!)

Interestingly, the only others seen wearing masks whilst in there are a few medics, academics, and Asian students...


Stay safe folks!
Martin

*: Not actually my nearest pub, but it is the nearest that has good beer and good cheer and a good safely ventilated area.

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

And here in the UK, the covid numbers continue to rise once again...


For comment for Wales we have:

Covid: Positive tests rise but critical care stable
wrote:

The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Wales has risen, but the amount needing critical care has remained stable.

Wales' Covid case rate has increased every day for the past 12 days...

... She said: "We've been pretty quiet in terms of Covid in intensive care for the last little while, but I have noticed in my population of colleagues, we've got lots of people off sick. I think it's affecting the general public I think there's a lot of it out there." ...

... There has been a small increase in the number of people with Covid being admitted to hospital - up to an average of 26 per day from 21 over the past week, and about 80% of hospital patients with Covid were being treated for something else...

... Dr Jones told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast she thought masks and free testing should remain in place.

She said: "Personally, if they remove restrictions, I will continue to wear masks in indoor public places.

"I don't want to catch Covid, I don't want to end up being off work and not able to do my job, so I think that's the concern for a lot of us now.

"We're not so worried about ending up hospitalised and dying... but we are concerned about the kind of disruption to normal life that it would cause."

She added free testing was a "key piece" to give people "the ability to act sensibly".

The ends with very good advice. Personally, I'm certainly continuing to wear a mask and keeping to healthy caution when in any enclosed space...


Here's hoping for warm sunny weather and the ongoing vaccination to kill off the covid disruptions soon!

Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

(Edit: Wiggo, you are a firefighter so probably have one of those kicking around already. :^) )

Ex now, getting far too old and slow for it these days, but we only get N95 masks for us bushfire firefighters where as townies do get those full-face respirators for use in building fires.

I do have plenty of masks here though for those places and times when needed.

The mainstream news have caught up with the real world numbers for the UK:


Covid: Rise in UK infections driven by BA.2 Omicron variant
wrote:

Covid cases have continued to rise in the UK, with an estimated one in every 20 people infected...

... It comes as the UK continues to lift previous Covid restrictions...

... the high infection rates around the UK currently, with few Covid restrictions, meant that almost anyone could catch the virus.

He said: "My main concern is for the vulnerable for whom this disease is serious.

"Every effort must be made to triple vaccinate as many people as possible, quadruple vaccinate the most vulnerable."

Note the chart for the last year... Here's hoping for the good weather, as for last year, puts a wooden spike through the infection numbers!



Note also:

... we still have a few hundred people dead each and every day.

But also, how many newly with "Long Covid" disabilities?

See: Message 2095313

Those still very high numbers do suggest that we too soon threw away all restrictions and so we have thrown good healthy caution to the winds!...

Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Just a mere 'blip' in the 'statistics'?...


Covid hospital numbers in Scotland reach new peak
wrote:

The number of patients in Scottish hospitals with Covid has reached the highest level seen during the pandemic...

The number requiring ICU treatment, however, remains relatively low as fewer patients become seriously ill.

The latest Covid surge is thought to be driven by a more transmissible sub-variant of Omicron.

The latest daily figures revealed that a further 9,533 new cases were reported on Monday. No new deaths were reported but register offices are generally closed at weekends.

The number of people with Covid in hospital has risen by 78 since Friday but only 31 of the 2,128 Covid-positive patients were so ill that they required intensive care...

... Many health boards say they are seeing more Covid patients in hospital now than at any point in the pandemic. Yet there is no clamour from medics and health officials for more restrictions - that's because Covid itself is less of a direct threat than it once was.

The vast majority of Covid patients do not need to be admitted to intensive care and are recovering more quickly. That's down to high vaccination rates and better treatments.

Instead Covid is causing a different sort of pressure on hospitals. Patients need to be kept separate to limit infection spread, limiting bed capacity in some wards...

Here's hoping the brighter warmer weather works its magic against covid very soon!

Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

...Here's hoping the brighter warmer weather works its magic against covid very soon!..

That is what some experts are worried about, people going out and mingling on a greater scale as the weather warms up giving these latest variants the fuel to run riot yet again. :-(

...Here's hoping the brighter warmer weather works its magic against covid very soon!..

That is what some experts are worried about, people going out and mingling on a greater scale as the weather warms up giving these latest variants the fuel to run riot yet again. :-(

This is where we get to find the balance for the cultures and vaccination level for each country, and for the presently dominant covid strain, for how:

Good weather and being outside in well ventilated areas reduces infection;
versus that good weather encouraging more people to closely mingle to spread infection...

We are set for a very 'interesting' roller-coaster ride of statistics as a lot of frustrated people emerge into springtime!


Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Good news for those with infants.

Moderna says infant Covid vaccine succeeded in trial.

US biotech firm Moderna on Wednesday said it was pursuing regulatory approval for its Covid vaccine in children under six years old after the two-shot regimen was found to be safe and produced a strong immune response.

Specifically, two doses of 25 micrograms given to babies, toddlers and preschoolers generated similar levels of antibodies to two doses of 100 micrograms given to young people aged 18-25, indicating there would be similar levels of protection.

Children under six are the only age group that has yet to gain access to a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.

Based on the data, Moderna said it would submit authorization requests to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other global regulators in the coming weeks.

The results "are good news for parents of children under six years of age," said CEO Stephane Bancel in a statement.

"We now have clinical data on the performance of our vaccine from infants six months of age through older adults."

The company did however find relatively low vaccine efficacy against infection, with its trial taking place during the Omicron wave.

Vaccine efficacy in children six months up to age two was 43.7 percent, and efficacy was 37.5 percent in the two to five years age group.

The majority of these cases were mild and the two doses still provided very strong protection against severe outcomes. There were no hospitalizations or deaths....

Tuberculosis: The disease set to be deadlier than Covid once again.

While many would consider tuberculosis a disease of years gone by, global health experts have warned the global death toll has risen for the first time in a decade – and Australia needs to do more.

Before Covid-19, tuberculosis was the deadliest infectious disease in the world and it will likely reclaim that title again.

The Australian government has been urged to double its investment into fighting the deadly disease, as drug-resistant forms of the virus knock on the country’s door.

In 2020, at least 9.9 million people contracted TB, while 1.5 million died – up from 1.4 million in 2019.

At least two-thirds of the global tuberculosis burden is in the Asia-Pacific region, where multi-drug resistant forms of the virus are on the rise.

In 2020, the region recorded an 84 per cent drop in detection, meaning people are likely still contracting the disease but are not getting treatment.

Professor Brendan Crabb, chair of Pacific Friends of Global Health and director of the Burnet Institute said Daru, an island of Papua New Guinea only a few kilometres from Australia, is home to one of the world’s highest rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis....

As if we need that on top of the last few years.

As the world's total COVID case tally passes 476.5 million and deaths pass 6.1 million the U.S. has celebrated the grand opening of their 1M+ deaths clubhouse.

On the case front Niue has moved up to 225th place, Samoa jumped up to 216th while the Cook Islands torpedoed the Diamond Princess just before Vanuatu did the same and moved on past them into 213th, Tonga has flown into 208th as Bhutan moves into 168th, the Isle of Man has taken up 164th and Brunei has claimed 124th spot.

China has jumped up to 118th spot, Laos is now in 115th as Iceland has taken up 110th, Luxembourg became the 108th member of the 200K+ club before moving into 107th while Cyprus moves into 91st, New Zealand has flown into 82nd and Latvia has claimed 71st place.

Finland became the 69th country to enter the 800K+ clubhouse before taking 68th place up, Bolivia became the 63rd member of the 900K+ club after Slovenia knocked them out of 62nd while Lithuania became the 59th country to enter the 1M+ club, Singapore has moved up to 57th as Hong Kong flies into 54th, Ireland replaces Norway in 48th and Slovakia takes over 45th spot.

Serbia moves into 41st spot, Greece claims 37th as Thailand takeover 32nd, Austria slid into 29th while Israel, Czechia & Belgium move into 24th, 25th & 26th respectively, Malaysia became the 22nd member of the 4M+ club before Australia zipped past them into 22nd and Japan became the 17th member of the 6M+ club before taking up 16th place.

Vietnam tossed the Netherlands out of 13th place while S. Korea became the 11th country to enter the 10M+ clubhouse and Germany is smashing its way through the clubhouses into 6th spot.

Meanwhile here the number of people in hospital is back up 2,147 while those in ICU is back up to 102, but with only 17 of those on ventilators.

As the world's total COVID case tally passes 476.5 million...

And plenty like me who don't even get counted. I had it in 2020 Jan. and I just got it again... of course our idiot premier after spending billions on the QR certificates scrapped the requirement because he couldn't take the pressure from the low-IQAnon fringe in his party (which includes his own daughter.) Restaurants no longer need to check certs., capture contacts, do temp. checks, etc.

Sunday I foolishly agreed to go to one to eat and of course some selfish shytestain with a bad cough at a nearby table could not be bothered to stay home and get tested, so now I get to do so on his behalf. I am pretty confident it was him as the incubation period is spot-on, I work at home, biked there and wasn't around anyone but my S.O. (who of course tested negative...) in any buildings for more than a second ie not in elevators.

I self-tested with a rapid antigen kit (strong positive within one min. not 15!) so this and my previous case were never officially recorded. Now consider that India has over a million villages... how many hundreds of millions of cases went uncounted.

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Sorry to hear that. Here's hoping you shrug off a mild hit!

But that is an unfortunate example of the consequences...

From my experiences locally, we still have people claiming to be "unaware" or just simply do not care and do not want to know...


Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

We have quite a 'blip' in the supposed Government claimed 'end of pandemic':


Covid in Wales: Mask and isolation rules may be extended
wrote:

Rising case rates and hospital admissions have prompted ministers to reconsider their plans....

... Not 'huge deal' to ask people to wear masks

In a briefing on Tuesday Ms Morgan said: "We have rates that are lower than the rest of the UK but things are going in the wrong direction.

"It's possible we will pick and choose which restrictions to keep." "It would not be a "huge big deal", she said, to ask people to wear face coverings.

"The ask, if it continues, will be a fairly modest one."

Ms Morgan set out that Wales is seeing a "marked increase" in Covid cases, driven by subtype of the omicron variant. Most people will experience mild symptoms from BA2, she said, but it is still expected to drive an increase in cases and hospital admissions...

Scotland: Covid pressure on hospitals 'as serious as it gets'
wrote:

Scotland's biggest health board has warned it is facing Covid pressures that are "as serious as it gets".

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it was dealing with record numbers of Covid patients alongside high staff absence rates. ...

... With such high numbers of Covid patients occupying hospital beds, even if the majority do not become critically ill, there is little capacity to get other patients in.

Emergency department staff say they are seeing sicker patients who have deteriorated due to the pandemic. Doctors have been warning that people are dying because they are being delayed for so long.

It's a pretty stark reminder that Covid continues to have consequences.

Health workers are only human too...

Stay safe folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

I just heard about one of our "I don't care" merchants.
This young lady was ejected from several shops thanks to here not wearing a mask when it was mandatory, proclaiming she was of such a strong constitution that she's never get Covid and she didn't really care about anyone who was such a mug for wearing a mask. I hadn't seen her around for a bit. Then I heard that most of her family had been infected, with a couple of older family members ending up in hospital. The route of her illness was somewhat different and a fair bit shorter, she tried to carry on "as normal", but just coughing and wheezing as she went, no way was this Covid (in her eyes) and she refused to contact the doctor; then she collapsed near her home and was rushed into hospital, straight to the ICU, where she died a short time later, a "parish funeral" took place as none of her family were either well enough or didn't want to be there.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Quite Darwinian of her.

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