Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

I think you are right to a point, people's judgement will always be to a certain extent subjective, but I disagree with you ultimately for two reasons.
first I think we can and often do agree on what amounts to sensible or reasonable behaviour. I work in the criminal justice system and we routinely ask juries (a microcosm of society) to consider what is or isn't reasonable behaviour in a given context. and juries are in my experience often good at expressing clear and consistent collective ideas of reasonableness. the concept of un / reasonable behaviour features in a lot in our criminal law, which in itself is simply an expression of a common or joint sense / morality.
secondly, to reject utterly the idea of common sense seems a very dangerous and unattractive thing to do. what does it mean for society? that we have no shared concept of what is sensible, reasonable behaviour? that we are all entirely subjective and relativistic in our outlooks? hyper-individualism and the disintegration of social bonds is a real issue in my view for society...people will always of course disagree, a debate is as much a part of society as anything else. but fundamentally we have to believe that there is more that unites us than divides us, otherwise what are we left with?

Problem with that is if you are infectious (or live with someone who is) you have to self-isolate. If everyone acted as if they were, no one would ever be able to leave the house.

Paper discussing the new mutant strain

https://virological.org/t/preliminary-genomic-characterisation-of-an-emergent-sars-cov-2-lineage-in-the-uk-defined-by-a-novel-set-of-spike-mutations/563

First identified in September.

Does anybody know if this new strain is confined to the Uk at the moment or not?

They now have it in the Netherlands, that's why they stopped flights.

Anyone seen a good article explaining what factors might make it more contagious?

edit: see Stonehedge's post

The paper I posted above explains it

Thanks

Interesting paper. Key takeaways from my layman’s perspective (if I’m wrong please correct me):

1) New strain has changes to the proteins in its spikes, which make it more effective at binding with our cells.
2) It’s uncertain now how/where the strain developed, but there is some evidence that the virus may have evolved in an asymptomatic, immunosuppressed person with cancer, and it did so more rapidly than would be expected. A possible cause is the lack of pressure against the virus by the body’s immune response, and additional pressures introduced by blood plasma treatments that the patient had for their preexisting condition.
3) It’s becoming the dominant strain in London, etc.

1) New strain has changes to the proteins in its spikes, which make it more effective at binding with our cells.

And changes to the furin cleavage site which make it more effective at penetrating the cell membrane.

The study mentions that their tests on human and mouse cells show the new strain affects both more readily than its predecessor. Has species to species transmission been established?

Separately, I just got word that Mexico City’s hospital capability will be overrun within the next 36 hours. They’re bringing in 640 medical personnel from around the country, creating bed space where they can, but it’s like putting an inner tube patch on a sinking ship. The Mexico City metro area has over 20 million people in it.

Thanks, I was trying to decipher what precisely the two changes in that paragraph meant.

And changes to the furin cleavage site which make it more effective at penetrating the cell membrane.

I love it when you talk dirty.

Has species to species transmission been established?

I think so, yes. I can't think of any other way European mink could've been infected other than through human transmission.

Has species to species transmission been established?

There was a cat that contracted it apparently. It was fine.

Did they count it's remaining lives?

There was a cat that contracted it apparently. It was fine.

Even this is dubious.

The PCR test is incredibly sensitive, it only needs a few non-inert bits of virus particles for it to return a positive test.

Someone who is infectious could sneeze or cough on a potato and a swab of that potato taken within a few hours would test positive.

So a positive PCR test doesn't tell you whether the virus was able to reproduce within the cat and the cat was actively infectious, or just whether the cat had just picked up enough virus material on/in whichever part of its body was swabbed to return a positive PCR test.

Police at train stations to assist with rail staff. My escape from london may turn in to great escape.
https://youtu.be/TNJ-1gz12JI

Even this is dubious.

On the BBC so IT MUST BE TRUE.

Police at train stations to assist with rail staff

Where did you hear that ?

News (BBC I think) said they would have extra BTP at stations

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/20/police-to-stop-people-fleeing-new-covid-tier-4-areas-hancock-says

Think its just extra to stop chaos like yesterday

Thanks - I'll add that link to the others on the subject that I'm sending to my daughter in Glasgow. She and BF are coming down to London for 5 days over Christmas by train and staying with her Mum.

We are going to risk it, worst case scenario we get a fine and have to go home

This will start to get fractious if I'm not careful.

“If you can afford a car, you’re probably fine. We will fine the great unwashed who plan on taking the train to their mum and dad.”

That's not the bit I find dubious.

As I said, if you wipe virus particles on anything and then swab it then "it" will test positive. This isn't the same as the virus being able to reproduce in the cells of that thing.