Plague Island!

Where's Corporal Jones when we need him?

Oh hes around

Chewbacca

Where's Corporal Jones when we need him?

Lucretzia

EV.

Nobody knows if this started here

We detected it

But as yet we don't know where it originated

Viruses mutate all the time

Yes, we were able to detect it and are honest enough to tell the world all about it.

It’s even worse when auto correct changes something you’ve typed to something really weird and you don’t notice it. It happens to me all the time!

...that was in answer to what biba wrote....

Even if the variant didn’t originated here it was still here where it took off.

I've just started a thread on News and Politics, not realising that this one was in existence. However, I do think that the article is about more than covid and is concerned with the political ssituation in the UK.

GagaJo

Oh give it a rest, Callistemon. It's boring.

We are ostracised by the rest of Europe. As a Brit I'm terrified and mortified.

Why boring?

You were extolling the virtues of living in China not that long ago but we presumed you meant the virtues of living in a well-heeled ex-pat community in China, not amongst ordinary, poor Chinese people.

Could you explain to the rest of us exactly how the authorities controlled it so well?
Why it has not mutated there?
Is their news media accurate?

Is it boring to be curious? You lived there, have friends there you said, so you may know the answers.

EllanVannin

China got rid of it quickly. Why are we stuck with it ? Doesn't it make anyone wonder ?

Yes.

That is why I asked

We do not appear to be looking to the countries that have controlled it to see what they are doing right. Instead we are just trying to console ourselves with the fact that some other countries are also controlling it badly. Which, imo, seems to be the wrong approach entirely.

Callistemon

Did you mean frapper l'étranger?

No, I'm not that pretentious. Good old English will do.

EllanVannin

Because, growstuff, this new strain started in this country !
People flying home are taking the new strain with them from here.

I'm not sure which question of mine you're answering.

It is called the “British strain” in some countries. Just like the Spanish flu didn’t start in Spain it took off there, so was stuck with that label. This strain no doubt has mutated in lots of places but has been initially more virulent here. It will undoubtedly spread from south to north.

People here have been " tier jumping ".

When I went to live in Turkey back in 2006 we were viewed as a nation of promiscuous drunks. They couldn’t get their head around the fact that I didn’t drink nor was I promiscuous.

That is not how Britain is being portrayed in Canadian news.

Reports on the new virulent strain, and now closure of boarders, including flights to Canada. I think we all recognize that you are a small, densely populated country.

We are all afraid of this, and of course do not want it to spread. It most likely already has come to North America, but we will have to depend on our own government to make appropriately strict guidelines to combat spread.

I agree Maybe why are we too proud to follow good examples from wherever they may come?
My DS has today been released from 14 days quarantine in a hotel run by the army in NZ. He tested negative yesterday.
DS has been here in Scotland to be with his dying father. He was shocked to see people not taking the virus seriously at all.

This is trending on Twitter

“Increase in Covid deaths per million since Monday

UK + 1.4%
France + 7.2%
Germany +5.6% “

It’ll be interesting to see how Taiwan deal with a new outbreak, the result of someone flying in from, I think, New Zealand. I bet they nip it in the bud very quickly.

I don't think we have an accurate view of how things really are in China, Russia or Taiwan.

One things for sure, though. It's very bad here, with yet another new, very infectious mutation mentioned today.

It's not just people in other nations that are shocked, Grammaretto. (I also have a son in NZ.)

I really can't understand why people are out and about doing totally unnecessary shopping and socialising - just because it's Christmas.

Do they all have a death wish? Do they think they're immune? Or - are they just stupid?

Hetty it may be all of those things and people are like sheep - they follow.

Keep well and keep careful.

I was communicating with a group of Polish truckers stuck in Dover. They were very angry, saying that the British had wanted them to bring their foods and other goods but now we were spreading our virus to them and refusing to feed them or provide them with facilities (sadly the food and facility bit was for many true). They were convinced the cause was Brexit.

If you look online at news you will see that a great deal of food and portaloos were provided by the authorities as well as much being provided by charities for them and the local council.They should blame the real culprit...Macron.
As for ‘our virus’ it’s absolutely everywhere, but we had the expertise to identify what was happening and are honest enough to share that info with the wider world.

Can someone explain, if only 3 truckers out of 2,400 tested positive for the virus, why did the EU countries insist on waiting until all the drivers were tested before they could leave the UK? Surely they should realise that the lorry drivers isolated in their cabs were far less likely to spread the infection than the 1 in 85 outside the vehicle.