I am hoping that the world will have a handle on the latest outbreak.

The research evidence is out there if you care to look for it, MOnica.

It does, of course, depend on the quality of the masks. The blue surgical masks which many people used were far less effective than the higher spec. N95 or FFP3, but even so, provided something of a double barrier to the virus particles. They were, of course, only designed to stop droplets, not aerosols.

I understand that Asians also wear masks when they have a respiratory illness in order to lessen the chances of infecting others.

What is the evidence that wearing masks slows down or stops transmission of the COVID virus?

The main reason many people in Asian nations wear face maskes is to combat severe air pollution. The particles causing air pollition are much bigger than viral bodies.

Well, catching covid doesn't give you any immunity either.

I think it might be better to look at other Asian countries where mask wearing is commonplace to see how they are faring now, rather than to place the blame for an upsurge in illness on de-masking..

This 'immunity' thing really bothers me. We don't have immunity from colds and flu just because we've had them once, we go on getting them, so where is the 'immunity'?

And no-one was 'immune' from TB, smallpox, diptheria, polio, etc, etc until vaccines were developed to prevent people catching them. I think that belief in 'natural immunity' is a very dangerous.

The Chinese constantly wear masks long before Covid gave us any problems I m sure it’s a cat and mouse game wear masks to stop catching something but if you never catch anything you never have any immunity

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that it's a covid variant. After all, the world has been behaving as though covid were over for the past 18 months or so and it most definitely ISN'T.

I'm seeing reports of research that sows that covid affects every part of the body; all the internal organs, and weakens the immune system, leaving it open to serious harm from other pathogens. Repeated infections make the damage worse.

Our schoolchildren are showing unprecedented rates of sickness absence from school. I wonder why?

The covid inquiry is keeping covid in the news, but not in the right way, IMO. A question that should be asked of witnesses is " Why is this harmful virus still at large, still killing and disabling people, with no attempt on the part of the government and health services to prevent the harm it's doing?"

We had a winter surge of strep throats and RSV in children after mask wearing reduced. China only stopped their mandatory mask wearing in April this year.

M0nica

i think scientists, in particular, learnt a alot from COVID. It sed to take years to develop vaccines to new diseases. With ebola they reduced it to 18 months and with COVID to six months.

I think, M0nica, that that was in large part due to the fact that they didn't have to spend years trying to get grants for developing vaccines. In the emergency situations of ebola and covid, the money came from governments so that the work could be done asap. Of course, scientists are always making progress in ways of developing vaccines, and a lot has been learned about m-RNA vaccines from covid, I believe, but sometimes it's about getting the money quickly.

China again. I don’t trust them.

Stop the flights!

Yes that apparently is a possible explanation, but the WHO are investigating it in some detail as being “unexplained”

There does seem to be a suggestion that it is spreading.

Let’s hope it is nothing, but I hope that it is being properly managed.

Just looked this up, apparently it is being put down to the first winter post Covid without draconian lockdowns therefore many children have not built up any natural immunity to common respiratory infections.

i think scientists, in particular, learnt a alot from COVID. It sed to take years to develop vaccines to new diseases. With ebola they reduced it to 18 months and with COVID to six months.