[deanhills]

Speaking about the new virus, it has been confirmed as a new variant of COV SARS-2, first found in the UK. It was a good decision to impose an immediate lockdown, because as earlier stated, it's transmission rate is 70% more than COVID. India too acted immediately and halted all flights from the UK, much like the other nations, still two infected persons who had landed here earlier from the UK were diagnosed with the new virus and immediately isolated.

I can't believe it. Now they are saying the transmission rate is 70% more? How did they come to that conclusion?

The first wave in July in the UK was serious enough for a total lockdown. Transmission was total. So how can it get 70% more than that critical level of the previous lockdown?

Someone is not telling the truth here. 70% greater than July? Measured how? Where is the scientific proof for this?

[sAmI]

I can't believe it.  Now they are saying the transmission rate is 70% more?  How did they come to that conclusion?

The first wave in July in the UK was serious enough for a total lockdown.  Transmission was total.  So how can it get 70% more than that critical level of the previous lockdown?

Someone is not telling the truth here.  70% greater than July?  Measured how?  Where is the scientific proof for this?

@deanhills, This was stated in the first news we got that its transmission rate is 70% more, There is no scientific proof behind it and honestly i believe that there is something going on behind this. Some doctor in Pakistan said that Education Institutes should not be opened for at least two months as COVID-19 is changing its face weekly. 
We are not honestly getting the truth from anywhere at all, As i stated in my previous comment that if its 70% more transmissible than COVID-19 but its not deadly??(wth)
If it's not deadly why every country just halted every UK Flight immediately, So something is fishy and it could be deadly.
Now i have seen on news that there is a new Variant found in Nigeria. If someone has any information about that i would really love to hear that!

Regards,
sAmI

[deanhills]

@deanhills, This was stated in the first news we got that its transmission rate is 70% more, There is no scientific proof behind it and honestly i believe that there is something going on behind this. Some doctor in Pakistan said that Education Institutes should not be opened for at least two months as COVID-19 is changing its face weekly. 
We are not honestly getting the truth from anywhere at all, As i stated in my previous comment that if its 70% more transmissible than COVID-19 but its not deadly??(wth)
If it's not deadly why every country just halted every UK Flight immediately, So something is fishy and it could be deadly.
Now i have seen on news that there is a new Variant found in Nigeria. If someone has any information about that i would really love to hear that!

Regards,
sAmI

Thanks @sAmI.  Your response sounds spot on.  The South African Government is also disputing this.  Our science guys want to see evidence for this claim.  What is really bad is that because of Hancock's claims fake news started that it was South Africa who was responsible for Britain's second wave.  Even when it is commonly known that the South African new strain only started ONE MONTH after the second wave's start in Britain.  All kinds of nonsense news coming from Hancock's office.  In the meanwhile there have only been two cases with the South African strain discovered in England and only recently.  But hey, I guess that's a nice way for Hancock to divert attention away from his mismanagement of the crisis in Britain.

[LightDestory]

I have read news about this variant. Well I am not surprised but scared.

This is the second mutation of corona that has been discovered in the last 2 months! Don't you remember the Mink's variant? Millions of minkshas been killed because affected by the virus. Moreover there are already few cases of humans affected by mink's mutation, mutation that seems more aggressive than before! (Maybe not compatible with the current vaccine)

Now there is this new UK variation that seems to be a lot faster on spreading!

Let's hope that mink and uk doesn't meet at all...

The virus is adapting and evolving too fast and there is an high risk that our current vaccine will be useless against the new variants.

The governments are going crazy, all scared but they don't enforce a lockdown. You can't count on citizen.

[deanhills]

Now there is this new UK variation that seems to be a lot faster on spreading!

Yes @LightDestory. But think about this logically. How can the virus be faster spreading than it already has been? Unless the character of the variant has changed and it has become air borne or something, but if it still works with touch or handling touched surfaces or face to face particles, then how could that spread faster than it already has? Like where is the common sense of this? Scientists in South Africa would like their counter parts in Europe to actually prove to them scientifically how the variant can be 70% more contagious than it already was?

Bottom line. This virus is evolving all of the time. Someone here said that the virus is outsmarting every one and adapting to its environment. That would make more sense to me. It will be interesting to see how effective the vaccines are going to be. As I'd imagine human nature people will think they are now protected against the virus and don't need to wear masks any longer or keep social distances.

[rudra]

i would like to share some of my own thoughts here.

how could it be 70 percent more infectious ?

case1: a person could get infected with covid from 170 units of virus strain 1. but virus strain 2 only takes 100 units for the same person in more or less the same physical state. so strain 2 can be said to be 70 percent more infectious.

Now i do not know how they define degree of infectiousness in epidemiology. it might as well be through rate of increase of patients when under certain similar conditions for both strains. like x nos increases to be y1 for strain 1 and y2 for strain 2. and y2 is 70 percent more than y1.

So it is certainly possible to be more infectious always. it could only be impossible if everyone ever coming in contact would get infected for sure. But i am sure you all know that is not the case.

mutation of this covid virus....

this is an RNA virus and they are usually highly mutable. take the example of flu vaccine. there are many polyvalent vaccines. some work on 4 variants i think. cause of this mutability. also you need shots each year if you are vulnerable to them. but if you keep getting exposure to low doses of various strains year round, then your body is ready with adequate top ups and mutations/selections ob antibodies too..

It may come as shock to some that the fighting cells in our bodies change too according to the incoming foreign infection agents.

My theory on why the fatality rate in the west is so high is cause they live in a more clean and sanitary environment. less exposure to various infectious agents from nature since childhood. so their immune system and fighting cells are less used to changing or developing weapons on demand when it comes to all out war.

it is certainly possible for the same vaccine to work on a group of similar virus strains.

though i think it will become more like the flu situation. they will have to keep adjusting and redeveloping vaccines every year.

and we will have to keep using masks to reduce the count of viruses we get exposed to at one go. we need the slow poisoning.. hehe

finally, of course the companies are gearing up to reap the benefits.

re. China is blaming india among other countries now as the original source/ground zero of this virus. hahaha

[deanhills]

Great post @rudra.  Now this I can relate to.  I've got a much better understanding now.

My theory on why the fatality rate in the west is so high is cause they live in a more clean and sanitary environment. less exposure to various infectious agents from nature since childhood. so their immune system and fighting cells are less used to changing or developing weapons on demand when it comes to all out war.

OK, but then why is it also high in certain third world countries like in South America and Africa?  

I think there is something else happening that scientists haven't discovered yet.  They're still searching for it.  

it is certainly possible for the same vaccine to work on a group of similar virus strains.

Thanks for the info about vaccines.  I was watching some interviews with vaccine candidates of the West.  A number of those believed that this meant the end of the virus and back to normal.  In other words, once they've been vaccinated there won't be a need for precautions any longer.  We can get back to normal. I guess logically that's a totally irrational expectation to have, but Governments are allowing their citizens to carry on with beliefs like these. Particularly since there are such large numbers of citizens who are very skeptical of the vaccines. I'm one of those. I don't believe scientists know enough about the virus to be confident enough about the efficacy of the virus. Particularly on its longer term down sides. 

I'm not a scientist, but for me logically for those who have had the virus, their anti bodies start to recede after three months of recovery.  So I'd have thought logically that with a vaccine its efficacy will start to go down after 3 months as well.  But OK maybe a bit longer as there aren't single dose vaccines.  One has to go back after a set period of time.  But at what time does the vaccine stop to protect the person?

finally, of course the companies are gearing up to reap the benefits.

Right.  Mega greed in the making.

re. China is blaming india among other countries now as the original source/ground zero of this virus. hahaha

Haha .... indeed.  I still believe there is good grounds for a conspiracy theory.  For me one has to look at motive, and China has a very sound motive for starting the virus.   I'm still wondering where Case ZERO started and the how, when, where, etc of it.  Like all of a sudden the world's gone quiet about why and how it started.  Like wasn't Australia going to start a court case against China for how it mismanaged the pandemic at the start of it?

[Sn1F3rt]

I can't believe it. Now they are saying the transmission rate is 70% more? How did they come to that conclusion?

The first wave in July in the UK was serious enough for a total lockdown. Transmission was total. So how can it get 70% more than that critical level of the previous lockdown?

Someone is not telling the truth here. 70% greater than July? Measured how? Where is the scientific proof for this?

Yeah it does sound very weird, I'm not sure if there's a stern proof at the moment to prove this, but well experts worldwide and claiming so and to quote the article "Most new positive cases that have surfaced in the UK, especially in London, have been because of the new strain." Here's the article this excerpt is quoted from : https://www.deccanherald.com/internation...29790.html

I can't comment on the truth of the matter, but we have to our part of being more cautious. Even if the transmission rate of the virus is at par with what exists, we still have to acknowledge the fact that there are four mutated variants in circulation, and it's our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Already the new strain has been found in India, even though most international flights from the affected countries have been put to halt.

I remember that day, just a few months ago when the first case of a death caused by COVID-19 was in the news, all of us were struck to the television screens to assert the truth of the matter, people with varying comments. And now ... hundreds die everyday and their relatives, in fact, everyone stares helplessly. Don't want one more such situation with already such a chaos worldwide, we must all remember that instead of the family in the news it could be us one day, with one of our loved ones the unfortunate one. I hope you understand, it's high time we take the matter seriously and act with wisdom.

[deanhills]

@sohamb03 Agreed. There was a scientist here in South Africa who quipped when the new variant was discussed that the virus is more clever than scientists are. It redesigns itself all of the time. Seriously though, we probably have to accept this is something that isn't going to go away next month or even next year.

@rudra helped explain the 70%. I misunderstood in thinking what was meant was the level of contagious - like it's 70% more infectious. Whereas it has more to do with fatality. People get 70% more sick from the new variant. Would be interesting to hear whether the South African variant has been spreading in the UK.

[Sn1F3rt]

@sohamb03  Agreed.  There was a scientist here in South Africa who quipped when the new variant was discussed that the virus is more clever than scientists are.  It redesigns itself all of the time.  Seriously though, we probably have to accept this is something that isn't going to go away next month or even next year.  

I agree @deanhills. Already one was a great problem and now four are in circulation. I'm literally tired of wearing a mask each time I go out, coming back and sanitizing myself, taking a bath and only then returning to normal life. I really miss those carefree days now. The lockdown imposed indeed did more harm than good, and honestly, I'm saturated with living like this, hoping for a solution to this virus every day.

Who knows till when will we have to continue this way, or will it stay forever. Just hoping for the best, though lots of my hopes were shattered in the house lockup this year. It sucks, but again nothing left to be done either.