South African variant, one case in Southport.

[DixieRoy]

Am pretty sure that Haig Avenue is PR8.

When I lived there we were PR9, even numbered houses, people across the road, odd numbers were PR8.
Thatch and Thistle end of Haig Ave

[Alikado]

Tesco is in Kew Ward not Norward (sic).

The BBC seems to have some info which points to the Norwood Ave area ie between Roe Lane and Bispham Road

I think that it's just a convenient place to film with suitable backdrop.

[Little Londoner]

how did a virus from africa enter our town?....are there any recent people from africa in our town..or are the council etc hiding something

As I posted on another thread re Covid travel restrictions, people legally returning or coming into the U.K. are quarantined but the itinerant rubber dinghy jockeys are coming over in droves which suddenly does not seem worthy of a mention on the News could be bringing presents for us all. So it is quite easy to think HOW the South African mutation could be getting into the country.

[Alikado]

how did a virus from africa enter our town?....are there any recent people from africa in our town..or are the council etc hiding something

It is hardly surprising mutations get into the country, we hear about problems in far off lands then decide to take action in a fortnight.

[seivad]

As I posted on another thread re Covid travel restrictions, people legally returning or coming into the U.K. are quarantined but the itinerant rubber dinghy jockeys are coming over in droves which suddenly does not seem worthy of a mention on the News could be bringing presents for us all. So it is quite easy to think HOW the South African mutation could be getting into the country.

It's a ridiculous question. The world is a small place these days, every country in the world has been infected with the original Covid.

The S.African variant has emerged in at least 3 non European countries, Canada, the US and Israel. These 3 countries are hardly easy to access for African asylum seekers. The UK variant has also spread to a lot of other countries. Cases are growing daily over here. This is what viruses do. It only takes one person, then it spreads exponentially.

[local]

Just to point out that just because it's called the South Africa variant doesn't mean the mutant originated there, that's where it was identified.

So before we build a wall or launch the gunboats.

[said]

In order to spot emerging variants in the UK, random samples of PCR tests are sent for genome sequencing. This is how the variant was spotted in multiple areas of the UK. It's guaranteed that if cases were found in random spot checks of PCR tests, there are a lot more cases of the S. African variant out there. Please be careful, all of you.

It's the UK variant that's spreading like wildfire here. Apparently PCR tests will identify this variant dues to a missing S genome. These tests are then sent for sequencing to confirm the variant.

Maybe you're not aware of it, but at the beginning of the pandemic the UK government had the forethought to invest in a genomics consortium which has been sequencing SARS-Cov-2 genomes as fast as it can. The UK is responsible for around 50% of the world's genome data. This enables them to respond quickly to new variants identified in the community. Scientists the world over are using your consortium's data and lauding your scientist's work. From Canada... thank you.

The PCR tests are not accurate as has been reported by the WHO themselves. The reason being that the assay used was taken as a fraction of the genome and not based on the whole genome. PCR testing could only cope with 12kb of genome while the SARS2 requires 26.2 - 31,7 kb. It is impossible to achieve an accurate assay with only a fraction of the genome because there are so many virus microbes contained in it making it highly variable over the whole sequence. Also, there has been insufficient viral genome for comparisons. The PCR tests are only suitable for samples of low viral genetic material. The PCR method introduces amplification errors along the sequence.

Variations to viruses can be beneficial to the virus or highly detrimental in that they can destroy the virus. It is not known if the new variant has been present in the UK since August last. What is known is that a small part of the available information is passed to a virus consortium, placed on a computer which then forecasts a pattern of behaviour. ICOG UK. Who add a disclaimer to their report:

"Limitations1. This report is for information only. The clinical and public health importance of any single mutation,or combination of mutations cannot be determined from sequence data alone."

So don't panic - wait for actual confirmation.

[said]

Well, in this case you'd be wrong.

It would appear that posters on that site are genuinely scared and they are supporting one another with information re. vaccination sites/times etc.,

Please relay to them that there are 17 new variants of the Covid which have been discovered, and that a variant is merely a change. The actual virus has not been isolated as yet, most of the observations made are incomplete since there is insufficient viral material to use for testing. There really is the wrong information being given out and it is very unfair. The government should give exact information based on virus behaviour, instead of part of a story.

[MICK/GILLY]

Has anyone actually looked at the exemptions for people coming into or returning to the UK?. For example NHS staff don’t have to quarantine on return they can go straight back to work, yea on the wards dealing with your old granny. Then there’s other trades and other folk that are exempt and can just go back to work, if your country is on a no fly to UK list you can just fly to a country that you can fly on from and come into the UK from there. Beggars belief. ( no smiley wavey face ).

[Alikado]

The PCR tests are not accurate as has been reported by the WHO themselves. The reason being that the assay used was taken as a fraction of the genome and not based on the whole genome. PCR testing could only cope with 12kb of genome while the SARS2 requires 26.2 - 31,7 kb. It is impossible to achieve an accurate assay with only a fraction of the genome because there are so many virus microbes contained in it making it highly variable over the whole sequence. Also, there has been insufficient viral genome for comparisons. The PCR tests are only suitable for samples of low viral genetic material. The PCR method introduces amplification errors along the sequence.

Variations to viruses can be beneficial to the virus or highly detrimental in that they can destroy the virus. It is not known if the new variant has been present in the UK since August last. What is known is that a small part of the available information is passed to a virus consortium, placed on a computer which then forecasts a pattern of behaviour. ICOG UK. Who add a disclaimer to their report:

"Limitations1. This report is for information only. The clinical and public health importance of any single mutation,or combination of mutations cannot be determined from sequence data alone."

So don't panic - wait for actual confirmation.

It is the lateral flow tests that are not accurate.

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848

[local]

They all have a margin of error.

[said]

It is the lateral flow tests that are not accurate.

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848

The Lateral Flow tests are less accurate than the PCR tests, which themselves are not accurate.

[salus.populi]

people legally returning or coming into the U.K. are quarantined

They're supposed to quarantine but it hasn't been enforced or checked for most of the past year.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/u...order-19617899

[Alikado]

They all have a margin of error.

A test that picks up less than half cases is next to useless.

[local]

A test that picks up less than half cases is next to useless.

Simply not correct.