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New South African variant

Started by Mozart42 REPLIES969 VIEWS· 26 Nov 2021, 20:08
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MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
26 Nov 2021, 20:08
#1
26 Nov 2021, 20:08#1

Stocks are crashing today and sectors like energy are being decimated by a new Covid variant originating in South Africa and Botswana. The variant which was identified by South African public health has apparently got a number of new mutations on it’s spikes. The thought being that these would make existing vaccines less effective and the virus itself more transmissible.


Nothing is really known for certain, but clearly markets are very concerned.


It’s trite, but one can’t help but noticing that these new strains emerge in Africa and India where vaccination rates are low….not in the US, Europe, Japan or Israel. The world needs to up the vaccination rate to reduce the breeding ground for these variants.


My guess is much of the initial panic was increased by the huge Delta wave crushing Germany and other European countries. But it’s depressing to be facing yet another potential set back.


Enough already.

SH
sharkbokCaptain23,202 posts
26 Nov 2021, 20:17
#2
26 Nov 2021, 20:17#2

The Botswana variant (Omicron) seems like the beta variant (South African variant)- but worse. 

What is concerning is that it may be more infectious than Delta, so it could become the dominant strain worldwide.
Delta was able to out-compete the Beta variant due to higher transmissibility.

It looks like a new wave is starting in SA-and it may be down to the Botswana variant.
It is a much steeper curve on new infections than other variants in SA. It is being investigated if this is all the new Omicron variant

If Covid gets worse and worse, it may be time to consider viral gain of function to create a new variant that is weak and can't mutate- but is made to be more infectious so it becomes the dominant strain. Although if that went wrong, it would be an absolute disaster. 

PL
PlumCaptain21,007 posts
26 Nov 2021, 20:25
#3
26 Nov 2021, 20:25#3
As always, I shall be buying the dip. These strains will become less and less deadly. I’m more concerned that world governments now have a seemingly bottomless pit of boogeymen to draw upon as they usurp more and more of our rights.
PA
PakieCaptain17,321 posts
26 Nov 2021, 22:41
#4
26 Nov 2021, 22:41#4

If they shut down travel and recreational activities and impose alcohol bans and curfews again this holiday because of this shit, this country faces an economic catastrophe that will dwarf the already minuscule effects of the stupid virus. People are desperate and stressed out, businesses in tourism and hospitality industries are clinging on by the skin of their teeth and literally need a strong December holiday to survive into next year.

In the meantime the current active cases in South Africa constitutes 0.03% of the population. Some pandemic. This insanity needs to stop. New strain, so fucking what? Get on with living.

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Nov 2021, 01:25
#5
27 Nov 2021, 01:25#5

I agree, the world must go on…lockdowns haven’t been a great success in any case. Nor do I believe masks accomplish much. Distance the vulnerable and vaccinate everybody…..then keep the lights on.

South Africa is getting positive comments on US media for speed and transparency, which is good to see.

SH
sharkbokCaptain23,202 posts
27 Nov 2021, 02:17
#6
27 Nov 2021, 02:17#6

This variant could render both vaccines and past infections useless.

However, given there is no current solution, and economies can't afford more lockdowns-. it may be time to build Covid only hospitals to increase beds.
And allow non-Covid patients to be separated from Covid ones. 



DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
27 Nov 2021, 07:29
#7
27 Nov 2021, 07:29#7
"If Covid gets worse and worse, it may be time to consider viral gain of function to create a new variant that is weak and can't mutate- but is made to be more infectious so it becomes the dominant strain."
Almost like a real vaccine spreading on it's own?
PL
PlumCaptain21,007 posts
27 Nov 2021, 10:04
#8
27 Nov 2021, 10:04#8
Building more COVID hospital is a great idea…in countries where the first thought doesn’t always lean towards corruption. Here’s something I experienced last year. A pal of one of the ANC higher-ups got nominated to build a 200 bed field hospital. This, despite him being 20% more expensive and never having done any construction or ever having owned or been part of a construction company. The hospital was meant to be completed by March last year. Inevitably he chucked together a group of his pals, put them in charge of different parts of building the hospital and skimmed money since day one. All these guys turn up to site in the best of the best luxury cars too. The result has been… Windows where not one is parallel with the ground. Flat walls that bend in all directions. Electrical plugs where not a single one is in line with the one beside it. Plumbing, lighting, and carpentry that looks like it was done by primary school kids. …and we were asked to install all the medical gas. We did so and I swear we were the only contractors on site that understood what a right angle is. Luckily I knew they would try to screw me so I had a backhander deal with the consultants since day one and they gave me the inside track to all the nefarious goings on. I delivered a shipping container to site with all our materials, pumps and compression equipment locked and welded shut inside it. I then claimed 90% of the contract value before we would lift a tool. In an attempt to wrench some money back from me…they actually charged me a square meter rental fee for the ground on which the container stood. Never mind the fact that they don’t own the land haha I did this because I was warned that after we deliver we wouldn’t be paid and if we returned to pick up our stuff(worth just short of 2 million) we’d be threatened by bribed cops and local officials. Begrudgingly they paid us our money…after many threats to the guys that work for me. To date all our works are done but, after inspection by independent engineers, now parts of the building have to be rebuilt from the ground up with the majority of trade work also having to be started virtually from scratch. Were the ANC “person” and his corrupt pal arrested or have either of them faced any consequences at all? Nope…the same guy got re-nominated for the works he fucked up in the first place. You already know the outcome…it goes something like this “Eish marra…” And what you might not want to know is that I know of many more projects like this that were funded by ANC’s R500 billion loan. A loan that will takes decades to repay. What I would like to know is where on earth I am supposed to summon respect for the majority in this country? Everywhere you look it’s just thievery, corruption and incompetence.
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
27 Nov 2021, 12:13
#9
27 Nov 2021, 12:13#9

I wonder at times about this pandemic,   In the Hessequa Municipal area where I live with a total population of 65 000 people there were this week 3  active cases.   George - population 186 000 - there were 31 active cases, Mossell Bay  12.   In the Western Cape with a population of 4 710 000 there are 866 active  cases.    

The problem seems to be in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Port Elizabeth  - where housing, medical and administration is weak and corrupt.          

DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
27 Nov 2021, 16:16
#10
27 Nov 2021, 16:16#10

Maaik, they added 18000 backlogged new cases of covid on Tuesday...that's the spike everyone is talking about...a deliberate  manipulation of the Google graph while the actual cases were actually 868 or something...and what do you know, a new strain is identified a few days later. How convenient. Y es there are an increase of cases in Pretoria,  but the rest of the country's cases are still extremely low...the travel ban and cancelation of sport is a ridiculous overreaction. 

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Nov 2021, 17:43
#11
27 Nov 2021, 17:43#11

Incredible story Plum. What makes it so depressing is these guys who got the contract could have used it as a launching pad for a legitimate, socially respected business….with far more money ultimately than skimming one contract.

It’s this inability to project a future and pigging out today that seems to doom Africa.

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Nov 2021, 22:06
#12
27 Nov 2021, 22:06#12

I was reading today only a quarter of the South African population is vaccinated….and South Africa is telling Pfizer to slow down on vaccine shipments!

PL
PlumCaptain21,007 posts
27 Nov 2021, 22:20
#13
27 Nov 2021, 22:20#13
I’d go one further, Moz. The lack of planning is the second biggest problem. The biggest problem is that one isn’t allowed to address the second biggest problem. I maintain that that Caucasian ancestry is rooted in climates that forced planning and provisioning tendencies into the gene pool. There’s hardly a place in Western Europe where you could survive unless your community understood the value of working today to live tomorrow. This is not a selective pressure that African ancestry ever faced to any meaningful degree. Here, fast twitch fibres and stamina were selected for because hunting small game in hot climates is what was necessary for survival. The evidence for this is quite clearly on display every four years at the Olympics. Whites have a reputation for greed and it falls perfectly in line with a race that heavily leaned into planning and provisioning for survival. Perhaps the biggest downside to all of this is that one could argue our genetic predisposition as the root cause of what has resulted in the materialistic zeitgeist which has accompanied our “reign”. And maybe one could argue that it’s easier for us to admit this because discussing your weaknesses is always easier when you’re winning. Still, no matter how much the west admits and openly shows remorse for, it’s not gonna solve the problem that other races have genetic predispositions too. One simply can’t be introspective on someone else’s behalf.
QS
Queensland SupporterClub Pro115 posts
27 Nov 2021, 22:38
#14
27 Nov 2021, 22:38#14

I was reading today only a quarter of the South African population is vaccinated….and South Africa is telling Pfizer to slow down on vaccine shipments!

If that is the actual reality in South Africa - that is not a good sign at all.


DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
27 Nov 2021, 23:03
#15
27 Nov 2021, 23:03#15

...but according to some experts up to 70% of the population already had covid...which is almost the same as being vaxxed...some doctors say it's better...I don't know about that, but I guess we'll see soon. Apparently the 4th wave is upon us.

QS
Queensland SupporterClub Pro115 posts
27 Nov 2021, 23:09
#16
27 Nov 2021, 23:09#16

South Africa is being punished for the new variant.  

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Nov 2021, 23:59
#17
27 Nov 2021, 23:59#17

Well Plum I wouldn’t limit those characteristics to Caucasians. The first generation Mexican migrants in the States are incredibly hard working family oriented people. Likewise people from the Philippines who have carved out a huge role in nursing… they can’t do enough for their patients. In fact I’d say most immigrants are hard working.

CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
28 Nov 2021, 00:05
#18
28 Nov 2021, 00:05#18

First of all - the virus was the first time identified in South Africa was from a traveler from Botswana  - not the same at all.   The SA Government is upset about the travel ban - since the SA experts indicated that the relevant  variant is substantially less dangerous than  previous variants.  

DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
28 Nov 2021, 09:49
#19
28 Nov 2021, 09:49#19

Maaik, for some odd reason South Africans are quite resilient against covid...might have something to do with us being exposed to TB and Malaria. We even cruised through Delta with relative ease while it wreaked havoc in other countries...Omicron might be mild here but devastating elsewhere...only time will tell, we don't even know it will be mild here for everyone...up till now only young people had it.

PA
PakieCaptain17,321 posts
28 Nov 2021, 09:56
#20
28 Nov 2021, 09:56#20

The joke, of course, is that people were told to vax otherwise they can't travel. So they vaxed. And now they still can't travel. It's funny, but it's not. On an emotional and mental level people are struggling. Looking forward to seeing family for the holidays in god knows how long. Did everything the powers that be told them to do to make that happen. And now they get the finger again.

We are clowns in somebody's circus, that's for su re.

PL
PlumCaptain21,007 posts
28 Nov 2021, 11:42
#21
28 Nov 2021, 11:42#21
Moz, I’m talking overall percentages rather than saying that different races are entirely devoid of specific traits. We’re generally not much different to each other but I do think that the small margins make a difference. Which is why I don’t think that any issues are insurmountable, so long as they can be addressed.
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
28 Nov 2021, 16:38
#22
28 Nov 2021, 16:38#22

"We are clowns in somebody's circus, that's for sure."

Indeed, things are not as it seem.

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
28 Nov 2021, 18:23
#23
28 Nov 2021, 18:23#23

Well it may be a mild variant…let’s hope so. But it caused about a 1 Trillion dollar loss on the US stock markets alone on Friday. This stuff is getting very old! Investing these days is fraught with event risk.


SH
sharkbokCaptain23,202 posts
28 Nov 2021, 19:28
#24
28 Nov 2021, 19:28#24

I also read a report by the doctor in South Africa who identified the new variant. She said that the symptoms are totally different from other variants (e.g. no loss of smell or taste). 

She said she thinks it may actually be a weaker variant, albeit it is more infectious. However, she does have a small sample of data to be sure. Scientists are concerned that it could evade vaccines and past infection, but if it is much weaker then it is less of an issue. 

MP
MpowerPro5,061 posts
28 Nov 2021, 20:26
#25
28 Nov 2021, 20:26#25
Who comes up with these names “Omnicron” sounds like a alien planet or a Dune space movie LOL
PA
PakieCaptain17,321 posts
28 Nov 2021, 21:18
#26
28 Nov 2021, 21:18#26

Yeah should have given it an SA name since we found it. The Boerewors-variant, summink like that.

DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
28 Nov 2021, 21:20
#27
28 Nov 2021, 21:20#27
   
MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
28 Nov 2021, 21:46
#28
28 Nov 2021, 21:46#28

They have used the B….beta variant….I’d go for S, sosatie variant or sousboontjie variant.

CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
29 Nov 2021, 12:13
#29
29 Nov 2021, 12:13#29

This is another example of  panic reporting;-

The SA Specialist who discovered  the variant said the following:-

" Health experts have warned against jumping to conclusions amid the media frenzy over the Omicron variant. South African Doctor Angelique Coetzee said all Omicron patients so far have shown mild symptoms and none of which required hospitalization.

“It’s extremely mild for us. It’s mild cases. We haven’t admitted anyone,” said Dr. Coetzee. “I spoke with other colleagues of mine, the same picture.”

XA
XaviPro1,924 posts
29 Nov 2021, 13:27
#30
29 Nov 2021, 13:27#30

Omnicron almost an anagram for Moronic.

PA
PakieCaptain17,321 posts
29 Nov 2021, 13:42
#31
29 Nov 2021, 13:42#31

Perfect anagram Xavi, there is only one N (omicron, not omnicron ).

BE
Beeno1Captain40,032 posts
29 Nov 2021, 14:21
#32
29 Nov 2021, 14:21#32

BWAHAHAHAHAHA CRASH GOES OUR RESIDENT NUTJOB MOZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.  

He got horribly embarrassed when berry admitted to the 17 errors  -  bad call against the boks every 2 minutes of play) and now he has jumped the shark and started trying to spread fear and gloom and this Moronic virus. Hahahahahahahahahaha

I see the JSE is up 992.59 points or 1.45% up so far today. Hahahahahhahahaha

Now let me posts some clips that will enlighten Mampara Moz about the Moronic Virus and the utterly useless deadly jabs. 



BE
Beeno1Captain40,032 posts
29 Nov 2021, 14:28
#33
29 Nov 2021, 14:28#33


XA
XaviPro1,924 posts
29 Nov 2021, 15:08
#34
29 Nov 2021, 15:08#34

@ Pakie, 

My bad, even worse then??

MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
29 Nov 2021, 18:19
#35
29 Nov 2021, 18:19#35

How exactly did I crash HasBeen? Explain it to me.By the way I bought back some shorts on Friday thinking it was likely Monday would be a bounce.

And here’s another prediction Omicron will depress the markets a few times before it’s done. Stick with moz.

DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
01 Dec 2021, 19:51
#36
01 Dec 2021, 19:51#36

"New Omicron variant could spell end for Covid-19 pandemic – top Russian scientist



A new mutant strain of Covid-19 that has sparked fears for vaccine resistance, caused flight cancellations, and sent the stock market plummeting could actually help bring the pandemic to an end, a Russian virologist has claimed.

In an interview published on Monday in Moscow tabloid KP, Anatoly Altshtein, a virologist at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which pioneered Russia’s Sputnik V jab, said that there it is still not clear how deadly or infectious the new Omicron variant might be. According to him, even if it does spread faster than its predecessor, known as Delta, it could take months to become the predominant form of the virus.

Even if that happens, he said, it’s not clear that Omicron means higher death tolls than at present. “Right now there are reasons to think that the Omicron variant could be less pathogenic,” he went on, meaning less able to cause harmful infection..."
MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
02 Dec 2021, 16:07
#37
02 Dec 2021, 16:07#37

Interesting theory…this simulates the idea of releasing a very infectious/mild virus, I believe you mentioned Draad. It’s an appealing theory, but why haven’t we tried this on the flu?

CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
02 Dec 2021, 17:11
#38
02 Dec 2021, 17:11#38

There was a rap[id rise in  infections in the Gauteng Province - coupled to a decline in hospitalizations confirming what the SA specialists said - the infections does not lead to  more people getting sick because of becoming infected.   

DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
13 Dec 2021, 18:52
#39
13 Dec 2021, 18:52#39

As things stand by province.


DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
13 Dec 2021, 18:55
#40
13 Dec 2021, 18:55#40

Spike in GP only...same trajectory as previous waves in other provinces ATM. Will be curious to see the trends developing. 

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