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Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Australia: Brisbane To Enter 3-Day Lockdown Over Detection Of COVID B.1.1.7 Variant Virus

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Credit Queensland Health

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The more transmissible B.1.1.7 COVID variant – which was first detected in the UK, and has now been identified in more than 40 countries – has raised concerns it might eventually become the dominant strain worldwide.

Even though it has not been linked to more severe illness, and there are hopeful signs the current vaccine will be effective against it, a substantially more transmissible virus remains a serious threat and could easily overwhelm local health delivery systems. 

Two days ago Denmark – which has detected fewer than 100 cases –  estimated it could become their dominant strain in as little as a month from now (see Denmark: Statens Serum Institute (SSI) Estimate Of COVID Variant B.1.1.7 Growth).

For countries who have successfully achieved low levels of COVID-19 transmission – and have only found only a few cases of the variant virus – there remains hope it may still be possible to contain, or at least slow, the spread of this more daunting variant 

While Australia has detected the variant in a small number of quarantined arrivals into the country, until yesterday they’d never detected a case outside of quarantine. Yesterday that lucky streak ended with the detection of the variant in a quarantine hotel employee,who was presumably infectious for several days before being identified. 

This January 7th alert from Public Health Australia. 

Public Health Alert: Brisbane

A public health alert has been issued for locations across Brisbane following the identification of a positive case in a quarantine hotel employee.

The 20-29-year-old woman was unknowingly infectious from 2 January 2021 and tested positive for COVID-19 on 6 January 2021.

Those who have been to the below locations during the relevant time periods, regardless of whether they have symptoms, are asked to come forward for testing and isolate until they receive their results.

Critically, even if a negative test result is received, people are asked to continue to monitor for symptoms and get retested if necessary.

(Continue . . . )

In order to try to contact trace, and hopefully stop the spread of this variant, Queensland Health has ordered a 3-day lockdown of the greater Brisbane area.

Greater Brisbane 3-day lockdown

Greater Brisbane will go into lockdown for three days, while contact tracers work to ensure the UK variant of COVID-19 is not circulating in the community.


From 6pm tonight, Friday 8 January, until 6pm Monday 11 January people in the local government areas of Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and Logan will be required to stay at home except for the following reasons:

  • Shopping for essentials, food and necessary supplies
  • Medical or healthcare needs, including compassionate requirements
  • Exercise with no more than one other person, unless all from the same household
  • Providing care or assistance to an immediate family member
  • Work, or volunteering, or study if it is not reasonably practicable to work or learn remotely
  • Child custody arrangements
  • Legal obligations
  • Visit for end of life
  • Attend funeral or wedding in line with restrictions

Masks will also need to be worn everywhere in those local government areas except if people are at home.

Cafes, pubs and restaurants will be open only for takeaway and delivery services.

Funerals will be restricted to 20 people and weddings to 10, including the celebrant and two witnesses.

All essential businesses remain open. If you need to leave Greater Brisbane for an essential purpose, such as to work, to return home or to access healthcare, you should limit your movements for those three days wherever you go.

We’re also asking anyone who was in Greater Brisbane on or since 2 January, to follow the same lockdown rules where they are now. Only leave your home for the essential reasons and wear a mask.

Get tested

If you have any symptoms at all, get tested immediately and quarantine at home until you receive a negative result.
List of restrictions

The full list of restrictions include:

  • No more than two visitors to the household per day (in addition to anyone else currently staying in the household), excluding care workers or volunteers
  • All businesses that can remain open must adhere to social (physical) distancing and continue operating under a COVID Safe or Industry Plan
  • Restaurants and cafes to provide takeaway and delivery services only
  • Cinemas, entertainment and recreation venues, gyms etc to close
  • Places of worship to close
  • Weddings involve a maximum of 10 people, including the celebrant and witnesses
  • Funerals involve a maximum of 20 people
  • Mandatory mask wearing anywhere outside of your home
  • No visitors to aged care facilities, hospitals, disability accommodation services or correctional facilities.

(Continue . . . )

Whether or not is is reasonable to expect that Australia – or any other country –  can keep the B.1.1.7 variant out of their nation’s population over the long term is debatable. 

But Australia – which quelled two modest spikes of COVID in 2020 – has remarkably brought down their daily case counts to the low double, or even single digits (see epi curve below).

Meaning every delaying tactic, and every measure they can take to potentially slow its spread, gives them more time to roll out COVID vaccinations (now expected to begin in February) to their front line workers, and general population. 

Australia%2BEpi.png

And that’s a hard earned luxury few other countries can take advantage of right now. 

 

Porsche Taycan dethrones Tesla Model 3 as the fastest EV to cross the USA

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On December 31, 2020, a bunch of EV aficionados set a new EV record for a Cannonball Run in a Porsche Taycan 4S. The group beat the previous record, held by a Tesla Model 3 Long Range, by 51 minutes. The Cannonball Run is a fabled and illegitimate cross-country road trip-race combo that sees drivers attempt to get from New York to Los Angeles as quickly as possible. It was first developed to protest the growing number of speed limits being applied to US roads. With road safety being more important than ever, the concept is outdated and not something…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Tesla

You

yaskhan

You carry silver stars in your hair 
I love the feel of your hair on my fingers bare

I see the whole universe in the depth of your eyes 
You leave me breathless, my soul soars to the skies.

Your skin radiant like sunlight on meadow
Where I bask in the warmth of your inherent glow.

Your smile, the charisma of a promise untold
Sparking the air like sparkling gold.

Your voice soft in its gentleness
Falling like whisper upon my skin
Leaving my senses on a roller coaster spin.

Your quill spins a spell
A spelling from the soul
The embrace of imagination
In the creation of poetry.


# Lyric

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Avian Flu Diary: London Mayor Declares `Major Incident’ As COVID Cases Rise

“One in 30 Londoners now has Covid. This is why public services across London are urging all Londoners to please stay at home except for absolutely essential shopping and exercise.

“We know how tough this is for Londoners. Councils are here to support anyone struggling to access food or medicine.

“Today, the thoughts of London leaders are with the thousands of Londoners in hospital battling Covid and the amazing carers fighting to save lives. We owe it to them to do all we can to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

“This is a dark and difficult time for our city but there is light at end of the tunnel with the vaccine rollout. We are asking Londoners to come together one last time to stop the spread – lives really do depend on it.”

Source: Avian Flu Diary: London Mayor Declares `Major Incident’ As COVID Cases Rise

Vancouver Gave Its Homeless $5,800. It Changed Their Lives. (test program – works and saves money)

Though the formal research has yet to be published, the early results are staggering. Half of the cash recipients moved into stable housing one month after they received the money, compared to 25 percent of the control group. “That was phenomenal,” says Zhao.

Almost 70 percent of them were food secure in one month. Like Ray, they spent most of the money on the essentials — food, shelter, bills. On average, the cash recipients spent a total of three fewer months in a shelter than those in the control group, whose days spent homeless increased. After one year, cash recipients reduced their spending on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes by an average of almost 40 percent, challenging “the widespread misperception that people in poverty will misuse cash funds,” the report stated. At the end of the year-long study, participants had an average of $1,000 still left in the bank.

Source: Vancouver Gave Its Homeless $5,800. It Changed Their Lives.

Trump Supporters Blame Antifa for Riot in U.S. Capitol (Can’t even stand behind their own people-cowards)

So if antifa isn’t even a tangible organization, how the fuck would all of these GOP officialspundits and conspiracy theorists even know that antifa members infiltrated and caused all the destruction during the O.K. Corral trailer park reenactment that was the riot at the Capitol? How does one identify an official antifa member? Is there a uniform? A gang tat? A decoder ring?

Certainly, they’re not relying on the facial recognition software that the Washington Times claimed identified antifa members among the rioters. (At least that’s what was reported before that four-course meal of white nonsense with extra caucasity on the side got debunked and the Times had to update the story with a retraction.)

Is West Virginia Republican Delegate Derrick Evans antifa?

Source: Trump Supporters Blame Antifa for Riot in U.S. Capitol

How the U.S. Capitol Police were overrun in a ‘monumental’ security failure – The Washington Post

“I was actually on the phone with Leader Hoyer who was pleading with us to send the Guard,” Hogan said Thursday.

But the governor said he was initially stymied: Maj. Gen. Timothy Gowen, the adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard, was repeatedly rebuffed by the Defense Department.

Hoyer “was yelling across the room to [Senate Minority Leader Charles E.] Schumer and they were back and forth saying, we do have the authorization and I’m saying, ‘I’m telling you we do not have the authorization,’ ” Hogan recalled. It wasn’t until about 90 minutes later that the secretary of the Army called asking the Maryland guardsmen to “come as soon as possible,” the governor said.

Source: How the U.S. Capitol Police were overrun in a ‘monumental’ security failure – The Washington Post