The notorious covi variants of 2021

News (1) to (2) / Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA / Image courtesy : DailyMail

News (1)

A glance at the notorious covi variants

On 9 May 2021, the Mail on Sunday revealed the known covi variants in the UK. 

According to virologists, B.1.617.2 has mutated to B.1.617.3. Both are covi variants that are first identified in India.

Public Health England has divided covi variant of India into three sub-types B.1.617, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. The first and third sub-types have a mutation called E484Q but B.1.617.2 is missing it, despite still clearly being a descendant of the original strain in India.

Other known covi variants that are circulating in the world include those first identified in Antigua, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines and the UK. There are three covi variants of the UK. Please refer to the covi variant table above.

B.1.324.1 is first identified in Antigua after two British travellers returned with the covi variant from the Caribbean country Antigua and Barbuda on 4 March 2021.

News (2)

Britons can embrace each other from 17 May 2021 with "common sense"

After Public Health England reported the UK has only five fatalities from covid on 8 May 2021, the country's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, publicly announces on 10 May 2021 that Britons in the UK can embrace each other with "common sense" from 17 May 2021.

Britons will be advised to exercise discretion before embracing each other.  Besides, from 17 May 2021, British funerals will allow a maximum of 30 attendees.

The UK authorities report an increase of 2,047 confirmed covid cases on 8 May 2021, the lowest record since 14 March 2021.

Sources : The Mail on Sunday, Coronaheadsup

Refs: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9557993/Hugging-friends-relatives-allowed-WEEK.html?ito=push-notification&ci=157187&si=29714469&ai=9557993; https://www.coronaheadsup.com/tag/b-1-324-1/

News (3)

Which countries are on the UK's "green list", "red list" and "brown list"

Reporter : Zhou Zixin / Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Image : The UK has gradually loosened the restrictions a few days ago. As a result, a large number of people go to outdoor restaurants to eat. (Photo/Dazhi Image Reuters) 

The epidemic in the UK has eased recently. Coupled with good vaccination conditions, more than 35 million people have completed the first dose of vaccine.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps held a press conference on 7 May to announce that the travel ban will be lifted in some areas and British citizens returning from the "green list" will be exempt from quarantine. 

Shapps stated that British citizens can start planning foreign travel. Starting 17 May 2021, overseas travel will be allowed and the destinations will be divided into three levels, namely green, brown and red. 

If the people are going to a country on the green light list, as long as the passengers are tested before entering or leaving the country, they do not need to be quarantined after returning to the country.

 According to foreign media reports, a total of 12 countries and regions are included in the green light safety list, including Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Israel, Brunei, Iceland, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, South Georgia and other places. The brown list covers the largest number of countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Japan, South Korea, etc. 

Returning people basically need to undergo home quarantine for 10 days, but if they have a negative test certificate, it can be shortened to 5 days. 

Turkey, Maldives, Nepal and other areas hardest hit by the epidemic are on the red list. After returning to the country, they are required to undergo strict quarantine measures and mandatory 10-day quarantine in hotels. 

After the news was released, people still expressed their disappointment because most of the past tourist hotspots are not on the green light list and some countries in the list still implement strict epidemic prevention measures and only allow their own nationals to enter.

At present, Taiwan is included in the UK's brown list. In response, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it will continue to communicate with the British side to strive for Taiwan to be included on the "green list."

Ref: news.tvbs.com.tw/world/1506331?from=Copy_content

News (4) to (20) / Editor : Ye Ziwei / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/5/8/n12932822.htm / Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News (4)

EU: Cancellation of vaccine patents is a non-magic medicine

EU leaders on Saturday (May 8) stepped up their efforts to criticize the US for requesting the cancellation of patents for the SARS-CoV-2 (CCP virus, covi) vaccine, believing that this will not bring about short- or medium-term relief to the epidemic. Instead, they urged Washington to remove export restrictions.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said the day after the EU summit in Portugal, “We don’t think this (abandoning the vaccine patent) is a short-term panacea.” French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that it is “a wrong debate” to give priority to discussing intellectual property issues now.

On the contrary, their appeal before joining the European Union required US President Biden to start promoting US vaccine exports in order to control the global COVID-19 (disease caused by the Chinese Communist virus) crisis. They believe this need is the most urgent.

Michelle said, "We encourage all partners to promote the export of (vaccine) doses."

The United States has been strictly controlling the export of vaccines made in the country so that it can vaccinate its people first. The European Union has become the world's leading supplier, and the number of vaccines exported to regions outside the G27 is equivalent to the dose reserved for its 446 million residents. The EU has distributed about 200 million doses of vaccines within the group, and the same number of vaccines have been exported to nearly 90 countries abroad.

"First, you must open up." Macron said, "In the United States, in the United Kingdom, 100% of what is produced is used for the domestic market."

"First of all, the Anglo-Saxons must stop their export ban." The French President said.

Previously, Biden unexpectedly agreed to cancel the covi vaccine patent protection, aiming to help people in poorer countries have vaccines to vaccinate. The EU is trying to regain its diplomatic initiative in vaccines.

News (5)

New Zealand extends suspension of travel without quarantine

New Zealand has extended the suspension of non-quarantine travel to midnight on Sunday (9 May), at which time it will resume regular travel ties with New South Wales, Australia.

New Zealand suspended travel without quarantine on Thursday (6 May) in response to two new community cases discovered in Sydney.

Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s Minister of Virus Response, said that the risk assessment in New South Wales is that “two community cases in Sydney have been under control and there is no evidence that there is undetected widespread community transmission.”

News (6)

B.1.617 found in Bangladesh

After several weeks of blocking the border with neighbouring countries, Bangladesh’s health authorities stated that the country had discovered a highly infectious variant of the virus that was first discovered in India.

Nasima Sultana, deputy director of the Bangladesh Directorate of Health Services (DGHS), told reporters that six cases of B.1.617 have been detected in the country.

"There are two confirmed cases of the variant virus in India, and the rest are very similar to this kind of cases." Sultana said.

He added that they had all recently returned from neighboring India and were quarantined. 

News (7)

Brazil adds more than 63,000 confirmed cases, 2,202 more deaths

The Brazilian Ministry of Health said that in the past 24 hours, Brazil had recorded 63,430 confirmed cases and 2,202 deaths.

So far, the total number of confirmed cases in the largest country in Latin America has reached 15,145,879, and the total official death toll has reached 421,316.

News (8)

Turkey's daily increase in cases is less than 20,000 for the first time since mid-March

According to Turkish government data, in the past 24 hours, there were 18,052 new infections in the country. For the first time since March 17th, the number of new cases in a single day was less than 20,000.

So far, the total number of infections in Turkey has exceeded 5 million.

Statistics show that another 281 people died from the CCP virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 42,746.

In recent weeks, the number of new infections in Turkey has exceeded 60,000 in a single day.

The country eased epidemic prevention restrictions in early March. Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a "total lockdown" until 17 May to curb the surge in infections and deaths.

News (9)

Man diagnosed after arriving in Australia from India

Australian media reported that a man who traveled from India to Australia was tested positive for the CCP virus in Western Australia. He was taken to the hospital for treatment after he fell ill.

This man in his 30s was quarantined in the hotel. On Saturday, he was rushed to the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth. He is reported to be in stable condition.

Western Australia reported no new cases of covid on Saturday, and the state is monitoring 22 active cases.

News (10)

B.1.617.2 found in South Africa

The variant virus B.1.617.2, originally identified in India, is now also found in South Africa.

The South African Ministry of Health announced on Twitter on Saturday (8th) that it had found 4 cases of B.1.617.2 and 11 cases of the  variant virus B.1.1.7.

News (11)

Head of vaccine promotion: The virus will stop in the UK in August

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Dr. Dix said that the UK is expected to achieve the goal of injecting at least one dose of the covi vaccine for all adults by the end of July.

Dix said that when all adults are vaccinated against the virus, the UK will "may have protected its population from all known variants, and we will be safe in the coming winter."

The outgoing vaccine chief said that he personally predicts that by sometime in August, "we will not spread the virus in the UK."

News (12)

Britain upgrades B.1.617.2 to "variant of concern"

The Public Health England confirmed on Friday (May 7) that the British health authorities have upgraded a mutant strain of the CCP virus detected in India for the first time to a "variant of concern" (VOC).

PHE said that based on the “increase in UK cases and evidence of community transmission,” the agency reclassified this variant from “variant under investigation” to “variant of concern”.

There is evidence that this variant, called B.1.617.2, "has at least the same spread as B.1.1.7", and the latter is called the British variant or the Kent variant. PHE added that other features of this variant are still under investigation.

Dr. Susan Hopkins, Director of Strategic Response for PHE’s COVID-19 (Disease Caused by the Chinese Communist Virus), said, “We are monitoring all these variants extremely closely and decided to list them, pay attention to variants, because there are signs that this VOC-21APR-02 (Variant of the CCP virus) is a variant that is easier to spread."

The VOC-21APR-02 variant cases have increased from 202 to 520 in the past week, and almost half of the cases are related to travel or contact with travelers.

These cases are distributed throughout the UK but most cases are in northwest England and London.

News (13)

India has a record high number of deaths in a single day, a southern state announces lock down

India’s single-day death toll reached a new high as the southern state of Tamil Nadu announced new lockdown measures on Saturday.

The Ministry of Health of India stated that 4,187 people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing India's total death toll close to 240,000. In addition, the number of confirmed cases has increased by 401,078, and the total number of infections in India has increased to 21.9 million.

Officials in Tamil Nadu state that the whole state will enter the blockade starting 10 May 2021 and will last until 24 May. Shops and other businesses will be allowed to open on Saturdays and Sundays to allow residents time to prepare for a complete lockdown.

Neighbouring Karnataka, home to Bangalore, India's technology capital, also announced on Friday night that it would extend the movement restrictions until 24 May. 

News (14)

The British variant of the CCP virus accounts for 60% to 70% of cases in Pakistan

A research center for the COVID-19 disease in Pakistan stated that the first CCP virus discovered in the UK is reflected in 60% to 70% of all infections in Pakistan.

Professor Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi, disclosed this figure to Reuters. He also said that this figure was only 2% in January.

B.1.1.7, also known as the "British variant", is believed to be more contagious than other previously dominant coronavirus variants. However, Chowdhury said whether the variant is more deadly remains to be determined.

He also added that a virus variant discovered in neighboring India has caused a massive surge in cases in India in recent weeks. The Indian variant virus has not been detected in Pakistan but this is because they do not have the kits required to detect the variant.

In recent weeks, the daily death toll in Pakistan has exceeded 100.

Officials worry that if a more contagious variant of the virus begins to spread, Pakistan will be like in India, and the strained medical system may reach the point of collapse. The system was extended to 24 May. 

News (15)

France's latest epidemic figures

On Saturday (8 May), France recorded 176 covid deaths in hospitals, a decrease from 226 the day before.

The country’s Ministry of Health said the number of new cases rose to 20,745 from 19,124 the day before.

News (16)

US CDC latest epidemic data

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the current total number of deaths in the United States is 577,857, an increase of 816 from yesterday's 577,041; the number of patients increased by 43,756, and the total number of cases on Saturday (8 May) reached 32,446,915. Total number is 32,403,159 cases.

News (17)

More than 10,000 new cases in Italy

The Italian Ministry of Health said that the country recorded 10,176 cases of the Chinese Communist virus and 224 deaths, an increase from the number of 207 deaths on Friday.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Italy has recorded 122,694 deaths related to covid. It is the country with the second highest number of deaths in Europe after the United Kingdom and the seventh highest number of deaths in the world.

On Saturday, the number of hospitalized patients (excluding intensive care patients) suffering from covid was 15,799, a decrease from 16,331 the day before.

There are 110 new patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The total number of intensive care patients dropped from 2,253 to 2,211.

News (18)

Russia's epidemic is stabilizing

The Russian epidemic has stabilized, with approximately 8,300 new infections and 370 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The country was on an irregular holiday before 10 May to slow the spread of COVID-19.

News (19)

The EU approves at least 900 million vaccine doses

The European Union has approved the 900 million vaccine dose contracts signed with Pfizer and BioNTech, while also ensuring the option of an additional 900 million vaccine doses by 2023. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet that "other contracts and other vaccine technologies will follow."

In other comments, the committee chair stated that she is willing to discuss President Biden’s proposal to abandon vaccine patents but the United States needs to substantially increase vaccine exports.

News (20)

Britain releases green travel list, tourism companies usher in the best days

After the British government released the green tourism list, British travel companies cheered, welcoming the "best day" for holiday sales in the past few months.

On Friday (May 7), the Ministry of Transport announced a list of 12 destinations including Portugal. People can go to these destinations on the "green list" from May 17 and do not need to return to the UK. isolation.

Tui, the largest holiday company in the UK, said that after the announcement of this list, customer demand has increased, especially for travel to Portugal.

A spokeswoman said, “Since the initial announcement of the road map in February, we have ushered in the best day of summer holiday sales in 2021. Of all the holiday sales yesterday, 60% went to Portugal.”

The company said it has added new flights and extra vacations for those who want to leave as soon as possible.

Hays Travel, the largest independent travel agency in the United Kingdom, said that when the news came out, the company experienced its busiest week since the beginning of the CCP virus pandemic.

News (21)

Two lions at Indian safari park test positive for virus

CNN reported that according to officials at the Etawah Wildlife Park in Uttar Pradesh, India, two lions in the park tested positive for covid.

After the zoo found that the two lions had a fever, their samples were sent for testing.

The authorities added that the situation for the lions is stable. They have been quarantined and their health is monitored regularly.

Earlier this week, 8 lions were also detected as infected in the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has previously stated that based on the experience of other zoos around the world, "there is no factual evidence that animals can further spread this disease to humans."

News (22)

Laos reports 69 confirmed covid cases and a death on 9 May 2021

Source : The Laotian Times

Laos has confirmed 69 new cases of Covid-19 today and announced its first death as a result of the coronavirus.

The National Taskforce, led by Dr. Latsamy Vongkhamxay, said during its daily announcement today that following 6,827 tests (1,422 in Vientiane Capital and 4,770 in Bokeo), the country had confirmed 69 new cases of Covid-19 and one death.

The new cases bring the total number of cases to 1,302, with 1,069 active cases nationwide.

The new cases included 46 new cases in Bokeo Province, 16 in Vientiane Capital, four in Savannakhet, and three in Champasack.

Dr. Bouathep Phoumindr spoke during the announcement regarding the country’s first death.

She said that the new strains of the virus are particularly dangerous for elderly people or those with underlying conditions, with a faster emergence of symptoms that can lead to death.

The first death attributed to Covid-19 recorded in Laos was a 53-year-old Vietnamese national, connected to a karaoke bar in Naxay Village, Vientiane Capital which operated illegally during the lockdown.

The woman was admitted to hospital with minor symptoms, however, she quickly worsened, exhibiting severe symptoms after four days.

The woman died in hospital at approximately 1 am this morning.

Dr. Bouathep said that this death should be viewed as a lesson to those who continue to treat the virus lightly, urging everyone to follow the advice provided by the Ministry of Health and other authorities.

Mr. Savankhone Razmountry, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism also spoke during the announcement, warning against following fake news and advising listeners to continue following the daily announcements by the National Taskforce and the Ministry of Health.