2019 Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Discussion

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#2583713 13-Oct-2020 16:16

What happened to the ESR testing the waste water? I believe this was done effectively in Ireland (???)

Seems like little good idea if testing is dropping off.

ESR seems to have gone silent since May

ESR scientists are setting up a project to gain new insights in to Coronavirus by analysing wastewater samples.

"The aim of the project is to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in wastewater and to better understand the role environmental monitoring can have in monitoring COVID-19 over time.

Sewage samples from known COVID-19 cluster areas have been collected and frozen while testing methodologies and protocols are established

When ready to carry out the testing, scientists will extract RNA from concentrated sewage samples - using the PCR method to amplify the samples they’ll then look for genes associated with Coronavirus.

If detected, ESR Chief Scientist, Dr Brett Cowan says the value will be in monitoring the distribution and prevalence of COVID-19 in the weeks, months and years ahead.

'By detecting and monitoring Coronavirus in wastewater we could potentially see how effective eradication is, gauge changes in different regions as well as better understand the patterns of community transmission,' he says."

Here's their ESR Covid web page updates, which seems stale

wellygary

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#2583717 13-Oct-2020 16:31

kingdragonfly: What happened to the ESR testing the waste water? I believe this was done effectively in Ireland (???)

Seems like little good idea if testing is dropping off.

ESR seems to have gone silent since May

Its big problem in NZ is that it gets contaminated by the MIQ hotels,

frankv

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#2583726 13-Oct-2020 16:48

mattwnz:

The question is, is everyone who has cold and flu symptoms getting a tested?

If their is little to no covid in the population, then people with cold or flu symptoms are not much more likely to have covid than anyone else. Conversely, of course, anyone who does have covid is likely to have cold or flu symptoms. So it's probably a good idea to get tested.

As things have opened up more again more people theoretically should get cold and flu symptoms.

Not necessarily. A friend who wintered over in Antarctica said that, two weeks after the last plane left, Scott Base was cold-(as in the disease ;) )-free. It stayed that way over the winter months until the first plane arrived, at which point pretty much the whole wintering-over party got sick.

I've also been told (although it's probably untrue... fomites and so on) that we could wipe out the cold and flu entirely if we quarantined everyone on Earth for two weeks.

So the lockdown(s) may have knocked out a fair chunk of the flu and cold virus reservoir in the community. And they probably won't be back in strength until next winter, which might (according to the Scott Base example) be much worse than normal. Or, if the cold and flu virus population has been dented more than it can recover quickly, it might be another relatively mild season, although worse than this year.

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#2583772 13-Oct-2020 17:24

BBC News - Covid reinfection: Man gets Covid twice

today

A man in the United States has caught Covid twice, with the second infection becoming far more dangerous than the first, doctors report *.

The man from Nevada had no known health problems or immune defects that would make him particularly vulnerable to Covid.

The time sequence:

25 March - First wave of symptoms, including sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhoea
18 April - He tests positive for the first time
27 April - Initial symptoms fully resolve
9 and 26 May - He tests negative for the virus on two occasions
28 May - He develops symptoms again, this time including fever, headache, dizziness, cough, nausea and diarrhoea
5 June - He tests positive for the second time, and is hypoxic (low blood oxygen) with shortness of breath

Scientists say the patient caught coronavirus twice, rather than the original infection becoming dormant and then bouncing back.

A comparison of the genetic codes of the virus taken during each bout of symptoms showed they were too distinct to be caused by the same infection.

"Our findings signal that a previous infection may not necessarily protect against future infection," said Dr Mark Pandori, from the University of Nevada.

"The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of Covid-19 immunity."

He said even people who have recovered should continue to follow guidelines around social distancing, face masks and hand washing.

* ref. The Lancet Journal of Infectious Diseases - Genomic evidence for reinfection with SARS-CoV-2: a case study

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#2583878 13-Oct-2020 19:35

On a lighter note scrolling through the news on Stuff. What a freaking dumb world we live in. Glad to be here in Godzone where the issues we face we can argue and bitch about but its not that bad at all.

Batman

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#2584044 14-Oct-2020 07:18

it's behind a paywall so i haven't (not able to) read it but reports of a covid test being developed at Yale ...

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-put-to-the-test-the-kiwi-working-on-a-game-changing-test/UUBDLQHFHUDZRZNBAYGGTNRUA4/

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tdgeek

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#2584053 14-Oct-2020 07:28

Batman:

it's behind a paywall so i haven't (not able to) read it but reports of a covid test being developed at Yale ...

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-put-to-the-test-the-kiwi-working-on-a-game-changing-test/UUBDLQHFHUDZRZNBAYGGTNRUA4/

Thanks. Here is a non paywall but April 2020 article on that, I'll look for something more recent

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/121256700/coronavirus-kiwi-in-the-us-on-cutting-edge-of-covid19-science-finding-new-ways-to-test

tdgeek

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#2584057 14-Oct-2020 07:35

September report on Batmans post

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2016359

More accurate it seems than nasal swabs, less exposure to healthcare workers, and cheaper. Good stuff

But the real aha moment is rapid results, thats the pathway to travel and economic benefits, when an international aircraft takes off with guaranteed no Covid

Batman

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#2584064 14-Oct-2020 08:00

There are no guarantees in covid tests

tdgeek

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#2584070 14-Oct-2020 08:13

Batman: There are no guarantees in covid tests

Yes, true. More accurate tests will reduce leaks. Leaks have to be part and parcel of managing covid and the economy. I guess if some people don't want leaks, shut off travel for the mext two years, as we cannot afford MIQ permanently.

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#2584286 14-Oct-2020 13:07

Press release:

There are two new cases of COVID-19 to report from managed isolation in New Zealand today. There are no new cases in the community.

The first imported case arrived on 7 October from Bangladesh, via Brisbane and Doha. The person was taken to a managed isolation facility in Hamilton and tested positive as part of routine day 3 testing. Following their positive result, they have now been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.

The second case arrived on 9 October from London, via Dubai and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Hamilton. They tested positive as part of routine day 3 testing and have been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.

Our total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is 1,518, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.

There is one additional recovered case to report today.

Our total number of active cases is 40 – all imported cases. There are no active community cases of COVID-19.

Yesterday our laboratories processed 5,850 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,011,657.

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#2584325 14-Oct-2020 13:50

Day 19 single last recorded community transmission, Day 6 since 0 active...

We should be actively talking with QLD about a bubble, but the OZ Fed Govt won't allow it...

I guess the Cooks will have to do in a couple of weeks....

But the big issue that needs to be sorted is what happens if a case breaks out,

Slamming the border shut on NZers who have gone/are about to go a bubble country or vice versa will make it a really big dice roll for any potential travellers....

tdgeek

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#2584343 14-Oct-2020 14:26

wellygary:

Day 19 single last recorded community transmission, Day 6 since 0 active...

We should be actively talking with QLD about a bubble, but the OZ Fed Govt won't allow it...

I guess the Cooks will have to do in a couple of weeks....

But the big issue that needs to be sorted is what happens if a case breaks out,

Slamming the border shut on NZers who have gone/are about to go a bubble country or vice versa will make it a really big dice roll for any potential travellers....

By QLD and Cooks bubble, you mean a two way bubble, with no MIQ? If so, we have to accept a case can occur. But we cant be funding MIQ forever. Ideally these get managed by self isolation, but we cannot rely on that. Conundrum

mattwnz

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#2584350 14-Oct-2020 14:56

If national get in, apparently most incoming people will be funding their own MIQ. They are doing this in Australia already. So it isn't a cost taxpayers have to carry. Guessing if people can't afford it, they would do a deferral or loan scheme similar to a student loan. I recall WP mentioning this option, as he seems to be for user pays.

wellygary

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#2584352 14-Oct-2020 15:05

tdgeek:

wellygary:

Day 19 single last recorded community transmission, Day 6 since 0 active...

We should be actively talking with QLD about a bubble, but the OZ Fed Govt won't allow it...

I guess the Cooks will have to do in a couple of weeks....

But the big issue that needs to be sorted is what happens if a case breaks out,

Slamming the border shut on NZers who have gone/are about to go a bubble country or vice versa will make it a really big dice roll for any potential travellers....

By QLD and Cooks bubble, you mean a two way bubble, with no MIQ? If so, we have to accept a case can occur. But we cant be funding MIQ forever. Ideally these get managed by self isolation, but we cannot rely on that. Conundrum

Yip, free entry/exit...

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