World panicking, going crazy over UK's new coronavirus strain (viral fashion trends)

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Cynical Sindee: Brexit was supposed to mark a day of liberation, launching a process of the UK reclaiming its lost glory and having the world's spotlight on it again. Looks like the latter has happened sooner than expected.

RELATED: Mutation's importance remains unclear(scivillage) ..... Is the new UK coronavirus variant more contagious?(livescience)
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Britain faces isolation as world tightens borders to keep out new coronavirus strain
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-healt...SKBN28V1FF

INTRO: Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages days before Britain is set to leave the European Union... (MORE)

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Travel From U.K. Shut Down As Nations Assess Threat Of New Coronavirus Strain
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus...rus-strain

INTRO: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Monday attempted to reassure skittish European neighbors that his government had the threat of a new strain of the coronavirus under control. (MORE)

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New virus strain in UK batters global markets
https://www.hindustantimes.com/business-...5fyBN.html

INTRO: The emergence of a virulent strain of coronavirus in the UK battered stocks worldwide, including India, on Monday as nations raced to shut air travel and reimpose travel restrictions, darkening the prospects of early recovery.

Indian stock benchmarks plunged 3% at the end of trading, the worst in Asia and the steepest single-day decline since May, as investors fretted over the possibility of fresh curbs squeezing economic activity. During the day, the benchmark index BSE Sensex plunged as much as 4.34%, while the NSE’s Nifty index shed 4.57%. The Sensex ended trading at 45,553.96, while the Nifty closed at 13,328.40, down 3.14%.

Markets in the rest of Asia-Pacific were mixed. Mainland Chinese stocks ended higher, with the Shanghai composite gaining 0.76% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.72%. The coronavirus situation in countries such as Japan and South Korea remained severe, weighing on investor sentiment.

India banned all flights from the UK till December 31 to prevent the new strain from spreading... (MORE)

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New Strain Of COVID-19 Wreaking Havoc In Aviation And Oil - OpEd - Eurasia Review
https://www.eurasiareview.com/22122020-n...-oil-oped/

INTRO: The airline industry, which had been badly battered by the pandemic, just about saw light at the end of the tunnel courtesy of vaccine approvals and the rollout of vaccination programs in several major economies. But once again the virus proved that it had a mind of its own. A mutant strand, which is believed to be 70 percent more infectious than the original coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and which had evolved in the southeast of England, forced the UK government to bring 16.4 million people into stricter measures, shutting all non-essential shops and forbidding them to leave their zone of restriction... (MORE)

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White House considers Covid testing requirement for travelers from UK
https://us.cnn.com/2020/12/21/politics/w...index.html

INTRO: The White House is considering requiring travelers from the United Kingdom to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before arriving in the United States, two administration officials tell CNN. The discussions come amid the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus discovered in the UK and as a slew of countries have suspended travel. US public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said they do not believe the situation currently warrants suspending travel from the UK.

Officials discussed the possible requirement during a coronavirus task force meeting on Monday and officials are expected to present this option to President Donald Trump by Tuesday, the officials said. Three airlines have already agreed to enforce a similar arrangement with New York for flights arriving in that state. (MORE)

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Cuomo blasts feds for not banning flights from UK amid new virus strain
https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/coron...rus-strain

INTRO: As fears are growing over a new strain of the coronavirus spreading through the United Kingdom, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized federal officials for not banning all flights from the UK. While international travel is severely curtailed due to the pandemic, a small number of flights make their way from the UK to the US on a daily basis.

"We have about six flights a day coming in from the U.K. and we have done absolutely nothing,” Cuomo said. “To me this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the spring. Coronavirus is in China. No it wasn't, it's in Europe. It came from Europe and we did nothing."

In response on Monday, Cuomo said that British Airlines and Delta agreed to test passengers for the coronavirus for all flights originating from the UK landing in New York. Still, Cuomo says, these measures aren't enough. The United Kingdom has implemented some of its strongest lockdowns since the onset of the pandemic in recent days. While not much is known about the mutated strain of the virus, it is believed to spread more easily. The new virus strain prompted Canada to block all incoming flights from the UK. France has also closed off travel from the UK... (MORE)

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UK military ready to assure vaccine delivery as EU shuts borders
https://www.france24.com/en/video/202012...ts-borders

INTRO: FRANCE 24 correspondent Herve Amoric says trucks are being turned around systematically at the UK port of Dover, after France suspended trade and travel between the two countries for 48 hours. The UK announced Saturday it was battling a highly infectious mutated strain of the coronavirus, prompting several countries to freeze links. The UK's military is ready to step in to facilitate vaccine delivery. (MORE - video)

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The thing is that mutations occur anywhere there is a build up of people, namely cities. In the instance of the UK ones it's been in the major population areas surrounding London, The Midlands and Peterborough. The mutation was only identified because of stringent changes to testing methods to try and better isolate covid from other coronavirus strains as to elliviate false positives.

What that means is that there could well be mutant strains in a town or city near you, however if their testing isn't as fine tuned it won't be able to detect a difference.

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[...] What that means is that there could well be mutant strains in a town or city near you, however if their testing isn't as fine tuned it won't be able to detect a difference.

Becoming as successful and pervasive as this strain probably a requirement for being noticed. Has made it to other European countries, Australia, and of course earlier in South Africa. Probably crossed the pond, too, just not detected yet.

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Coronavirus Variant Is Indeed More Transmissible, New Study Suggests
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/healt...riant.html

INTRO: A team of British scientists released a worrying study on Wednesday of the new coronavirus variant sweeping the United Kingdom. They warned that the variant is so contagious that new control measures, including closing down schools and universities, might be necessary. Even that may not be enough, they noted, saying, “It may be necessary to greatly accelerate vaccine rollout.”

The study, released by the Center for Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has not yet undergone review by a scientific journal. The study compares a series of models as predictors of data on infections, hospitalizations and other variables; other researchers are studying the variant in laboratory experiments to determine if it is biologically distinct.

The study found no evidence that the variant was more deadly than others. But the researchers estimated that it was 56 percent more contagious. On Monday, the British government released an initial estimate of 70 percent... (MORE)

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U.K. government confirms second strain of coronavirus
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/23/uk-gover...virus.html

KEY POINTS: A second new and potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus identified in South Africa has emerged in the United Kingdom, the British government confirmed Wednesday. The latest revelation comes after U.K. scientists identified a new strain of the disease earlier this month. The new variants, from South Africa and Britain, have not yet been identified in the United States... (MORE)

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Covid 19 coronavirus: UK avoids Christmas food shortage after France lifts travel ban
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-1...MUWR5CFPY/

EXCERPTS: The UK has narrowly avoided a national food shortage after France agreed to let thousands of truck drivers travel between the two countries again. France issued an immediate travel ban on all people coming from the UK earlier this week, days after health authorities uncovered a mutated strain of coronavirus.

[...] Authorities in the UK tightened lockdown rules overnight, with 24 million people ordered to stay at home under Tier 4 lockdown rules. A further 25 million people are in Tier 3 lockdown.

[...] Meanwhile tempers are flaring at the critical English port town of Dover. Truck drivers complained they were trapped, needing a negative coronavirus test to leave the UK but unable to get one. Numerous European countries shut their borders to the UK on Sunday amid surging cases and with the new strain spreading quickly... (MORE - details)

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New Strain Causes UK To Break Single-Day Record For New COVID Cases (And It’s Probably Already Here)
https://hotair.com/archives/john-s-2/202...vid-cases/

EXCERPTS: The United Kingdom has topped its own record for new COVID cases two days in row. Today there were 39,237 new cases with nearly a quarter million new cases in just the past week. The worst hit areas are east of London where a newly identified strain of the virus is spreading rapidly.

[...] the good news is that our existing vaccines are still going to be effective against this new stain. The bad news is that because it seems to spread more easily, we’ll probably have less time to get people vaccinated before the sheer number of cases overwhelms hospitals. If you assume about 12% of everyone who gets sick will wind up in the hospital then a surge in illnesses can create a problem for the health system as a whole even if the individuals getting it aren’t any sicker than before... (MORE - details)

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At least 22 people who came to India from UK tested positive amid alarm over mutant strain
https://www.thestatesman.com/india/at-le...42411.html

INTRO: Amid the trace of new strain of coronavirus in UK, at least 22 people who came to India from the country in the past few days have tested positive. As per the reports, eleven people who came from or via the UK have tested positive in Delhi, eight in Amritsar, two in Kolkata and one in Chennai. The central government has assured that the new strain or mutation of Coronavirus seen in the United Kingdom has not been seen in India, so far... (MORE)