Coronavirus Covid-19

There is a lot of misinformation [see The Perils of Misinformation] floating around the Covid-19 pandemic, so this section of my blog brings together the facts, principally using my trusted sources of information: BBC, The Guardian newspaper, New Scientist magazine and Worldometers section on coronavirus.

The official name for the virus is: Sars-CoV-2, but it is often referred to as Covid-19.

Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans they cause respiratory tract infections that can be mild (e.g. some common colds) and others that can be lethal (e.g. SARS, MERS and Covid-19). [Influenza is caused by another type of virus. Humans get Influenza Type A, Type B or Type C.]

It is important to remember that reported new cases were infected in the previous two weeks, and reported deaths relate to infections from 3 to 6 weeks previously. Mild infections, especially those with no symptoms are under-reported as mostly not tested. Coronavirus-related deaths outside hospital are added later and can cause seeming 'dips and bumps' in the figures.

• MERS is far deadlier than Covid-19, with 33% of infected people dying, but is less contagious as it is caught from camels.
• SARS is deadlier than Covid-19, with 10% of infected people dying.
• Ebola is the most deadly, with more than 80% of infected people dying, if without medical treatment.

General: ~~ What Do We Know About Covid-19 ~~

Symptoms: ~~ Covid-19 Symptoms ~~ Six Types of Covid-19 ~~ Is it Covid-19 or Flu or a Cold? ~~ Long Covid Facts ~~

Diagnosis (Have I got it or have I had it?): ~~ Covid-19 Diagnosis ~~

Infection rates: ~~ Covid-19 Infection Rates ~~ Covid-19 Infection and Transmission Rates in Children ~~

How it spreads (and how to stop it spreading): ~~ How Covid-19 Spreads ~~ Covid-19 Mutations and Variants ~~ Social Distancing and the Need for Human Touch ~~

Test and Trace: ~~ Covid-19 Testing and Tracing ~~

Management Strategies: ~~ Covid-19 Management Strategies ~~ A Better Way to Cope with Covid-19? ~~

Who is most at risk? ~~ Covid-19 Who is most at risk? ~~

Treatment: ~~ Covid-19 Treatment ~~ Interferon Beta Treatment ~~

Immunity and Vaccines: ~~ Covid-19 Immunity ~~ Covid-19 Vaccine Blood Clot Problem ~~ Herd Immunity ~~ Vaccine Update ~~ Can MMR Jabs Protect Against Covid-19 ~~ Long-term Vaccine Safety: the facts ~~ Potential Cancer Drug may be Effective Antiviral Drug ~~ UK Covid Trial Tests Mixing Vaccines ~~ Viruses Compete to Infect Us ~~

Severity and Deaths: ~~ Covid-19 Severity and Deaths ~~ Deaths From Other (Non Covid-19) Causes ~~

Covid-19 Data: ~~ Covid-19-UK-Data ~~ UK Death Rates and Covid-19 Death Rates ~~ Covid-19 What the UK Got Wrong ~~ Why UK Covid Death Toll is so High ~~

PANIC BUYING

• Pictures of empty shelves (e.g toilets rolls, tinned veg, rice and pasta) spark fear in people's minds and they rush to buy, means that shops and supermarket refilling systems find it hard to keep up with the inflated demand - but there is enough to go round.
• Grocery flour sales for 4 weeks up to 22 March were up by 92% compared to the same period in 2019. Why? People started stockpiling, and those working from home and with children at home suddenly started doing lots of home baking. Flour mills are working round the clock to meet demand but only 4% of UK flour production goes to shops and supermarkets. The remaining 96% is transported in bulk to bakeries and other food producers (pies, cakes, biscuits, pasta). So flour mill production lines are not geared up to filling small packets at the new rate of demand. 

END