Virus

Facebook will no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured, a company spokesperson told POLITICO on Wednesday, a move that acknowledges the renewed debate about the virus’ origins.

Just out @TheLancetInfDis
A unique, 1st randomized covid trial for a live indoor concert: ~500 assigned to rapid antigen tests and attend vs ~500 stay at home. The testing arm turned out to be equivalent (0 cases) to staying home (2 cases)= safe.https://t.co/h3mSMc44be pic.twitter.com/g9tg5iyaMV

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 27, 2021

To our knowledge, this is the first randomised clinical trial that assesses the risk of COVID-19 transmission in an indoor mass-gathering live concert done under comprehensive safety measures, including same-day SARS-CoV-2 screening with antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs), compulsory N95 face mask wearing, and optimised air ventilation. Participants could sing and dance in the concert hall room, and no physical distancing was recommended. None of the 465 participants became infected, compared with two out of 495 in the control arm.
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The total surface area of the venue was 1024 m2, which included 228 m2 for the dancing hall, 381 m2 for the bar hall, and 157 m2 in the lobby. There were no exterior windows in the two respective halls; however, all access and exit doors remained open during the event, allowing additional fresh air from the inner courtyard.
The event, held in the Sala Apolo (Barcelona, Spain) on December 12, 2020, lasted for 5 h and included four performances: two DJ sessions and two live music acts. Besides the study participants and artists, 58 staff members (organizers, security, sound, light technicians, and bartenders) were inside the venue during the event. All of them were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using Ag-RDT at the same time points as the study participants.

Denver Sheriff Deputy Duke Trujillo died from COVID-19.

Trujillo posted an anti-vaccine video and pics to his Facebook. https://t.co/okWwzUXSfl pic.twitter.com/LIYfhkcnGG

— Resist Programming (@RzstProgramming) May 28, 2021

NEW: B.1617.2 is fuelling a third wave in the UK, with not only cases but also hospital admissions rising.

Vaccines will make this wave different to those that have come before, but it remains a concern, and one that other countries will soon face.

Thread on everything we know: pic.twitter.com/4825qOqgrl

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) May 27, 2021

Data up to 25 May

VOC/VUI case numbers here

5,599 sequenced B.1.617.2 cases (double last week 2,854)

12 deaths in B.1.617.2 cases (double last week 6) pic.twitter.com/yTzm4f1xoc

— Meaghan Kall (@kallmemeg) May 27, 2021

The updated cumulative growth curves showing continued exponential growth of B.1.617.2.. pic.twitter.com/3fmEwU7cP3

— Meaghan Kall (@kallmemeg) May 27, 2021

Secondary attack rates (the % of all close contacts of a case that go on to be infected)

Transmissibility increase now growing - focussing on non-travel related (community cases)

13.5% for B.1.617.2 vs 8.1 for B.1.1.7

67% increased transmissibility, up from 50% last week pic.twitter.com/mPei7Jv6nN

— Meaghan Kall (@kallmemeg) May 27, 2021

Premier of Australian state Victoria:
On the advice of our public health team, Victoria will move to circuit breaker restrictions from 11:59pm tonight. These settings will remain in place until 11:59pm on 3 June – but if we can end that sooner, we will.
As we've seen here, and across Australia, this kind of short, sharp action is effective in stopping this thing in its tracks.
Our public health experts’ prime concern: just how fast the B1.617.1 variant is moving.
Overseas, they haven’t been able to track how quickly this version of the virus can move. Here in Victoria, though, we’re seeing not only how quick it is – but how contagious it is too.
Our contact tracers are identifying and locking down first ring, second ring and third ring contacts within 24 hours. That’s faster than ever. And yet this variant is still moving faster. 
The time between catching the virus and passing it on is tighter than ever. The ‘serial interval’ – how long it takes between the onset of symptoms in the first and secondary case – is in many cases just over a day. 
And in just 24 hours, the number of cases has doubled.
It means that although these cases are all connected, this variant of the virus is making people more infectious, more quickly.
We’ve seen other countries come up against these variants and lose. Badly. Places like Taiwan that have gone from no or very low cases to skyrocketing numbers in the space of just days and weeks – and now are struggling to get it under control.
We also know our nation’s vaccine rollout has been slower than we’d hoped. And if more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a different set of circumstances. Sadly, we're not.
If we make the wrong choice now, if we wait too long, if we hesitate too much, this thing will get away from us. And lives will be at risk.
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MNE wrote:da su pustili ljude da steknu imunitet na starije varijante sad ne bi imali taj problem

Очекујем да добијемо још једну велику подршку, да нас навијачи бодре и помогну да сви заједно дођемо до још једне победе"