[News] The Coronavirus Good News thread

[The Wizard]

Under 100 mechanically ventilated patients in England for the first time since early/mid March.

On a less positive note but kind of positive at the same time, I’m becoming very concerned about the PHE all settings death number. I simply do not believe 7x more people are currently dying in care homes/other settings than they are in hospitals, something is not right those reports from last week are starting to look more and more likely.

 

[Mellotron]

Under 100 patients mechanically ventilated patients in England for the first time since early/mid March.

On a less positive note but kind of positive at the same time, I’m becoming very concerned about the PHE all settings death number. I simply do not believe 7x more people are currently dying in care homes/other settings than they are in hospitals, something is not right those reports from last week are starting to look more and more likely.

I’m now ignoring the PHE numbers, as it seems are quite a few of the statisticians/people in Twitter who are reporting. We don’t know how far out they are and the lack of correlation with either NHS or ONS numbers makes them pretty pointless as a way of tracking.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Hospital admissions continue to fall steadily: 7-day average now at 92 for England as of 19th July, 23% lower than a week previously.

Remember the peak back in April was 2,743 per day.

https://twitter.com/cricketwyvern/status/1285960947937533953?s=21

 

[rippleman]

It's great to see all the numbers coming tumbling down (thank you The Wizard for your updates).

And these significant and encouraging decline in numbers without us all having to wear face coverings in shops too. It will be inteersting to see whether the face covering nonsense noticeably increases the decline in the infection / death rates over the next couple of weeks.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Been to The Denford Hollybush,not the same but better than drinking at home.

 

[Postman Pat]

I’m now ignoring the PHE numbers, as it seems are quite a few of the statisticians/people in Twitter who are reporting. We don’t know how far out they are and the lack of correlation with either NHS or ONS numbers makes them pretty pointless as a way of tracking.

Agree, the numbers seem nonsensical given the fall in hospitalisation and deaths in hospital.

 

[crookie]

Kent & Sussex hospital in T Wells reporting this weekend that it has no Covid related deaths for 2 weeks now

 

[highflyer]

It's great to see all the numbers coming tumbling down (thank you The Wizard for your updates).

And these significant and encouraging decline in numbers without us all having to wear face coverings in shops too. It will be inteersting to see whether the face covering nonsense noticeably increases the decline in the infection / death rates over the next couple of weeks.

Infection rates seem to be staying fairly steady (albeit very low) rather than declining. The coronavirus symptom tracker (which I would regard as probably the most accurate 'real time' guage of case numbers) was rising fairly steadily (from a low base, so not too alarming) for the first couple of weeks from July 4th but now seems to have steadied again. What I'd guess is that more of those new infections are younger and less vulnerable, and also there are better care and treatment options. So we see continued declining hospitalization and deaths. All good!

The trick now, especially as winter approaches, will be to make sure we can keep numbers down and thus avoid any significant new lockdowns. The good news is that it looks like this is doable so far. And face covering is part of that. Life may not be normal, but there is a lot more happening now, and at least degree of normality for many. If we can keep control of it, schools should be able to go back in September without too much concern. But this isn't magic, and until we know for certain that there is something else going on to cause the decline we need to err on the sde of caution and act as though it can come back.

Testing and track and trace are key. Probably some form of local lockdowns as well (as we are seeing in Spain and elsewhere) . And face covering is also a key part of keeping this under control now. Covering your face properly on public transport and in shops could be an important factor in avoiding infection creeping up. It protects others and it is hardly difficult (for 99% of us)! Even Donald Trump has come round to the idea.

 

[Postman Pat]

Researchers have identified a potent cocktail of antibodies that may help doctors treat Covid-19 infections and protect people at risk from falling ill with the disease.

The antibodies were collected from patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19, and they could be manufactured at scale by pharmaceutical firms and transfused into the blood to fight the virus or prevent it from taking hold.

Scientists at Columbia University in New York screened antibodies from 40 Covid-19 patients and identified 61 types from five individuals that effectively wiped out coronavirus. Among them were nine that displayed “exquisite potency” for neutralising the pathogen.

Tests on cells showed that the antibodies killed off the virus, while experiments with hamsters revealed that an infusion of one of the more potent antibodies protected the animals from disease. “It shut off infectious virus completely in the lung tissue of the hamsters we treated,” said David Ho, a professor of medicine at Columbia who led the research.

“We specifically isolated very potent antibodies that can be mass produced and then administered,” Ho said. “We would assume that these could be used to prevent or treat Sars-Cov-2. We’d be looking to treat early in the course of infection, particularly those at risk of developing severe disease such as the elderly and those with underlying illness.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science...x-trialled-as-potential-coronavirus-treatment

 

[LamieRobertson]

Trend down continues

The seven day average of COVID-19 associated deaths, in English hospitals, continues to fall. As of July 17th the figure is ~13.

This is down from 24 one week ago. The orange section is subject to change.

There were 19 deaths announced (14 dates). Two were from June 1/2

[tweet]1286287001507987457[/tweet]

 

[Machiavelli]

Devi Sridhar not just a talking head on C4 News tonight

 

[The Wizard]

Scientists discover a ‘camouflage’ enzyme that helps the virus sneak past the immune system, this discovery could lead to better treatments that could stop the virus gaining a hold. Great news, science is advancing fast, viruses are remarkable things aren’t they really, the fact it has a way of camouflaging itself to take over its victim is mind blowing really, it’s like science fiction.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-scientists-discover-camouflage-enzyme-12035186

 

[The Wizard]

92 patients in intensive care beds in England down from 122 this time last week
928 people in hospital down from 1233 this time last week.

Infection rates stable, hotspots probably causing plateau.

 

[loz]

92 patients in intensive care beds in England down from 122 this time last week
928 people in hospital down from 1233 this time last week.

Infection rates stable, hotspots probably causing plateau.

Are those 92 covid or just people in intensive care ?

 

[The Wizard]

Are those 92 covid or just people in intensive care ?

COVID patients, bare in mind this number was nearly 3000 in early April.

Not going to post all setting deaths data to this thread anymore as I normally do, as it’s utterly bizarre that under 20 people per day are dying in hospital, yet the deaths in ‘all settings’ is sometimes 8/9x that number. I don’t mean this disrespectfully but where the f**k are all these people dying ‘with COVID’ coming from?

 

[Mr Banana]

Scientists discover a ‘camouflage’ enzyme that helps the virus sneak past the immune system, this discovery could lead to better treatments that could stop the virus gaining a hold. Great news, science is advancing fast, viruses are remarkable things aren’t they really, the fact it has a way of camouflaging itself to take over its victim is mind blowing really, it’s like science fiction.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-scientists-discover-camouflage-enzyme-12035186

Trying not to be snarky but this made me chuckle today. It's such a tenuous news piece that no-one at any point of the scale (scientists, serious news outlets, Facebook types and conspiracy theorists) could be arsed with it.

 

[atomised]

COVID patients, bare in mind this number was nearly 3000 in early April.

Not going to post all setting deaths data to this thread anymore as I normally do, as it’s utterly bizarre that under 20 people per day are dying in hospital, yet the deaths in ‘all settings’ is sometimes 8/9x that number. I don’t mean this disrespectfully but where the f**k are all these people dying ‘with COVID’ coming from?

Those all settings figures make less sense every day

 

[beorhthelm]

COVID patients, bare in mind this number was nearly 3000 in early April.

Not going to post all setting deaths data to this thread anymore as I normally do, as it’s utterly bizarre that under 20 people per day are dying in hospital, yet the deaths in ‘all settings’ is sometimes 8/9x that number. I don’t mean this disrespectfully but where the f**k are all these people dying ‘with COVID’ coming from?

statistics. someone who has been recorded with Covid (clinical diagnosis or tested) in the past few months dies, gets put into the statistical pot. they could be at home, or more likely care homes or hospices.

 

[Jim D]

statistics. someone who has been recorded with Covid (clinical diagnosis or tested) in the past few months dies, gets put into the statistical pot. they could be at home, or more likely care homes or hospices.

What about hit by a bus?

 

[darkwolf666]

Glad you all find this so hilarious...