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The New Covid Mutation Is ‘Significantly More Transmissible,’ Public Health Experts Warn

The U.S. was notably missing from a growing list of countries suspending travel to and from the U.K., the apparent epicenter.

Coronavirus - Sun Dec 20, 2020

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2020 is still very much upon us.

Parts of Europe were in full panic mode Monday morning as public health officials there reported what seemed to be the outbreak of a new mutant strain of Covid-19 that is described as being exponentially more contagious than the one that’s already caused a global pandemic.

The new strain’s apparent epicenter is in the United Kingdom, from where Britons were scrambling to leave major cities like London in an effort to escape looming lockdowns. But the mutation of the coronavirus has already been reported well outside of London, including in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland and even Australia.

Public health experts have traced those cases back to the U.K., where Covid cases have been surging in recent weeks. They said it’s not out of the ordinary for a virus to mutate. However, this particular version of Covid is extraordinary because of its higher levels of contagion.

Coronavirus - Mon Dec 21, 2020

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“While it is known and expected that viruses constantly change through mutation leading to the emergence of new variants, preliminary analysis in the UK suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants, with an estimated potential to increase the reproductive number (R) by 0.4 or greater with an estimated increased transmissibility of up to 70%,” the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a news update Sunday. They referred to the Covid mutation as “a SARS-CoV-2 variant.”

A growing number of countries have suspended flights to and from the U.K. They include Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Iran, Colombia and Morocco. Saudi Arabia closed its borders and suspended all flights to and from everywhere.

Notably missing from that list of nations is the United States.

“Today that variant is getting on a plane and landing at JFK,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday in reference to New York City’s biggest airport during a press briefing. “How many times in life do you have to make the same mistake before you learn?”

Cuomo said Monday he believes “it’s already” in the U.S.

There was no immediate announcement from the U.S. Department of State aside from a standing and general Covid-19 travel advisory against international travel.

The Covid mutation comes just days after coronavirus vaccines started being administered across the world.

As a result, the stock market plunged.

President-elect Joe Biden was scheduled to be given the Covid vaccine live on TV as health workers and national leaders alike attempt to show unity in an effort to compel Americans to also get vaccinated.

While polling shows that more Black people are willing to be vaccinated, there is still a disproportionate number who are not. Black people remain the worst hit by the pandemic; not just health-wise but also economically and socially.

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Notable Black Folks Who Have Contracted The Coronavirus

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Notable Black Folks Who Have Contracted The Coronavirus

Continue reading Notable Black Folks Who Have Contracted The Coronavirus

Notable Black Folks Who Have Contracted The Coronavirus

[caption id="attachment_3922658" align="alignnone" width="728"] Source: askmenow / Getty[/caption] UPDATED: 11:20 a.m. ET, Feb. 23, 2021 -- After months of seeing the coronavirus ravage other parts of the world, COVID-19's widespread effect on the U.S. has increasingly hit home for many Americans as states see as a continuous stream of people become diagnosed with the respiratory illness that turned into a global pandemic. And after a brief spate of the fake news that Black people were somehow immune to contracting the coronavirus, a steady and troubling number of Black folks -- including those who are notable and famous -- have not only since been diagnosed but many have also died of complications from it. Most recently, it was announced that NFL head coach Mike Tomlin had contracted COVID-19. Tomlin, 48, was one of multiple members of the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff to test positive for the virus, ESPN reported. Without acknowledging the reports that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, Tomlin tweeted a statement on Feb. 22 thanking people for wishing him well. "I want to thank everyone who reached out to express their concerns for my health," Tomlin began his statement before adding later: "I'll be back in the office soon." https://twitter.com/CoachTomlin/status/1363982637329768453?s=20   Tomlin's and the other diagnoses have effectively shattered misconceptions about who can contract the coronavirus. Previously, it was believed that the elderly with underlying health conditions were most at risk. And while that remains true, there has seemingly been a surge of cases involving younger age groups and people who had no pre-existing health conditions before their COVID-19 diagnoses. The cases don't account for the reports of a growing number of Black people who have been diagnosed with or died of complications from the coronavirus that have seeming flooded this writer's social media timelines as friends and others grieve their loved ones across the country. One of the clearest indications that Black people could indeed contract the coronavirus came when it began to affect players in the NBA, a professional sports league that is made up of more than 74 percent of players who are Black. After that came announcements from celebrities who offered cautionary tales to the public about how they may have contracted the illness and ways to prevent others from repeating their errors. The nation's system of prisons and jails has also been affected, leaving the disproportionate number of Black inmates increasingly susceptible to the coronavirus. That was especially true in New York, including at the infamous Rikers Island complex where CBS News reported that at one point last year, the coronavirus infection rate was "more than seven times higher than the rate citywide and 87 times higher than the country at large." In addition, the nation's police departments were at risk for the same reasons as the jails and prisons. Scroll down to see a list of notable Black folks who have contracted the coronavirus as the world tries to flatten the global curve of cases to restore some semblance of societal normalcy. They follow in alphabetical order.

The New Covid Mutation Is ‘Significantly More Transmissible,’ Public Health Experts Warn  was originally published on newsone.com

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