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One Doplet Causes Covid, WHO Warns, UK Virus Death Spike, US Army: Get Vaxed or Get Out

Exposure to one nasal droplet enough for Covid infection – study

Trial in which volunteers were given dose of virus is first to monitor people during entire course of infection

Lateral flow test
The study suggests lateral flow tests are a reliable indicator of whether infectious virus is present. Photograph: Jon Santa Cruz/Rex/Shutterstock

Exposure to a single nasal droplet is sufficient to become infected with Covid-19, according to a landmark trial in which healthy volunteers were intentionally given a dose of the virus.

The trial, the first to have monitored people during the entire course of infection, also found that people typically develop symptoms very quickly – on average, within two days of encountering the virus – and are most infectious five days into the infection.

The study was carried out using a strain of the virus before the emergence of the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants.

The trial’s chief investigator, Prof Christopher Chiu, of Imperial College London, said: “Our study reveals some very interesting clinical insights, particularly around the short incubation period of the virus, extremely high viral shedding from the nose, as well as the utility of lateral flow tests, with potential implications for public health.”

The findings, published on Springer Nature’s pre-print server, and which have not yet been peer-reviewed, detail the outcomes in 36 healthy, young participants with no immunity to the virus. The volunteers were monitored at a specialist unit at the Royal Free hospital in London, and experienced no severe symptoms.

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The study found that the infection first appears in the throat and that infectious virus peaks about five days into infection, by which point the nose has a much higher viral load than the throat. The study also suggested that lateral flow tests are a reassuringly reliable indicator of whether infectious virus is present. Swabbing the nose and throat makes it more likely to detect infections during the first few days, the work suggests.

“We found that overall, lateral flow tests correlate very well with the presence of infectious virus,” said Chiu. “Even though in the first day or two they may be less sensitive, if you use them correctly and repeatedly, and act on them if they read positive, this will have a major impact on interrupting viral spread.”

The study also revealed that of the 18 people who became infected, all had similar viral loads regardless of whether they developed symptoms, underlining the role of asymptomatic transmission.

Prof Wendy Barclay, the head of the department of infectious disease at Imperial College London, said: “A lot of people could be walking around shedding virus and not realising. It’s really marked with this virus.”

Intriguingly, some of those who did not meet the threshold for being infected also had very low levels of virus detectable in their noses and throats, suggesting that they may have experienced a very short-lived infection that was seen off by immune activity in the lining of the nose and throat.

The team are expected to publish further findings giving a unique window into the earliest phase of the immune response, during the first hours and days after encountering the virus.

The team say the trial paves the way for future challenge studies that could help accelerate the development of the next generation of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Phase 3 studies have become increasingly difficult to plan due to the erratic levels of transmission in the population. Challenge studies are far quicker and require far fewer participants to establish efficacy.

Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said: “Scientifically, these studies offer real advantage because the timing of exposure to the virus is always known exactly, therefore things like the interval between exposure and the profile of virus shedding can be accurately described.

“This important study has provided further key data on Covid-19 and how it spreads, which is invaluable in learning more about this novel virus, so we can fine-tune our response.”

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WHO warns nations about lifting restrictions

 

© Getty Images

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned countries against lifting their COVID-19 restrictions, saying the “virus is dangerous, and it continues to evolve before our very eyes.”

“We’re concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of omicron’s high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible and no longer necessary,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing on Tuesday.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. More transmission means more disease,” he continued.

Tedros said he did not believe that nations needed to return to lockdowns to curb further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic amid the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, but he said that nations could not rely on vaccination alone to solve the pandemic.

“It’s premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory,” he said, noting that the WHO was currently tracking four sub-lineages of the omicron variant alone.

“We call on countries to continue testing, surveillance and sequencing. We can’t fight this virus if we don’t know what it’s doing,” he said. “And we must continue to work to ensure all people have access to vaccines.”

US ARMY TO START DISMISSING UNVACCINATED SOLDIERS

The Army announced on Wednesday that will begin separating soldiers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under a directive issued by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, commanders will begin involuntary administrative separations for soldiers who have refused to be vaccinated and don’t have a pending or approved exemption request.

“Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Wormuth said in a statement. “Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated vaccinations for the military in late August but left it up to each service to implement its own deadlines.

The Army gave active-duty soldiers until Dec. 15 to comply with the mandate, but Reservists and Army National Guard members still have until June 30 to be fully vaccinated.

As of Wednesday, service had yet to involuntary separate any soldiers solely for refusing the vaccine.

The Army has relieved six active-duty leaders — including two battalion commanders — for not complying with the mandate. It has also issued 3,073 written reprimands to soldiers who are not in compliance.

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COVID-19 DEATHS IN BRITAIN HIGHEST IN ALMOST A YEAR

British health officials have reported the country’s highest daily COVID-19 death total in almost a year, Reuters reported.

Health officials said that on Wednesday 534 people died within a 28-day span of testing positive for COVID-19, per the wire service.

The reported deaths are the highest daily total since February 2021, according to Reuters.

According to data from the British government, 88,085 new virus cases were also recorded on Wednesday, the wire service reported.

This comes as countries around the world continue to deal with a surge of COVID-19 infections driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized on Monday after a report on the gatherings he held on government property amid the ongoing pandemic found multiple “failures of leadership and judgment.”

 

The post One Doplet Causes Covid, WHO Warns, UK Virus Death Spike, US Army: Get Vaxed or Get Out appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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US Boosts Troop Numbers to NATO, Russia Condemns the Move as Destructive

The Hill- The Pentagon is deploying and repositioning over 3,000 troops to bolster Eastern European allies, the first such movement as the U.S. looks to bolster NATO’s capabilities in the region amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Defense Department press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the agency will deploy 2,000 troops stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. to Germany and Poland “in the next few days.”

Separately, an additional 1,000 troops currently stationed in Germany will be repositioned to Romania.

“I want to be very clear about something: These are not permanent moves,” Kirby said.

“They are moves designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies,” he continued.

News of the deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Russia has amassed upward of 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, and the Biden administration is now warning that a military incursion of Ukraine is imminent.

The Pentagon last month put 8,500 troops on high alert to deploy, largely to bolster NATO’s response force — a multinational force of about 40,000 troops that can deploy on short notice. Kirby said these troops have not been deployed and remain on high alert status.

President Biden said on Friday that he planned to send a small number of forces to Eastern Europe in the “near term,” adding that he’d send “not too many.”

However, the president has been clear that no U.S. forces will be deployed directly to Ukraine. Similarly, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said last month that no forces from the alliance will be deployed to Kyiv.

The forces being deployed to Germany and Poland are comprised of 1,700 forces from the from the 82nd Airborne Division and 300 forces 18th Airborne Corps, according to a fact sheet released from the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, the troops being repositioned to Romania from Germany are part of an Infantry Stryker squadron, which is designed to deploy in short order. Those forces will augment more than 900 U.S. service members already in rotation in Romania.

Kirby said the troops are being sent under bilateral agreements with Poland, Germany, and Romania, and will remain under U.S command.

—Updated at 11:29 a.m.

Ukraine tensions: Russia condemns destructive US troop increase in Europe

BBC- Russia has condemned a US decision to send extra troops to Europe to support its Nato allies amid continuing fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow said it was a “destructive” step which heightened tension and reduced the scope for a political solution.

The Pentagon said 2,000 US troops would be sent from North Carolina to Poland and Germany, and a further 1,000 already in Germany would go to Romania.

Russia has some 100,000 troops near Ukraine. It denies planning to invade.

The tensions come eight years after Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula and backed a bloody rebellion in the eastern Donbas region.

Moscow accuses the Ukrainian government of failing to implement the Minsk agreement – an international deal to restore peace to the east, where Russian-backed rebels control swathes of territory and at least 14,000 people have been killed since 2014.

Responding to US President Joe Biden’s decision to deploy extra troops to Europe this week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said it was a “destructive” and an “unjustified” step.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Grushko added that it would “delight” the Ukrainian authorities, who would continue sabotaging the Minsk agreement “with impunity”.

The Pentagon earlier said the American troops being deployed would not fight in Ukraine – but would ensure the defence of Washington’s allies.

Their deployment is in addition to the 8,500 troops the Pentagon put on alert last month to be ready to deploy to Europe if needed.

“It’s important that we send a strong signal to Mr Putin and, frankly, to the world that Nato matters to the United States and it matters to our allies,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

But on the question of alleged invasion plans by Mr Putin, he said: “We still don’t believe he’s made a decision to further invade Ukraine.”

He also said a US proposal “leaked to a European news outlet” was genuine. He appeared to be referring to a story in Spain’s El País newspaper about a US offer of talks with Russia on cutting back on nuclear weaponry and on trust-building measures in exchange for reducing tensions over Ukraine.

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Graphic showing positioning of Russian troops..
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Meanwhile, intense diplomatic efforts continued to try to find a political solution to the crisis, amid fears it could blow up to a full-scale war in Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Ukraine with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson by phone on Wednesday.

Mr Johnson told Mr Putin “all European democracies have a right to aspire to Nato membership”, a Downing Street statement said. Russia opposes Ukraine joining the security alliance.

Mr Putin drew attention to Nato’s reluctance to respond appropriately to Russia’s justified concerns, the Kremlin said in a statement (in Russian).

The Russian president earlier accused the US of trying to draw his country into a war in Ukraine. He said America’s goal was to use a confrontation as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia.

Separately, President Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron “affirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said in a statement.

In a phone call, they reviewed “ongoing co-ordination on both diplomacy and preparations to impose swift and severe economic costs on Russia should it further invade Ukraine,” the statement said.

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The post US Boosts Troop Numbers to NATO, Russia Condemns the Move as Destructive appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Police complaint lodged against union leader John Setka over phone call with estranged wife

The estranged wife of construction union boss John Setka has declared she won't be "covering up" for him any longer.

Emma Walters has lodged a police complaint against Mr Setka, accusing him of abuse in a 20-minute, foul-mouthed recorded phone conversation.

"The manner in which John Setka behaves towards me is so outrageous," Ms Walters told Nine News.

READ MORE: Work 'underway' to resume elective surgery in Victoria but masks to stay

"And I want to say this publicly, and I want to put it on the record."

Victoria Police is investigating the phone call, which took place on January 26.

"All you're good at is calling the coppers and acting like a ******* dog! That's all you're good at," Mr Setka says during the call.

"The most reasonable people around reckon you're a ******* dog."

In 2019, Ms Walters stood by her husband outside court, after Mr Setka was convicted and fined for harassing her via text.

READ MORE: John Setka pleads guilty to harassing wife Emma Walters, breaching court order

She now says she did "the wrong thing".

"I have covered up what he's done. I am not going to do that any longer," Ms Walters said.

"I'm going to stand up, speak up, loud and proud."

In August last year, Ms Walters made a separate complaint to police, accusing Mr Setka of assaulting her at their West Footscray home.

Mr Setka denied the allegations and it's understood police are no longer investigating the matter, due to a lack of evidence.

Mr Setka is heard in the phone recording telling Ms Walters: "All you've done is try to sink me".

"So there ya go! I'm telling ya. And ask anyone," he says.

"The more that tell you to your face. They all reckon you're a ******* dog! For what you did."

Mr Setka has been contacted for comment.

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Mark Zuckerberg faces $34 billion drop in personal worth

Stock in Meta – formerly Facebook – dropped more than 20 per cent in after-hours trading following a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings result.

If realised on the markets tomorrow, the one-day drop could punch a hole the size of $USD USD 24 billion ($USD 33.6 billion) in the personal net worth of its founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The company posted a net income of nearly $USD 10.3 billion ($14.46 billion) in the final three months of last year, a decline eight per cent from the same period in the prior year and below Wall Street analysts' projections.

READ MORE: Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest pursues criminal case against Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg is now one of the world's most powerful people, thanks to the incredible rise of Facebook.

The profit decline comes as Meta invests heavily into the VR and AR technologies it believes will help build the metaverse, a so-far-just-conceptual immersive form of the internet that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has identified as the company's future.

At the same time, Meta is combating a change to Apple's iOS that has weighed heavily its core advertising business.

Meta's shares plunged as much as 23 per cent in after-hours trading following the report.

Meta posted a more than $USD 10 billion ($14 billion) loss for the year in its AR and VR unit, Reality Labs, the first time it has reported financials for the unit.

CFO Dave Wehner had previously warned that investments in Reality Labs would reduce the company's overall operating profit in 2021 by about $USD 10 billion ($14 billion). The unit brought in only $USD 2.3 billion ($3.2 billion) in revenue during the year.

READ MORE: Facebook to stop facial recognition software over privacy concerns

"Investors will look at these numbers closely as a first indicator of how far off the Metaverse is from being a profitable reality," Tom Johnson, global chief digital officer at media agency Mindshare Worldwide, said in emailed commentary.

Meta reported slowing growth in its core advertising business, which still makes up around 99.5 per cent of its total revenue.

Advertising revenue grew 20 per cent year-over-year — its slowest growth rate for the year — to $USD 32.6 billion ($45.78 billion), as the iOS changes made targeted advertising more difficult. The company also failed to grow its daily or monthly active user bases on Facebook from the third quarter, an unusual miss for the company.

The company's total revenue for the year hit nearly $USD 118 billion ($165.69 billion), the first time its annual revenue has surpassed $USD 100 billion ($140 billion).

READ MORE: Facebook changes its company name after PR nightmares

Meta also shared a rough forecast for the upcoming quarter, saying it expects revenue to grow only between three per cent and 11 per cent due to "headwinds to both impression and price growth" in its advertising business. It added that its platforms face increased competition for people's time.

The disappointing results also come after months of critical news coverage and hearings with lawmakers related to the Facebook Papers, a string of recent high-profile executive exits, and amid conversations by regulators about how to crack down on the tech giant.

In the full-year 2022, "Meta may only generate single-digit revenue growth," Third Bridge global sector lead Scott Kessler said in an email.

"And that's before any further legal and regulatory developments and actions. It seems that many [investors] are re-evaluating in real-time."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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Serving SAS member accused of lying about raid in Ben Roberts-Smith case

Ben Roberts-Smith has accused a serving SAS member of lying about a Taliban raid in 2009 when he claimed he saw the war hero execute an Afghan and order the killing of another.

The soldier's memory has been called into question as the Victoria Cross recipient sues Nine Newspapers for defamation.

Mr Roberts-Smith is Australia's most decorated soldier, but a fellow comrade said there were members of the military who believed Roberts-Smith wasn't worthy of the accolades.

Ben Roberts-Smith arriving at the Federal Court in Sydney, NSW.

It was during a Taliban raid in 2009 the same SAS member, codenamed "Person 41", claims he saw Mr Roberts-Smith execute an Afghan and order the killing of another.

The barrister for the war hero, Arthur Moses SC, challenged his version of the operation today.

"On this day… you saw other members of your patrol engage in heroic acts… and you were scared?" Mr Moses asked Person 41.

Ben Roberts-Smith

"I don't recall seeing any heroic acts that day," he responded.

It wasn't until 2020, after allegations of war crimes were printed in Nine Newspapers, that the specialist soldier says he first spoke up.

"You didn't say anything for over 11 years. The story is to dissuade your feelings of guilt that you were unable to cut it that day as a soldier," Mr Moses said.

"That's incorrect," Person 41 said.

The witness admitted to joining others in drinking from the prosthetic leg of the man Roberts-Smith maintains he killed within the rules of engagement.

Person 41 is now done on the stand. He was the first military witness, but he won't be the last.

Twenty defence personnel will give evidence for the newspapers in the high-stakes defamation trial.

Nine, the publisher of this website, also owns Nine newspapers.

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State Memorial Service for the officers killed in the Eastern Freeway tragedy

A State Memorial Service to honour the four Victoria Police officers who died in the Eastern Freeway tragedy in 2020 has been held this afternoon at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium.

The service paid tribute to the legacies of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris.

It allowed the officers' friends, family, colleagues and members of the public to gather to honour the officers, with the event having previously been postponed due to COVID-19 public health advice, and was followed by a formal Guard of Honour.

READ MORE: Victoria's COVID-19 cases drop to 12,157 as 34 more people die

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the event was about celebrating the officers' entire lives, not just their involvement in policing.

"It's been 653 days since we lost four of our colleagues, and not a day goes by when they're not in our thoughts," he said.

Speaking before the memorial this afternoon, Premier Daniel Andrews said the service was important to remember and honour each of the four officers.

"Today is a day to acknowledge their service, their commitment, their bravery and all that they gave to keep Victoria safe," he said.

Mr Andrews said it was also important to acknowledge the work done by every single Victoria Police member and the families supporting them.

Victoria Police Minister Lisa Neville said the service was an opportunity to say a formal goodbye to the four officers, which had been delayed by almost two years due to the pandemic.

She said the four heroes would be remembered forever, and that Victoria Police would always support their families.

Ms Neville gave her deepest condolences to the officers' families, and "the Victoria Police family".

Members of the public are invited to make a donation to support Victoria Police Legacy or the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation and/or to submit at tribute expressing their condolences on the Victoria Police website.

The four officers were killed in the deadliest incident in Victoria Police's history after a truck ploughed into the officers in the emergency lane of the Eastern Freeway near Kew, killing them on impact on April 22, 2020.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton lays a tribute at Boroondara Police near the Chandler Highway in the suburb of Kew in Melbourne, Thursday, April 23, 2020. Four police officers have died in a horror crash involving a truck on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway. (AAP Image/Scott Barbour) NO ARCHIVING

The truck driver responsible for the tragedy, Mohinder Singh, was sentenced to 22 years jail in April after he pleaded guilty to four counts of culpable driving causing death and six other charges in relation to the crash.

The Cranbourne father was high on drugs and had earlier stopped on his route to do a drug deal before he hit the police officers, who had pulled over Porsche driver Richard Pusey in the moments before the crash.

Justice Paul Coghlan described the footage of the horror crash as "chilling" during Singh's sentencing.

"Their deaths are entirely unnecessary and should have been avoided. Their deaths were caused by you."

At Singh's sentence hearing, Sharon Mackenzie, partner of Senior Constable King, said she had lost her "soulmate" she met when they were just teenagers.

"I haven't just lost a partner, I lost a man who is every part of me," Ms Mackenzie said.

"We lost the most dedicated, devoted man.

"He was my soulmate, my best friend, (an) incredibly devoted father and family man."

Andrew Prestney, the father of Constable Josh Prestney, read out a statement outside court following the sentencing.

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Mr Prestney said despite justice being served for the officers' deaths, it did not subside their pain.

"Even though justice has now been served in relation to the actual collision, no amount of punishment can replace the loss of our loved ones and the missing place at our tables that will be felt by us for the rest of our lives," he said.

"We would like to thank the people of Victoria, the people of Australia, and those from around the world for their outpouring of love and for embracing us with their hearts.

"We are consoled by the fact that our four will not be forgotten as we continue to carry them in our hearts."

Mr Prestney also thanked those who were first at the scene.

"Even though we do not know them all, we share a history with them now and forever."

A private memorial service was held on the anniversary of their deaths last year.

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Iconic Sydney live music venue The Lansdowne Hotel is closing

Iconic Sydney music venue The Lansdowne Hotel will close its doors this year after its operators chose not to renew the lease.

The venue has been operated by Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham – who are also behind Marys and The Unicorn – since 2017.

"Our lease is due to expire in the coming months, and the Landlords have chosen to close the Gig Room to build more Hostel accommodation," a statement posted to Instagram read.

READ MORE: Free headphones or hotel rooms for constant Westconnex noise

The Lansdowne Hotel Sydneyhttps://www.instagram.com/p/CZdRetFLDaa/

"This was not a part of our vision for the Lansdowne, and as such, we have decided to call time on our custodianship of this iconic live music venue.

The Lansdowne Hotel first opened in 1993 before it closed for the first time in 2015.

The legendary live music venue has hosted some of the best artists from Sydney, Australia, and around the world.

"Our re-opening of the Lansdowne in June 2017 marked a seismic shift in the Live Music scene in Sydney, after years of closures and devastating lockouts," the statement continued.

READ MORE: NSW records 12,632 COVID-19 cases, 38 deaths

The Lansdowne Hotel Sydney

"The Lansdowne came to be a figurehead in the recapturing of our collective conscience, a bulwark against the tide of closures and a voice against the apathy that had snuck into the core of the conversations around our vital night-time culture.

"The Lansdowne showed the power of art and its deeply important role in our city and our culture.

"We will forever be proud of what was achieved, and will continue our role in providing stages for new and emerging voices at Mary's Underground and in venues yet to come."

The venue will remain open until April. It has not been determined what will happen to the downstairs public bar.