Macron tests positive for Covid.

BBC News - French President, Macron tests positive for Covid

Not sure how many good signs I see here. Excess mortality >65 years is 50% currently. And we are in a year where we have exceptionally low cases of influenza which normally is a main contributor to the death rates of elder citizens in the winter season.

This started in response to the information on the new strain which has appeared in London and the South East which is thought to be more contagious and which according to reports today, may affect the efficiency of the vaccine.

King of Sweden blasts 'failed' Covid strategy in rare royal rebuke

No issue, just proves the effectiveness of the UK lockdowns.

Yes, Sweden is a cautionary tale for all other countries. Keep society open, avoid making people unemployed, and try to keep life as normal as is possible in the midst of a global pandemic you may end up with the 23rd worst Covid death rate in the world.

The fact that Royalty exists anywhere in the "free world" in 2020 boggles my mind

At the moment I see just one good sign here -- the total weekly number of deaths started to go down. It is still very high, but it does go down for the last few weeks, even when the expected curve goes up. I think this is a very good sign.

Whereas your neighbouring countries death rates are far down in the world in the 100's.

I guess we're a bunch of keyboard warriors, until a century ago people used to take the matter in their own hands

The UK has had c. 20% more deaths per capita than Switzerland (and bogeyman Sweden).

Hmm... looks to me like Sweden is well on it's way to having this year the lowest death rate in a decade:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ber-of-deaths/

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Unless it's cheaper to have the entire bathroom done instead of buying one sink at Obi.ch.

About this new strain: Do they actually have tests yet? Or can someone be tested for covid, be negative and is then sent off into the world carrying the new one?

You do know where you live and that Berset can not make any decisions by himself, yes?

Maths is not your strong point is it?

This year, from your table, the monthly number of deaths was around eight thousand per month.
Up to December 4th the number of deaths was 87,169, so when December is finished the total number of deaths will be in the region of 94,000 to 95,000; the highest for a decade, rolleyes:

Ha haa. I wasn't talking about buying a whole new sink. I was talking about buying parts to repair a sink (as an example).

Regarding the new strain in the UK... As far as I know, this new strain does not require a separate or different test in order for someone to test positive for the virus. There appears to still be some degree of uncertainty regarding what kind of effects this new strain will have (that's still being researched and will require some time to understand), but as it is now, it does appear to be a mutation in the virus's spike protein, which could be causing it to therefore be more contagious and may be responsible for the sudden increase in cases in SE England.

PHE investigating a novel strain of COVID-19
A new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified across the South East of England.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/p...in-of-covid-19

"The strain was identified due to Public Health England’s (PHE) proactive and enhanced monitoring following the increase in cases seen in Kent and London. The variant has been named ‘VUI – 202012/01’ (the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020).

As of 13 December, 1,108 cases with this variant have been identified, predominantly in the South and East of England.

PHE is working with partners to investigate and plans to share its findings over the next 2 weeks. There is currently no evidence to suggest that the strain has any impact on disease severity, antibody response or vaccine efficacy.

High numbers of cases of the variant virus have been observed in some areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19. It is not yet known whether the variant is responsible for these increased numbers of cases. PHE will monitor the impact of this in the coming days and weeks.

It is not uncommon for viruses to undergo mutations; seasonal influenza mutates every year. Variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been observed in other countries, such as Spain.

This variant includes a mutation in the ‘spike’ protein. Changes in this part of the spike protein may result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people."

That is obvious. Do you expect me to name all of them each time I want to let some steam off? He is the face of the decision makers so it is easier to just name him

Thank god for him.

Thank god for that.

I bet he will be the next Swiss president.

That graph suggests exactly the opposite. It's dated 4 December, so there are another 27 days' worth of deaths to add to get the full year's total. Even if you simply extrapolate (and that's probably unreasonable, as deaths generally rise in winter due to influenza and, this year, COVID-19), you'd have to add another 8.3% to the interim total. So the projected total deaths for 2020 is at least 94,390 and probably quite a bit more—the largest number in more than a decade.

ETA: Just saw that marton posted the same analysis.

Isn’t Parmelin taking up the presidency in January?

Berset was president in 2018 so it would be a bit soon for him to do it again.