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The following two links are updated daily:
IATA international transit / arrival policies Coronavirus Outbreak - Update
WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation reports
Counters / Meters : Other Discussions on FlyerTalk Pertaining to COVID-19:
General (in this forum)
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- COVID-19: Lounge thread for thoughts, concerns and questions
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- coronavirus travel waiver Air Canada | Aeroplan forum
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- Does AFKL suspend flights to Mainland China? Air France, KLM, and Other Partners | Flying Blue
- NZ Suspends PVG service - till 29 March Air New Zealand | Air Points
- Alaska disappointing handling over an award ticket regarding viral outbreak in china Alaska Airlines | Mileage Plan
- AA China Coronavirus paid & award flights cancellation / change questions American Airlines | AAdvantage
- Coronavirus + NH All Nippon Airways | ANA Mileage Club
- *Coronavirus : BA Suspends all flts to mainland China* +discussion on long haul flts British Airways | Executive Club forum
- Wuhan coronavirus - effect on Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific | Marco Polo Club
- China Southern travel-waiver corona-virus Other Asian, Australian, and South Pacific Airlines
- DL Coronavirus Waiver // Suspension of China flights due to Corona Virus Delta Air Lines / SkyMiles
- Coronavirus - Emirates Emirates | Skywards
- BR Adjusts Service/Schedule Due to Coronavirus Outbreak Eva Air / Infinity MileageLands
- Finnair China travel waivers?? Finnair | Finnair Plus
- Hainan Airlines (HU) Travel Waiver for 2019-nCoV? Other Asian, Australian, and South Pacific Airlines
- IB halts flights to China due to CoronaVirus [29/01/2020] Iberia Airlines | Iberia Plus
- Wuhan Coronavirus travel waiver / service change Japan Airlines | JAL Mileage Bank
- Coronavirus: LH Group general waiver to rebook flights operated end of April 2020 Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels, LOT and Other Partners | Miles & More
- Coronavirus: LH Group suspends flights to Italy [Discussion of Italy waiver] Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels, LOT and Other Partners | Miles & More
- Coronavirus Ticket Change Policy? Malaysia Airlines | Enrich
- QANTAS suspends services to China from Feb 9 Qantas | Frequent Flyer
- Ryanair - any options for Italy flights? Ryanair / Other European airlines
- SAS stops all direct flights to mainland China SAS | EuroBonus
- Coronavirus waivers Singapore Airlines | KrisFlyer
- THAI reduces flights to/from Mainland China 08Feb - 28Mar Thai Airways | Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Suspends Service to China until February 09 Turkish Airlines | Miles&Smiles
- UA COVID19: Flight Suspensions; Reduced serviced; Waivers; and No change fee bookings United Airlines | MileagePlus
- Coronavirus Waivers? Virgin Atlantic Airways | Flying Club
Hotels
- Cancellation of Bookings Due to Corona Virus Accor / ALL (Accor Live Limitless)
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- Coronavirus, any impact on your travel plan Marriott / Marriott Bonvoy
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- Which longhaul routes to/from China will be cut by end of Q1 2020? TravelBuzz
- Coronavirus epidemic, worries for China/ Global GDP OmniPR forum
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Please add other discussions on FlyerTalk pertaining to COVID-19 not already been included in this WikiPost. Thank you.
Coronavirus / COVID-19 : general fact-based reporting
#7501
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: LAX
Posts: 10,912
In our school district in SoCal elementary and middle schools have been open since November throughout recent crazy wave of infections with very very few cases reported (never exceeded single digits at any given school according to daily dashboard).
Semirelated - kids' swim team has been running 3-5 day a week practices since last June with reasonable precautions - have not had any outbreaks there either.
#7502
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: DL, UA, AA, VS
Posts: 5,226
A number of people vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines have developed a condition called thrombocytopenia, where they end up with low amount of platelets and their blood is unable to coagulate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/h...ine-blood.html
It is not known whether this blood disorder is related to the Covid vaccines. More than 31 million people in the United States have received at least one dose, and 36 similar cases had been reported to the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS, by the end of January. The cases involved either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the only two authorized so far for emergency use in the United States.
But the reporting system shows only problems described by health care providers or patients after vaccination, and does not indicate whether the shots actually caused the problems.
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that they were looking into the reports, but that so far, rates of the condition in vaccinated people did not appear higher than the rates normally found in the U.S. population, so the cases could be coincidental. Overall, the vaccines are considered safe. A small number of severe allergic reactions have been reported, but they are treatable, and the rates are in line with those reported for other vaccines, regulators say.
But the reporting system shows only problems described by health care providers or patients after vaccination, and does not indicate whether the shots actually caused the problems.
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that they were looking into the reports, but that so far, rates of the condition in vaccinated people did not appear higher than the rates normally found in the U.S. population, so the cases could be coincidental. Overall, the vaccines are considered safe. A small number of severe allergic reactions have been reported, but they are treatable, and the rates are in line with those reported for other vaccines, regulators say.
#7503
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SFO, TPE, HNL
Programs: UA GS 4MM, RCC life member (paid), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, CLEAR
Posts: 1,824
However, all of these mask wearing countries have almost zero social distancing, even right now. When required, it's 1 meter rather than 6 ft. That's a huge difference. Most social activities can be safely resumed with 1 meter social distancing with little or no modifications, but impossible with 6 ft requirement, as it triples space requirement per person. For example, it's not difficult to maintain 1 meter between students in a typical classroom in US. But you have to split a class into 2 or 3 to achieve 6 ft distancing.
#7504
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Between Seas
Posts: 4,754
You may have an important point. The 6 ft (2 m) comes from the normal maximum distance of droplets. May be most droplets do not fly that far, especially when the person who sneeze or cough usually try to cover their nose and mouth if not masked. When everyone is masked the projection of droplets cannot go far, one meter may be as good as two.. Aerosols can travel much farther, but proper face masks stop them as well..
#7505
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: DL, UA, AA, VS
Posts: 5,226
UCSF reported on the California variant, concluding that it's more transmissible and causes more severe disease.
https://www.latimes.com/science/stor...-and-dangerous
So in summary, the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant is more transmissible, showing double the viral load and more resistant to antibodies, not as resistant as the South African variant but still more capable of antibody escape.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
Samples collected from a range of counties, and using a variety of collection methods, suggest the variant is 19% to 24% more transmissible. But in some circumstances, its advantage was much greater: In one nursing home outbreak, B.1.427/B.1.429 spread at a rate that was six times higher than its predecessors.
Researchers also discerned uniform patterns of the variant’s expansion in counties across the state. When infection rates rose, they typically did so in tandem with growing evidence of the California strain’s presence.
The variant’s enhanced propensity for spread was also evident in laboratory results. An analysis of viral samples from around the state showed that compared with people infected with other strains of SARS-CoV-2, those who were infected with the California strain had viral loads in the nasopharynx that were twice as high.
That, in turn, made it highly likely that each person infected with the new strain would go on to infect more people.
B.1.427/B.1.429’s genome includes three mutations that affect the crucial spike protein, which the virus uses to sneak into human cells and convert them into factories for its own production. One of those three mutations, dubbed L452R, affects the so-called receptor binding domain, helping the virus attach more firmly to target cells.
That adaptation has not been seen in coronavirus variants that have caused worry elsewhere.
In a UCSF lab, scientists found that the L452R mutation alone made the California strain more damaging as well. A coronavirus engineered to have only that mutation was able to infect human lung tissue at least 40% more readily than were circulating variants that lacked the mutation. Compared with those so-called wild-type strains, the engineered virus was more than three times more infectious.
In the lab, the California strain also revealed itself to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies generated in response to COVID-19 vaccines as well as by a previous coronavirus infection.
Compared with existing variants, the reduction in protection was “moderate ... but significant,” the researchers said.
When the neutralizing antibodies went up against the homegrown strain, their effectiveness was cut in half. By comparison, when these antibodies encountered the coronavirus strain that’s now dominant in South Africa, their effectiveness was reduced to one-sixth of their usual levels. has been shown to reduce the effect of
Researchers also discerned uniform patterns of the variant’s expansion in counties across the state. When infection rates rose, they typically did so in tandem with growing evidence of the California strain’s presence.
The variant’s enhanced propensity for spread was also evident in laboratory results. An analysis of viral samples from around the state showed that compared with people infected with other strains of SARS-CoV-2, those who were infected with the California strain had viral loads in the nasopharynx that were twice as high.
That, in turn, made it highly likely that each person infected with the new strain would go on to infect more people.
B.1.427/B.1.429’s genome includes three mutations that affect the crucial spike protein, which the virus uses to sneak into human cells and convert them into factories for its own production. One of those three mutations, dubbed L452R, affects the so-called receptor binding domain, helping the virus attach more firmly to target cells.
That adaptation has not been seen in coronavirus variants that have caused worry elsewhere.
In a UCSF lab, scientists found that the L452R mutation alone made the California strain more damaging as well. A coronavirus engineered to have only that mutation was able to infect human lung tissue at least 40% more readily than were circulating variants that lacked the mutation. Compared with those so-called wild-type strains, the engineered virus was more than three times more infectious.
In the lab, the California strain also revealed itself to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies generated in response to COVID-19 vaccines as well as by a previous coronavirus infection.
Compared with existing variants, the reduction in protection was “moderate ... but significant,” the researchers said.
When the neutralizing antibodies went up against the homegrown strain, their effectiveness was cut in half. By comparison, when these antibodies encountered the coronavirus strain that’s now dominant in South Africa, their effectiveness was reduced to one-sixth of their usual levels. has been shown to reduce the effect of
So in summary, the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant is more transmissible, showing double the viral load and more resistant to antibodies, not as resistant as the South African variant but still more capable of antibody escape.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
#7506
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 218
UCSF reported on the California variant, concluding that it's more transmissible and causes more severe disease.
https://www.latimes.com/science/stor...-and-dangerous
So in summary, the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant is more transmissible, showing double the viral load and more resistant to antibodies, not as resistant as the South African variant but still more capable of antibody escape.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
https://www.latimes.com/science/stor...-and-dangerous
So in summary, the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant is more transmissible, showing double the viral load and more resistant to antibodies, not as resistant as the South African variant but still more capable of antibody escape.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
#7507
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY Metro Area
Programs: AA 2MM Yay!, UA MM, Costco General Member
Posts: 49,051
Everyone predicted a big surge from the holidays and it happened and is decreasing now. I don't see the complication
#7508
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
There are parts where cases are not decreasing. Cases in Sweden's biggest city have been on a big rise over the past 2-3 weeks and are higher last week than they were in the week prior to last week. And as Stockholm goes, so goes Sweden. Herd immunity it isn't -- even now -- in the country that went for natural herd immunity.
#7509
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 218
The surge started in mid October when the daily record was broken everyday, nationwide and world wide. If you try to blame the weather, I don't see the weather helped the recent drop.
#7510
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA Silver, Hilton Gold, Caesars Diamond
Posts: 923
Why haven’t we had any variants where the transmission/viral load etc are reduced?
#7511
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,658
That is certainly true here in the UK. The surge was well underway before Christmas. The weather has been lousy here up until 4 days ago. Cases started plummeting after their peak on January 9th.
#7513
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,267
So in summary, the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant is more transmissible, showing double the viral load and more resistant to antibodies, not as resistant as the South African variant but still more capable of antibody escape.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
It's expected to account for 90% of CA infections by the end of March.
So we're just not seeing it. The "California strain" has had 5 months to fester, and...we have the above result. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
#7514
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 218
"We find that face mask orders lead to risk compensation behavior. Americans subject to the mask orders spend 11–24 fewer minutes at home on average and increase visits to some commercial locations—most notably restaurants, which are a high-risk location."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82574-w
"False confidence of reduced risk among those who test negative may have contributed to the spread in countries that allowed testing on demand"
https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/...dab010/6130854
These are what I mentioned earlier "interactive variables".
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82574-w
"False confidence of reduced risk among those who test negative may have contributed to the spread in countries that allowed testing on demand"
https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/...dab010/6130854
These are what I mentioned earlier "interactive variables".
#7515
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: DL, UA, AA, VS
Posts: 5,226
Well it had better get a move-on, then. Positivity rates in California are set to plunge through 3% for the first time since the pandemic started. In my county, schools are now clear to reopen and they certainly will. Only one metric (the adjusted case rate) is holding us back from the Red Tier, which means we'll soon be reopening indoor dining, gyms, and other activities. ICU capacity continues to soar, with 20% availability right now (equal to pre-pandemic levels).
So we're just not seeing it. The "California strain" has had 5 months to fester, and...we have the above result. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
So we're just not seeing it. The "California strain" has had 5 months to fester, and...we have the above result. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
Case rates have come down a lot in CA and across the nation.
Or around the world even.
However, it looks like the decline is flattening around 60k a day for the country and 3-7,000 for CA.