It's that time again. There is, reportedly, another super infectious Covid variant. We have not yet heard about it in Belgium and the Netherlands but that won't last long.
Three days ago, British newspapers, among which The Mirror, reported the following :
" The continued spread of the super infectious Covid variant Arcturus means the British public will have to start using face masks again to protect themselves on public transport.
To stop the spread of the super infectious Covid variant Arcturus, face masks should be worn on public transport again, experts say.
The sub-variant has spread around the world, including in India, where five Britons have died with the infection, prompting the reintroduction of mask requirements.
Arcturus, known as XBB.1.16, is now also on the rise in Australia, and UK health authorities are monitoring it closely.
In the past, new variants and sub-variants led to increased transmissibility or severity of infection.
Now Professor Stephen Griffin, chairman of the independent SAGE, says people should again get tested regularly and wear masks.
XBB.1.16 emerged from two previous potent strains of Omicron, BA.1 and BA.2, which caused serious problems for the UK.
Scientists identified early on the new strain, which was first checked by the UKHSA on 6 March. This strain acquired three additional peak mutations that would have increased its transmissibility.
The Acturus variant is apparently also raging in the USA.
On 27.04.2023, Forbes published an article with the following content :
"The new Covid strain XBB.1.18, nicknamed arcturus, is spreading rapidly across the US, but experts warn that pink eyes and high fever, two symptoms of the new variant, are especially common in children.
Arcturus is a subvariant of the highly contagious omicron variant, which is the most common variant in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen an increase in this variant among travellers - in the week of 6 March, it accounted for 1.1% of cases among travellers, and in the week of 3 April, 19.8%."
According to The Independent UK, the Acturus Covid XBB.1.16 strain has so far been detected in 34 countries and is increasing the infection rate in India.
On 30.03.2023, the WHO published a report stating the following :
" Globally, nearly 3.6 million new cases and over 25 000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (27 February to 26 March 2023). which is a decrease of 27% and 39%, respectively, from the previous 28 days (Figure 1, Table 1).
Despite this overall downward trend, it is important to note that several countries have recently reported significant increases in the number of cases. As of 26 March 2023, more than 761 million confirmed cases and more than 6.8 million deaths had been reported worldwide
reported worldwide.
On 17.04.2023, the WHO first reported on the XBB.1.16 variant and explicitly stated in its report that as of date, there were 3,648 sequences of this variant identified from 33 countries and the global risk analysis is low compared to the earlier XBB.1.5 and other variants.
As a quick reminder, the symptoms of Omicron are the same as those of a common cold. This is true of all the Omicron we have seen emerge so far. There is no mention of the thousands of other mutations that have occurred in the meantime or the scientific fact that a virus weakens over time and eventually disappears.
There is no way that a dangerous ultra infectious variant could emerge again from a weak variant. If XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.18 is what they claim, then it is " something " new that is put under the heading of Covid Omicron.
That this story is again by the hair, is evident from the statements of WHO Covid Technical Director Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, who stated at the press conference on 29.04. 2023 that Acturus has been in circulation for a few months and further : " We have seen no change in the severity of the disease in individuals or populations. It has one additional mutation in the spike protein, which in laboratory studies shows increased infectivity and possibly increased pathogenicity."
So that XBB.1.16 or XBB.1.18 would be super infectious is yet another pertinent lie. However, the fear porn machine is starting to run at full throttle again because of the media.
Don't fall for it.
