The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 140 (640)

Remember Cornell University's moving final exams online and telling students to begone? Princeton University did the same right after. A large proportion of each school probably comes from far enough away that they fly to and from university. I wonder what some of those kids may be paying to cancel or reschedule their flights. The kids whose finals ended early in the exam period are probably breathing a sigh of relief that they'd already left. 

Interesting factoid: People in London having cold-like symptoms are more likely to have covid than a cold. The UK seems right now to be experiencing two covid epidemics, one from Delta and another from Omicron. New cases in one day just set a new record for the entire pandemic, 78,610. Right now, infections are doubling every 2.5 days. Right next door, Ireland will likely be tightening restrictions as Omicron is expected to be dominant there next week. 

The governments of Denmark and Norway are both tightening restrictions in the face of covid surges.  Denmark is seeing a 50 percent increase in the number of new cases. There were 7,799 new cases Monday, twice the number of the previous Monday. They are closing schools and colleges early, putting limits on nightlife, and urging remote working where possible. Denmark says that Omicron will be dominant in Copenhagen this week and nationally soon after. Norway says that Omicron is "becoming established and will dominate" country before Christmas. Norway's prime minister warns of a "total saturation of the national health system" and adds, "There is no doubt, the new variant really changes the rules. That's why we need to act fast and we need to act again. For many this will feel like a lockdown, if not of society then of their lives and of their livelihoods." Right now, Norway is banning the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants, requiring remote working where possible, extending mask mandates, and restricting access to pools and gyms.

Elsewhere in Europe, Italy is making entry requirements stiffer. Everyone coming in from the EU has to test negative, while anyone who is unvaccinated must quarantine for five days. Poland is restricting the number of people in restaurants, hotels, and theaters. The Polish cabinet is divided on vaccine mandates for health care workers, teachers, and the military. France is warning of a sixth surge. Countries in southern Europe that did not have autumn surges are starting to have winter ones. The EU Commission President warns that Omicron could be dominant in Europe by mid-January, 

Google is requiring that all US staff must be vaccinated by the middle of January or face serious repercussions. Staff who miss the January 18 deadline will first go on paid administrative leave for 30 days, then six months of "unpaid personal leave." If they still are not vaccinated, they will become unemployed. 

The US just went over 800,000 deaths. That's the highest reported death toll in the world and very likely an underestimate. The US accounts for four percent of the world's population but 15 percent of the world's known covid deaths, not a distinction to be proud of. A University of Washington model predicts 880,000 deaths by March 1. In March or April of 2020 one of the worst-case scenarios projected 240,000 American deaths. Don't we wish it had been that few.

A not-yet-peer-reviewed article reports that Omicron grows 70 times faster than Delta in bronchial tissue (the tubes from the windpipe to the lungs) which may account for its greater transmissibility. The article also reports that Omicron grows 10 times slower than Delta in lung tissue which may account for its symptoms being milder.

Finally, a statement by the WHO director general that pretty much sums up my current view: "Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant." As one-time Boston Celtic Paul Pierce liked to say, truth.