Scientists have produced evidence that the pandemic virus is 'uniquely adapted to infect humans', raising fresh questions over whether its origins were natural or could have occurred in a laboratory.
Where did the Coronavirus 19 Originate from? and anything relative to the virus.
Where did the Coronavirus 19 originate from? and anything relative to the virus.
Coronavirus is 'uniquely adapted to infect humans': Top vaccine scientist says it could only have come from an animal through a 'freak of nature' - and the possibility it leaked from Wuhan lab MUST be investigated
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The WA government has announced it will release a roadmap on Friday for transitioning to living with COVID-19, a day before it eases border restrictions with New South Wales.
Premier Mark McGowan said that, as of 12:01am on Saturday, New South Wales would transition from "extreme risk" to "high risk", based on the latest health advice.
He said exemptions under the high-risk category would be limited to certain senior government officials and active military personnel, Commonwealth MPs and officials, limited specialists and people given approval by the State Emergency Coordinator.
Exemptions will also be given to West Australians who may have travelled to New South Wales recently, have roots in Western Australia and have a legitimate right to return, subject to the relevant quarantine conditions and required evidence.
The new case is a 21-year old woman who arrived in Darwin from Cairns on Friday, October 29.
She is a close contact of the initial case in the current outbreak, which has now grown to three cases.
She was identified as a close contact yesterday and was moved to the Howard Springs quarantine facility, where she tested positive late last night.
Mr Gunner said the woman, who has received one dose of the vaccine, became symptomatic today.
He said she was being interviewed, and contact tracing had commenced.
"There may be more exposure sites for Darwin, so it is critical that everybody in the Top End pay very careful attention to these and look for updates throughout the day," Mr Gunner said.
An experimental antiviral pill appears to work very well at keeping people who are at high risk of severe COVID-19 from being admitted to the hospital and dying, according to the drug’s maker, Pfizer.
The drug -- called Paxlovid -- was 89% effective, compared to a placebo, at preventing hospitalization or death in patients with COVID-19 who were at high risk of severe complications. The company says it plans to ask the FDA to authorize the drug for emergency use.
The medication appears to work so well that Pfizer has stopped enrollment in the trial of the drug, which works by blocking an enzyme called a protease that the new coronavirus needs to make more copies of itself.
Stopping a clinical trial is a rare action that’s typically taken when a therapy appears to be very effective or clearly dangerous. In both those cases, it’s considered unethical to continue a clinical trial where people are randomly assigned either an active drug or a placebo, when safer or more effective options are available to them.
In this case, the company said in a news release that the move was recommended by an independent panel of advisers who are overseeing the trial, called a data safety monitoring committee, and done in consultation with the FDA.
“Today’s news is a real game-changer in the global efforts to halt the devastation of this pandemic,” said Albert Bourla, PhD, Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer. “These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved or authorized by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations.”
In a randomized clinical trial that included more than 1,900 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and were at risk for having severe complications for their infections, those who received Paxlovid within 3 days of the start of their symptoms were 89% less likely to be hospitalized than those who got a placebo pill -- three patients out of 389 who got the drug were hospitalized, compared with 27 out of 385 who got the placebo. Among patients who got the drug within 5 days of the start of their symptoms, six out of 607 were hospitalized within 28 days, compared to 41 out of 612 who got the placebo.
There were no deaths over the course of a month in patients who took Paxlovid, but 10 deaths in the group that got the placebo.
The news comes on the heels of an announcement last month by the drug company Merck that its experimental antiviral pill, molnupiravir, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in patients with mild to moderate COVID, compared to a placebo.
The U.K. became the first country to authorize the use of molnupiravir, which is brand-named Lagevrio.
Stephen Griffin, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Leeds, hailed the success of both new antiviral pills.
"They both demonstrate that, with appropriate investment, the development of bespoke direct-acting antiviral drugs targeting SARS-CoV2 was eminently feasible and has ultimately proven far more successful than repurposing other drugs with questionable antiviral effects," said Griffin, who was not involved in the development of either drug.
“The success of these antivirals potentially marks a new era in our ability to prevent the severe consequences of SARS-CoV2 infection, and is also a vital element for the care of clinically vulnerable people who may be unable to either receive or respond to vaccines,” he said.
Australia COVID-19 update 3 November 2021
Australia wide — 1146 new locally acquired cases, 0 new OS acquired cases, 12 deaths.
VICTORIA
• 941 new from 63,278 tests, all locally acquired, 8 deaths.
• 18,361 active cases, 657 in hospital, 117 in ICU, 69 ventilated.
• Sadly 8 deaths reported yesterday of people aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases today are Hume, Casey, Greater Dandenong, Wyndham, Brimbank, Melton, Whittlesea, Greater Shepparton, Cardinia and Glen Eira.
• List of exposure sites.
NEW SOUTH WALES
• 190 new from 114,303 tests, all locally acquired, 4 deaths.
• 3,191 active cases, 309 in hospital, 68 in ICU, 32 ventilated.
• There have been 69,882 locally acquired cases reported since 16 June 2021 and 526 deaths.
• Deaths: 1 in their 50s, 1 in their 60s, 1 in 70s, 1 in 80s; 2 from Western Sydney, 1 from SW Sydney, 1 in Queanbeyan; 3 unvaccinated, 1 fully vaccinated with underlying health conditions.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 36 SW Sydney, 35 Hunter New England, 18 Western Sydney, 15 Murrumbidgee, 14 Nepean Blue Mountains, 14 SE Sydney, 13 Western NSW, 12 Sydney, 10 Southern NSW, 8 Mid North Coast, 3 Central Coast, 3 Far West NSW, 3 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 3 Northern Sydney, 1 Northern NSW, 2 unassigned an LHD.
• Virus fragments detected in sewage samples at Barraba.
• List of exposure sites.
ACT
• 15 new with 1,365 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 141 active cases, 5 in hospital, 2 in ICU, 1 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.
QUEENSLAND
• 0 new from 9,545 tests.
• 12 active cases, 12 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from 4,139 tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 0 new from 1,801 tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.
TASMANIA
• 0 new from 681 tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.
NEW ZEALAND
• 110 new from 29,521 tests, 100 locally acquired, 10 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 2062 active cases, 58 in hospital (average age 49), 3 in ICU.
• 97 new cases are in Auckland, 3 in Waikato.
• 52 of today’s 100 local cases epidemiologically linked, 48 being investigated.
• List of exposure sites.