According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea found two cases of suspected monkeypox virus infection on the 21st. This is the first time South Korea has reported a suspected case of monkeypox in its territory.

According to news from the Korean Agency for Disease Control on the 22nd, it received a report the day before that two suspected cases of monkeypox were found, and the two cases were being tested for the virus. The CDC did not disclose personal information such as the nationalities of the two cases.

According to the report, the Incheon Medical Center in South Korea stated that one of the cases developed symptoms of suspected monkeypox infection during the entry from the Incheon International Airport on the 21st and was sent to the Incheon Medical Center that night. Relevant persons in the medical hospital said that the case has been isolated and will undergo further examinations, and it is not appropriate to disclose the specific information of the case at this time.

The Korean Agency for Disease Control raised the monkeypox warning level to "concern" on May 31, and listed it as a Class B notifiable infectious disease on June 8. The early warning level of infectious diseases in South Korea is divided into four stages from low to high, namely concern, attention, vigilance, and serious.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans through close contact. The initial symptoms of monkeypox infection in humans include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, and swollen lymph nodes, which can later develop into a widespread rash on the face and body. Most infected people recover within a few weeks, but some are seriously ill.

On weekdays, I am always afraid that someone will inadvertently bring the virus home quietly. Although I use alcohol to disinfect and wash my hands before entering the door, I am still afraid that the protective measures are not enough. However, a research team at Osaka University in Japan has developed a nano-scale spray that can precisely inactivate the new coronavirus.
Recently, Yasugi, an associate professor from Osaka University in Japan, published a paper describing the damage caused by the exposure of the new coronavirus to the environment of nano-scale electrostatically atomized water particles.

The researchers found that aerosolized water particles reduced the infectivity of the new coronavirus to cells. It was also observed that nanoscale electrostatically atomized water particles disrupted viral envelopes, proteins and RNAs, preventing them from binding to host cells. thereby blocking the pathway of infection.

It is reported that this discovery will provide laboratory data for the development of a new type of spray to disinfect the new coronavirus. In the future, it will replace the spraying of atomized fungicides or ultraviolet disinfection in public places and turn to more harmless nano-scale electrostatic water sprays.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a group photo with other world leaders during the Summit of the Americas on June 10, 2006

On 13 June local time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra announced the positive coronavirus test results for Novel Coronavirus. Coincidentally, both of them were in Los Angeles, California, last week for the SUMMIT of the Americas hosted by the United States.

There are many "secret connections"

-- Trudeau's personal social media account: I tested positive for COVID-19 and will be quarantined according to containment requirements.

This is trudeau's second novel coronavirus infection following a positive test result for the virus on January 31 this year. He arrived in Los Angeles on June 7 and returned to Canada on June 11, announcing on social media on June 13 that he had tested positive for COVID-19. On the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, Trudeau met with a number of government officials and business people from across the Americas.

▽ Trudeau and Biden

Trudeau and Biden

Trudeau did not wear a mask when he met, hugged and held face-to-face talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, according to media releases and photos and video released by trudeau himself.

Trudeau and Dominican President Abinader

▽ Trudeau and California Governor Gavin Newsome

Also on Trudeau's list of meetings are U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Gavin Newsome, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and leaders of Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.

Trudeau meets with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

At his closing press conference on The evening of June 10, Trudeau sounded hoarse, bloomberg reported.

▷ Becerra (second from the left) and Merck Latin American President (third from the left) are on stage together

This is also the second infection of novel Coronavirus confirmed by us Secretary of Health Becerra on 18 May. He joined Vice President Harris on June 8 for a CEO Summit plenary session on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas to announce the Biden administration's new initiative on public health cooperation among the Americas.

▽ Participants of the June 8 CEO Summit (from left to right) : Craig, director of policy at Meta, U.S. Vice President Harris, U.S. Secretary of Health Becerra, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, and Prime Minister Of The Bahamas Davis

The same event was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Bahamas Prime Minister Jim Davis and other government officials, as well as Meta's policy director, Craig, and other corporate executives. None of the photos published by the media were wearing masks.

The Associated Press reported that Becerra tested positive again in such a short period of time because he was infected with the Omicron variant ba.2 or ba.2.12.1, the current dominant strain in the United States, both of which are likely to bypass the immune barrier established by a previous infection and vaccination. It's also possible that becerra's system hasn't been cleansed of the virus since her last infection, even though she's temporarily negative.

The us state of California, where the event was held, was not in an easy situation

△ New COVID-19 cases confirmed in California since April (data from New York Times)

California, host of the Summit of the Americas, has been on the rise, with more than 440,000 new cases and nearly 1,000 deaths reported in the past month. California's governor also announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 on May 28, but he came out of quarantine in early June and then attended the Summit of the Americas.

Statistics from The New York Times

The outbreak in California is just a microcosm of the rising trend in the US, where more than 85 million confirmed cases and more than 1 million deaths had been reported as of The evening of June 13. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of new COVID-19 cases in the US has exceeded 100,000 per day.

There has also been more than one Novel Coronavirus "super-transmission event" in the US since April. On April 2, after the Annual Gridiron Club dinner, novel Coronavirus tests were positive for more than 70 people, including the secretary of justice, the Secretary of Commerce, the secretary of agriculture, the mayor of New York and other leading US politicians.

The New York Times reported that the number of confirmed cases increased after the White House correspondents dinner

Novel Coronavirus tests were carried out on us Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and George Kix, chairman and CEO of CBS News, after the White House Correspondents' dinner on April 30.

At the White House Correspondents dinner on April 30, few of the 2,000 guests wore masks

That dinner, in the face of more than two thousand guests, talk show host Noah was laughing, the political and media people clearly present "took two years to tell everyone the importance of wearing a mask and avoid large-scale indoor rally", behavior is very different with now, the dinner will be the "most wonderful super transmission event", a word the results into more. Who knows whether the Summit of the Americas in June will be the subject of the next catwalk satire?

reporters learned from Beijing municipal health bureau, the Beijing municipal health bureau jointly with the municipal health committee, the municipal finance bureau and the municipal human social security bureau issued "about further reduction will be coronavirus nucleic acid detection and antigen detection project price notice, since June 12, Beijing will be coronavirus nucleic acid testing single sample price by 19.7 yuan every time reduced to 16 yuan, The price of mixed testing remains unchanged at rmb3.4 per person (including RMB0.8 per person for sampling service).

The reduced nucleic acid testing price is the charging standard for nucleic acid testing services provided by relevant institutions (the maximum price can not be raised, but can be raised), and is mainly used for settlement at present. Beijing also lowered the price of antigen tests in public medical institutions. The government's guiding price of service items has been reduced from 3.5 yuan to 2 yuan per time, testing reagents (including sampling devices) are charged separately according to the zero-error policy, and the capping standard of "service item price + antigen testing reagents" has been reduced from 11.37 yuan per time to no more than 6 yuan per time.

Everything in the world is mutually reinforcing, and no creature is absolutely invincible, even the human beings who rule the earth. But such a powerful human being was defeated by a virus that cannot be seen with the naked eye, causing hundreds of millions of deaths. So, does the terrifying virus have any natural enemies?

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Creatures that can hardly be called "organisms"

If it is said that breathing, eating, excretion, and reproduction are the basic characteristics of "organism", then a virus cannot be called a living being, because it does not need all of the above.

However, the virus cannot be called a "dead thing". It's essentially a clump of chemicals, genetic material, plus a protein shell, and that's all there is to it; they don't have a complete metabolic system, no energy source, and no basic material supply, everything comes from it Host. Although the structure is simple, the virus can replicate quickly. When it finds a host, it injects its own genetic material into the host's nucleus. The ultimate goal is to keep replicating and spreading.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Most of the organisms on the earth are in the food chain where they are located, and energy is passed from low to high along the food chain. All energy sources are essentially solar energy.

Plants photosynthesize by absorbing carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce oxygen and energy for their own growth and reproduction; herbivores, as primary consumers in the food chain, feed on plants to maintain their own survival activities;

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Large wild animals such as tigers, lions, jaguars, etc., are at the top of the food chain. exist

In such a biological chain, viruses neither produce energy nor provide energy for other organisms, watching animals and plants swallow each other, but do not have to worry about themselves becoming food. Does the virus really have no natural enemies?

Viruses that live in symbiosis with the host
Viruses are such a unique "creature", but they frighten humans at the top of the food chain and cause hundreds of millions of deaths, such as Ebola, which has a mortality rate of 88%, and Spain, which directly killed about 100 million people. Influenza, smallpox that killed 500 million people, including Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, and the new coronavirus that is now a global pandemic.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Medics dispose of the dead body of an Ebola patient

According to the latest data released by the World Health Organization on March 31, the cumulative number of confirmed covid cases in the world has reached 490 million, and the number of deaths has reached 6.14 million. One out of every 17 people is diagnosed! In addition to directly causing human infection and death, even the confirmed patients who have recovered from the virus are still unable to get rid of the effects of sequelae in the short term; in addition, the epidemic has also caused incalculable economic losses.

The most "annoying" part of the virus is the symbiosis with the host. If it is too powerful and even "kills" the host, then it will not be able to continue to spread because of the massive killing of the host, and will soon be eliminated by natural selection, like SARS of the year; but if the virus is not destructive to the host High and low toxicity, it is possible to coexist with the host for a long time, like the herpes simplex virus that causes oral herpes simplex. In the future, the new coronavirus may also become similar to the flu, with a large base of infections, but less and less toxicity, and eventually coexist with humans for a long time.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Humans are helpless against viruses?
Humans can use antibiotics to deal with bacteria, but for viruses, they can only rely on their own immune system.

Once the virus invades the human body, then it can only rely on the human body itself to defeat the virus. From this point of view, are humans completely "helpless" against the virus? Will the case of human elimination of smallpox virus inspire us?

The smallpox virus has plagued mankind for thousands of years and claimed countless lives. According to historical records, as early as 500 years ago in the Ming Dynasty in China, people used the method of vaccination to inoculate the smallpox virus with strong pathogenic activity into the human body, so that it could go through a complete course of smallpox disease to prevent the smallpox virus. However, this method is quite dangerous, serious and even fatal, so the promotion is greatly limited.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
But human beings did not give up. Finally, more than 200 years ago, it was found that the vaccinia virus on cows could prevent smallpox, and it was extremely safe. Subsequently, the use of vaccination was popularized worldwide. Until 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox had been eradicated worldwide.

Looking back at the process of eradicating smallpox, one virus is used to prevent another virus, that is, the natural enemy of some viruses is its "similar", that is, another virus. If it is used on the corona virus, that means we must find a virus that meets both conditions to eliminate covid-19. First, this virus can completely suppress the new coronavirus; second, the human immune system can completely suppress this virus.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
For humans, the natural enemy of viruses is our own immune system.

The covid vaccine that is widely publicized and injected now has a similar effect. It does not eliminate the corona virus, but activates the immune system in the body through the vaccine, uses its own immune cells to attack the virus, inhibits its replication, and waits for the body A strong immune system defeats the virus, thereby eliminating the virus. This is why people with poor immune systems, such as the elderly, young children, or chronically ill, HIV-infected people, are more difficult to recover and have a higher mortality rate when infected with the virus.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Are the natural enemies of the virus everywhere?
Although the virus has super replication ability, it also has many "fatal weaknesses".

1. High temperature

When most viruses encounter high temperature, their proteins will be denatured and directly "killed". Although there will be exceptions, in the billions of years of the earth's history, many viruses have "evolved" stable and stable protein shells, making their "shells" more "strong" and enhanced high temperature resistance, such as Hepatitis B virus needs 10 minutes at 130°C and above to be completely killed; however, most viruses are still not resistant to high temperature, and some will "die" as long as they are exposed to sunlight for a long time in summer.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?

2. Acid environment or alkaline environment

Some viruses are resistant to alkalis, but are afraid of acids, and will be eliminated as soon as they encounter an alkaline environment, such as HIV; at the same time, some viruses are resistant to acid but not alkalis; therefore, according to different virus characteristics, chemical disinfection can be used according to the item. agent for disinfection.

3. UV rays

Do you still remember the news that when there were not enough masks at the beginning of the epidemic, many experts suggested that the masks can be reused after disinfection with ultraviolet lamps? That is to use the principle that viruses are afraid of ultraviolet rays. In the "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Fifth Edition)", it is clearly mentioned that ultraviolet rays play an effective role in killing the new coronavirus.

All things on earth are mutually reinforcing, why haven't you heard of the natural enemy of viruses? What is the virus afraid of?
Virus-eating protists
For a long time, people thought that viruses can only invade the host, either to kill them or to coexist with the host, but in 2020, the single-cell genomes of Bigelow and the Science Laboratory in the United States found that some marine protists feed on viruses. Yes, after the virus is eaten as food, the organic matter in its "body" spreads up the food chain and becomes an important part of the food chain to transport nutrients. In the future, if the scientific community or the medical community continues to study in this direction, it is possible to find an effective way to deal with viruses just like antibiotics deal with bacteria!

All things interact with each other, just as a great philosopher said: "Everything in the world has either reached equilibrium, or is on the road toward equilibrium", and the struggle between humans and viruses is the same. Many countries and regions are still "besieged" due to the corona virus. How humans can peacefully coexist with other creatures in nature will be a topic that will not stop for a long time in the future.

The current global epidemic of new coronary pneumonia is still very serious, and the World Health Organization has declared that the pandemic continues to constitute a public health event of international concern. In the face of emerging new coronavirus variants, what should we pay attention to in prevention and control? Experts from the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council provided authoritative answers.

Recently, the national epidemic situation has gradually stabilized, but the impact of cross-input between regions is obvious, and the task of dynamic clearing in some places is very arduous. The epidemic situation in Jilin City, Jilin Province continued to improve, and the epidemic situation in Changchun City showed a downward trend. The prevention and control situation in Shanghai is still severe, and the task of prevention and control is still very arduous and urgent.

The Omicron variant spreads quickly and is highly concealed, bringing new "examination questions" for epidemic prevention and control. Wu Zunyou, chief expert of epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that "dynamic clearing" is the best choice for my country's prevention and control strategy. For the epidemic that has occurred, it is necessary to find and eliminate it together, so as not to let the new virus spread in the place where the epidemic occurred. , and also prevent the spread of the virus to other areas.

In response to the constantly mutating new coronavirus, Wu Zunyou said that on the one hand, it is necessary to closely track the changes and progress of the new mutated strains in terms of spread, infectivity, and pathogenicity around the world. On the other hand, it is necessary to adhere to normalized prevention and control measures, including the "four early" measures of early detection, early reporting, early isolation, and early treatment.

Wu Zunyou said that "early detection" is the key to effectively and successfully controlling the epidemic. For "foreign import prevention", it is necessary to isolate and observe the inbound personnel so that imported cases can be detected in time; at the same time, daily monitoring of personnel involved in overseas cold chain or cargo transportation is required to detect "human-to-human transmission" and subsequent "human-to-human transmission" in a timely manner. ".

For the mutant strains that have been introduced into China, three main measures are taken. First, it is necessary to strengthen the control of the movement of people in the areas affected by the epidemic to prevent the outflow of infected people; the second is to strengthen the monitoring of outpatient visits, and to test patients with fever, cough and other suspected covid or colds, so as to detect early cases in time; third, for individuals , If you have symptoms such as throat swelling, pain, cough, etc., you can use the antigen screening method to test yourself. If you find positive, you should report it to the local epidemic prevention department in time.

Coordinating the promotion of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development requires more precise epidemic prevention and control. Mao Dezhi, deputy director of the Rural Cooperative Economic Guidance Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that he will continue to maintain the order of agricultural production and the circulation of personnel and materials, and strictly implement differentiated prevention and control measures. , implement precise prevention and control by classification, strictly prevent "one size fits all", "simplification" and "layers of coding", and it is strictly forbidden to set up cards to intercept and block villages at will.

Doing a good job in vaccination and insisting on the implementation of personal protective measures is still a "sharp weapon" to deal with the epidemic. Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the immunization program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested that eligible elderly people get vaccinated against the covid as soon as possible and complete the booster immunization in time.

Since February this year, many European countries have chosen to coexist with the virus one after another, and have loosened their epidemic policies one after another.

Oxford University conducts a rigorous analysis of the epidemic prevention policies of countries around the world based on nine indicators, including whether schools are closed, whether public activities are canceled, and whether public gatherings are restricted. The higher the score, the stricter the epidemic prevention policy.

According to its latest data, the UK began to lift the epidemic prevention policy in mid-January this year. On January 19, the strictness index of the epidemic prevention policy was 48.61, and by April 7, it had dropped to 12.96, the lowest value in the past two years. At present, those who test positive for nucleic acid in the UK do not need to be quarantined according to law, and the government no longer continues to track close contacts, and has also cancelled the requirement to wear masks in closed places.

France, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries have also continued to decline in the strictness index of epidemic prevention policies. France is 19.44, the Netherlands is 23.15, and Germany is 50.93 (Germany was still 80.42 a month ago).

So, after the epidemic prevention policy is loosened, will life in these countries return to before the epidemic?

Hospital resources are still tight

On the whole, the current round of the global epidemic is in a declining stage.

As of April 12, the number of new diagnoses per million people in a single day was 130 (7-day average), compared with the previous peak of 436 (January 24); the number of new deaths in a single day is also declining. , On April 12, the number of new deaths in a single day per million people in the world was 0.41, the previous highest value was 1.39 (February 10).

Nonetheless, deaths and hospitalizations are increasing in some countries due to lags.

As of April 11, the number of new deaths in the UK in a single day was 198 (7-day average), a 90% increase from a month ago (March 11).

The number of new deaths in a single day in Germany also started to rise again from February 8. The number of new deaths on February 8 was 138 (7-day average), and on April 12, the number of new deaths in a single day increased. to 287 people.

The number of hospitalizations of coronavirus patients in France has rebounded. From February 7 to the end of March, the number of hospitalizations had been declining, but after March 27, the number of hospitalizations also climbed again, and as of April 12, the number of hospitalizations had reached 24,693.

The number of people hospitalised with the new coronavirus in the UK is now at its highest in 2022, with more than 20,000 people hospitalised. There had been a downward trend on January 10, and it dropped to more than 10,000 people in early March, but with the cancellation of the epidemic prevention policy, the number of hospitalizations increased again. This will not only increase the pressure on the medical system, but will also affect the treatment of some non-COVID-19 patients.

At the end of March, the vacancy rate of hospital beds in the UK was only about 5%, of which the occupancy rate of beds for new crown patients was about 14.7%, and it is still increasing. The previous highest value was around January 18, 2021, and the bed occupancy rate for new crown patients was close to 31.4%.

Tight medical resources also include the number of medical staff.

According to the latest data released by the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, after mid-March, more than 20,000 medical staff in the UK are unable to work due to the new crown infection every day. Combined with other factors, an average of about 65,000 healthcare workers are out of work every day in the UK.

Patricia Marquis, director of the Royal College of Nursing, said in an interview that due to the new crown epidemic, the absenteeism rate of NHS staff has risen sharply recently, which has risen by more than 80% compared with last month, and the hospital is facing a shortage of staff. Problems with higher bed occupancy.

high absenteeism

Although the government has relaxed the epidemic prevention policy, this does not mean that the whole body is immune to the virus.

Since the gradual removal of masks in France, the number of new crown cases has rebounded, and the number of absent employees has also continued to rise. According to the latest data released by the French Association for Human Resource Management (ANDRH), the company currently has an average daily absentee rate of 10% to 15%. %.

In the UK, not only the hospitals mentioned above, but all walks of life are still affected by the virus, and people's lives have not fully recovered.

The Office for National Statistics, based on data from December 5, 2021 to January 29, 2022, found that absenteeism across all industries will increase in March. Among them, the field of "education and teaching" has been greatly affected, and the proportion of employees self-isolating reached 3.8% on March 26.

Although schools have gradually opened, school staff have been unable to work due to the virus or close contact. According to the latest data released by the British Department for Education (DfE), the "hardest-hit areas" currently affected by the epidemic are secondary schools, and about one-fifth of the schools have a teacher absence rate of more than 15%.

Teacher-to-staff absenteeism ratios in UK schools have gradually increased since January this year and reached a peak on January 28. Absences eased briefly in February, but rebounded again in March with the implementation of the "Live With Virus" policy.

Paul Whiteman, secretary general of the British Principals Association, said in an interview, "We all thought 'coexisting with Covid-19' would mean that the level of infections would be low, but this is clearly not the case, and absenteeism remains at an alarmingly high level."

Not only staff, but also British students continue to be affected by the epidemic and cannot attend classes as usual.

Student absenteeism peaked on January 21 this year, and declined in stages over the next month, reaching its lowest level in early March. But after March 4, the situation was serious again, and on March 24, 2.7% of students were still unable to attend classes because of the new crown.

British Airways and easyJet cancelled more than 100 flights on Saturday alone due to high levels of flight crew absenteeism. According to aviation data company Cirium, 307 flights were cancelled in the UK last week, accounting for 3% of all flights to and from the UK, which is eight times more than the same period in 2019.

Britain's Heathrow Airport is hiring 12,000 staff to prepare for the reopening of the terminal due to high absenteeism rates. Meanwhile, other industries are filling job gaps. According to the ONS, 16 of the 28 online job ad categories saw an increase in the latest week, with "travel and tourism" seeing the biggest weekly increase (11%).

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, from January to March 2022, the total number of job vacancies in the UK reached 1.288 million, and the job vacancy rate reached 4.2% in February this year, the highest in nearly 20 years.

UK labour market figures show the number of people not working or seeking a job due to chronic ill health has risen by around 200,000 since the start of the pandemic; a quarter of UK companies say Covid-19 is the main reason for prolonged employee absences one.

The economic outlook is not optimistic

Economic recovery is an important reason why countries choose to "coexist with the virus".

The UK economy has recovered somewhat compared to pre-pandemic conditions (February 2020).

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s gross domestic product in February was already 1.5% higher than before the pandemic. Among them, human health and social work activities contributed the most to GDP growth, up 9.8% from February 2020.

The services sector was also 2.1% higher than pre-pandemic, with accommodation and food service activity the main contributor to service sector growth in February, up 8.6%. Hotels and campgrounds, in particular, saw positive growth for the first time since August 2021.

However, if compared with January, the lifting of the blockade has not brought rapid economic development, and the new crown virus still looms over British society.

UK GDP grew just 0.1% month-on-month in February, well below January's 0.8% increase. In terms of specific industries, manufacturing output fell by 0.4%, construction output fell by 0.1%, and computer, electronic and optical product manufacturing contracted by 4.3%. In the service sector, growth in February was mainly driven by travel agencies, tour operators and other booking services and related activities, with consumer-facing services still 5.2% below pre-pandemic levels.

Moreover, affected by the epidemic and the situation in Ukraine, while the economy is growing slowly, prices are rising.

According to statistics, the UK CPIH (the consumer price index including the cost of housing for owner-occupiers) rose 0.9% in March, and in the past year, the UK CPIH rose 6.2%, the largest increase since January 2006. 12 months.

Among them, the UK transport price rose by 2.4% between February and March 2022 due to the increase in global energy and commodity prices due to the situation in Ukraine; the average petrol price increased by 12.6p per litre, the highest rate in the UK since 1990 Biggest monthly gain; kerosene for home heating rose 44%;

Not only the United Kingdom, but France's March CPI increased by 4.5% year-on-year and a month-on-month increase of 1.4%, the highest since 1980; Germany's March CPI rose by 7.3% year-on-year; and the annual inflation rate in the euro zone also reached 7.5% in March, both of which a record high.

High inflation and rising price levels have led to an increase in the living cost of residents, which will further affect the economic recovery of various countries. According to the statistics of the British Economic Research Institute (Gfk), the British consumer information index has fallen for four consecutive months, the lowest value since November 2020.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced on Tuesday that its interdisciplinary research team has developed a portable Novel Coronavirus test capable of delivering accurate Novel Coronavirus detection to human and public surface samples in the community.

Polyu's interdisciplinary research team was awarded a grant from the Healthcare Research Fund in 2020 to carry out the research work. In the past one and a half years, the team has successfully conducted novel coronavirus tests using rT-PCR using gold nanoparticles as nucleic acid amplifiers. The clinical sample test results are in full compliance with rT-PCR criteria.

Yeh Shee-ping, professor and head of the Department of Medical Technology and Informatics, who led the study, said the detector can hold up to six samples at the same time and can detect up to four samples at the same time, excluding the two positive and negative controls. Positive samples can be confirmed within 25 minutes, and the whole test can be completed in approximately 40 minutes. The sensitivity and specificity can reach 100%, which is in line with the current "gold standard" of novel Coronavirus nucleic acid testing.

According to the report, the detector can be used to detect human and environmental samples, as well as different viruses and bacteria. The team hopes to commercialize the research results for mass production, at which time the cost of each test will be half cheaper than the existing nucleic acid test, which is very suitable for use in airports, quarantine facilities, ports, restaurants, shopping malls, schools and other places with large traffic.

Can Omicron eliminate the Covid-19 pandemic and future new variants? Can it prevent the arrival of future waves of epidemics? What are the long-term symptoms of the covid-19? What are its symptoms?

Dr. Hussam Abu Fasah, disease consultant for diagnostics and clinical histology in Amman, Jordan, said that Omi Kron will eliminate the epidemic and the upcoming mutant, and will prevent the coming wave of the epidemic.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abu Fasah added that one of the features of the Omikron is a combination that was not present in the previous variant.

He explained, "The changes in the spinal cord cause the virus to be less able to enter the lungs and stay more on the surface of the cell and change the way it enters the cell, exposing it to the body's immune system the first time it enters. Therefore, the body can fight it with all available immunization methods, which allows the body to provide immunity against all components of the virus, including the fixed components in all coronavirus strains, whether current, previous, or even future of."

Abu Fassah added: "Immunity conferred by infection with Omikron is expected to protect against all SARS-CoV-2 variants, so Omkron is expected to be the last circulating variant of Covid-19 because the virus Most of the world has been infected, so this creates a true herd immunity against almost all strains of Covid-19 in the world, and Omikjon will eliminate this pandemic (may Allah be upon it) as it is expected to be within many years Protect humans from subsequent strains of the new coronavirus.

What are the long-term symptoms of the covid-19?
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Dr. Mohammad Atta Handus Rahal — an assistant professor, senior consultant physician and U.S. board holder at Weill Cornell Medicine — said in a statement to Al Jazeera Symptoms that persist for weeks or months afterward are known as long-term symptoms or sequelae of COVID-19.

What are the symptoms of long-term symptoms of the covid-19?
Rahal said that there are many reported symptoms associated with long-term symptoms of Covid-19 or the aftermath of Covid-19, however, the three most common symptoms are:

Shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, is an important symptom because it affects the lifestyle of active individuals. For example, in a person who used to exercise for an hour a day, changes in breathing may reduce the duration of the exercise by less than half.
Physical fatigue.
Cognitive impairment is a term used to describe a person suffering from problems with attention, memory, sleep, etc.
Can Long-Term Symptoms of COVID-19 Affect the Cardiovascular System?
Yes, the cardiovascular system may be affected by long-term symptoms of Covid-19 or the aftermath of Covid-19.

People may experience palpitations (rapid heartbeat), shortness of breath, abnormal heart rhythm, and, rarely, blood clots and blood clots.

How long will the long-term symptoms of the covid-19 last?
Unfortunately, long-term symptoms of COVID-19 can last from two months to more than a year.

What is the treatment for long-term symptoms of COVID-19?
Because long-term symptoms of Covid-19 can appear differently, treatment will be symptom-specific, and in general, there are no medications available to treat long-term symptoms of Covid-19, but there are interventions available, such as rehabilitation interventions and self-management techniques, to improve quality of life.

For example, one of the self-management tips for exercise fatigue is to choose a day when you are least tired.

Self-management techniques involve using personal knowledge and awareness of how the body responds to internal and external stimuli to maintain balance in life.

One way to treat cognitive impairment is to avoid multitasking and try to focus on one activity or task at a time.

As for insomnia, it is highly recommended to develop good sleep habits, stick to a sleep schedule, pay attention to your diet, do not go to bed hungry or after a large meal, avoid electronic devices in the bedroom, reduce daytime naps, and incorporate physical activity into your daily routine .

How to reduce the risk of long-term symptoms of the covid-19?
The best way to prevent long-term symptoms of Covid-19 is through vaccination, and studies have shown that people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 are less likely to develop long-term symptoms of Covid-19 after contracting the virus than people who have not been vaccinated.

The recent outbreak of the epidemic in Hong Kong and South Korea, the culprit points to the Omicorn subtype BA.2, including even the US CDC monitoring also found that the number of BA.2 cases increased significantly, many people worry about whether BA.2 will cause another wave With the resurgence of the epidemic, Huang Gaobin, deputy director of the Infection Control Center of the Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, said: "Don't be too nervous in the face of BA.2. At present, it seems to be more infectious, and many of its characteristics are very similar to BA.1."

What is BA.2?

Omicron types include BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. In short, BA.2 is a subtype of Omicron. In the past, Omicron mainly refers to the virus strains that are prevalent in the world by BA.1. As the epidemic evolved, the number of cases in BA.2 gradually increased, even surpassing that in BA.1.

BA.2 does have obvious mutations in the receptor binding position, which is different from BA.1, but there is no evidence of toxicity in toxicity.

BA.2 has different symptoms? High transmission power?

From the monitoring of the US CDC, it was found that the severity of the disease caused by BA.2 and BA.1 was not much different. The common symptoms after the main infection were headache, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, and body pain.

However, the US National Library of Medicine pointed out that BA.2 has two other symptoms that are more different: Dizziness and fatigue, especially BA.2's transmission power is indeed increased by about 30% compared with BA.1, and many characteristics of BA.2 are similar to BA. .1 is very similar. The US CDC report emphasized that although BA.2 has a relatively strong transmission power, it will not increase the number of cases like Omicron when it came out, and the clinical symptoms are not worse than BA.1.

Can a vaccine protect against BA.2?

The recent outbreak in Hong Kong has caused people to think that the vaccine has failed?

Hong Kong is mainly a large number of infections among the elderly. They may not have been vaccinated, or they may have been vaccinated by Sinovac, but Sinovac vaccine data shows that compared with other WHO-certified vaccines, the human body produces antibodies and has a weaker immune response. Over time, the protection may be poor.

Vaccines and medicines are still important strategies and means to prevent COVID-19. After the first dose, the group should take the second dose. The two doses are our basic doses, which allow the body to develop immunity and memory. The third dose depends on the second dose. If there is a difference of more than six months between the time, try to play as soon as possible to increase the memory of the body.

BA.2 may be "reinfected"?

Due to the fear of repeated infection due to BA.2 antigen changes, a previous study by the Danish CDC found that Delta and BA.1 recovered patients were still at risk of re-infection with BA.2, and found that among 263 patients who were re-infected with new coronary pneumonia, 190 of them were caused by BA.2.

Studies have shown that people who have recovered from BA.1 may be re-infected with BA.2, but this is very rare. If they have been infected with BA.1, even if the symptoms after repeated infection are relatively mild, they may be mild or even asymptomatic. Don't worry too much about BA.2, consider him a kind of Omicron. "