Can you think of anything that happened in 2020 which is still affecting huge swathes of people on an ongoing basis and which may help explain this worrying trend?
/1
If you haven’t figured it out yet, here’s a little clue… 🔎
/2
Still not worked it out?
Here’s another clue from Jim Reed, the BBC’s health reporter… 
/3
The government say they want to fix the benefits crisis…
…but to fix the benefits crisis, they’re going to have to fix the long-term sickness crisis…
…and to fix the long-term sickness crisis, they’re going to have to fix the Long Covid crisis…
/4
…and to fix the Long Covid crisis, they’re going to have to stop ignoring the highly infectious disease which causes it…
ie. COVID.
Every reinfection increases the risk of Long Covid.
And the best way to prevent Long Covid is to prevent Covid infections & reinfections.
Since Covid is predominantly spread via airborne aerosols which spread through a room like smoke and can linger in the air even after the infectious person has left the room, the best way to prevent Covid infections is to use mitigations against AIRBORNE transmission.
…and also in SCHOOLS where children are crammed into poorly-ventilated classrooms, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with up to 29 other kids for around 6 hours a day, 5 days a week…
…where parents are told it’s perfectly ok to send their kids in with obvious Covid symptoms.
This is not a particularly new idea; it’s been discussed in scientific circles for years already.
Back in early 2023, the World Health Network (@TheWHN) published this article which summarised the latest research on Covid’s impact on the immune system.
The guidance is clear that those self-isolating at home should NOT wait for symptoms before taking precautions.
For the ENTIRE 42-day quarantine, they should:
▪️Avoid contact with other household members
▪️Remain in a separate room
▪️If contact is unavoidable, wear a respirator
🚨Clinically Vulnerable Families (@cv_cev) have issued a press release calling for the government to immediately publish the full operational & clinical arrangements for passengers & close contacts linked to the MV Hondius outbreak.
I’ve just listened to the health update from the US Nebraska Health Officials 🇺🇸
A few points of interest:
1/ in addition to the US passenger who tested positive & the one showing symptoms, it seems there is ANOTHER passenger who may have tested positive.
2/ Passengers currently in the Nebraska quarantine unit will spend a few days there being assessed.
If they remain symptom free & have support available at home to isolate safely, they’ll have the choice to complete the 42-day isolation either at home or in the quarantine unit.
3/ When asked about the US passengers who left the ship in St Helena on 24 Apr (at the same time at the Dutch woman who was symptomatic & sadly died on 26 Apr), they confirmed that these passengers have all been traced & are being monitored - but seems they’re NOT self-isolating.
Following my thread yesterday which criticised aspects of the WHO’s strategy, I’m pleased to see they’ve done a 180° turn in the updated guidance published today:
…and ALL high-risk contacts will now be required to ISOLATE in a designated facility or at home (depending on each country’s capabilities) for 42 days from last known exposure…
…and for the MV Hondius passengers & crew, the last day of exposure is the date of disembarkation.
So for the passengers & crew leaving the ship today, the clock for their 42 days in isolation starts ticking TODAY…
…and their isolation & monitoring will end on 21 June.
Following the WHO press briefing, I wanted to compile a thread with the key points.
1/ ISOLATION OF PASSENGERS
Concerningly, it seems the WHO are NOT recommending to isolate cruise ship passengers (even high-risk contacts) UNLESS they develop symptoms.
Just to quickly recap, it has been confirmed that the passengers & crew (including the 30 who disembarked on 24 April in St Helena) come from a total of 28 different countries.
The full breakdown of countries for both passengers 🟥 & crew 🟦 is detailed below ⬇️
When the 146 people remaining on the ship are repatriated to their home countries, each country will adopt their own local protocols.