Will COVID become a background virus? Here’s what some experts think

Jan 1 2022

Looking into the future, even after COVID-19 cases fall from their current record-breaking levels, it is highly unlikely the world will completely eliminate the coronavirus that causes infections.

A day when it will no longer be a pandemic is inevitable – meaning cases are no longer out of control and hospitals are not at great risk of overwhelming. Many experts are predicting coronavirus becoming more like seasonal influenza.

Some experts are event saying that COVID may become part of the background in this new year. CNN was informed by Dr. Ofer Levy that he thinks that we’ll likely see this wave come and go and that spring and summer will look a lot better than right now.’

It will become an endemic cycle as the seasons turn, but until then, the coronavirus is still shifting unpredictably. There is no official benchmark for when the pandemic has ended and ‘normality’ has returned.

To transition from pandemic to endemic, the entire world has to build up to immunity to the coronavirus. This means, of course, more vaccination and the delay due to some refusing the jab, the transition could take even longer.

This also means getting vaccines to third-world countries which are currently suffering from vaccine shortages and low immunisation. Collaborations between health departments, laboratories, hospitals and health care providers have suggested that tracking COVID might become similar to that of influenza.

Flu pandemics have been observed throughout the ages, given it is also an unpredictable virus. So the COVID situation could have a similar spin – a very bendable sense of ‘normality.’

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Photo Source: Council of Europe

TikToker gives rapper Pitbull hair and a beard and results are…bizarre

Jan 1 2022

Have you ever wondered what famous American rapper Pitbull looks like with a beard and hair?

Well, a TikToker has you covered as they managed to blow up the internet’s collective mind by editing it onto the 40-year-old super star. And it almost convinced thousands of people that it is actually legit.

We’re used to seeing Pitbull, real name Armando Perez – with his signature shaven head and rocking large sunglasses. Other than maybe a little tuft of hair on his chin, Pitbull never rocks anything too extravagant in terms of facial hair.

@uhumuhhuh

#greenscreen i’ve been on pitbull tok for too long folks #pitbull #mrworldwide

♬ original sound – Rae

But one person’s makeover through the power of FaceApp yielded mind-blowing results and it’s just what we needed to kick of 2022.

The video racked up a whopping 1.6 million likes and thousands of comments as people basked in the makeover. One joked that Pitbull should edit his nickname from Mr Worldwide to Damn Mr Universe.

Others expressed confusion as they seem to have thought that the idea of putting a beard on Pitbull would entail putting it on the dog breed. Some were even, erm, slightly turned on by the new look.

In conclusion, nothing beats the power of FaceTime and we’ll let you bask in the glory of this edit. You’re welcome.

#MaltaDaily

Woman isolates in plane toilet after testing positive mid-flight

Jan 1 2022

A US school teachers reports how she spent five hours in voluntary self-isolation in a plane’s toilet after testing positive for COVID halfway through the flight.

Whilst travelling from Chicago to Reykjavik, Iceland, Marisa Fotieo said she felt her throat hurt during her 20th December flight. She claims to have performed a rapid test with a kit she brought with her and learned she was infected.

She decided to run to the toilet and remain there for the rest of the trip, with a flight attendant providing food and drinks for her. It was not immediately clear whether she had to present a COVID test before boarding.

Ms Fotieo told NBC News that it was a crazy experience and given that there were 150 people on the flight, her biggest fear was infecting other travellers.

A video posted on TikTok from inside the jet’s toilet earned her more than four million views and she went on to praise a flight attendant for helping her during the ordeal.

‘She made sure I had everything I needed for the next five hours form food to drinks and constantly checked on me assuring me I would be alright.

The teacher said that she then isolated in a Red Cross hotel upon arriving in Iceland, with her bizarre scenario coming just as the Omicron variant leads the spike in COVID cases worldwide.

#MaltaDaily

Photo Source: AeroTime Hub

COVID self-test kits ruled out by chief medical officer

Jan 1 2022

Making self-testing kits for COVID-19 legal has been ruled out by Chief Medical Officer Walter Busuttil, mainly due to the accuracy when compared to tests carried out at authorised testing centres.

This comes amid reports of delays in appointments for PCR tests for those getting COVID symptoms. Busuttil said that different countries are taking different decisions when it comes to self-testing.

So far, the decision for Malta has been not to allow self-testing due to the disadvantage of patients taking matters into their own hands and taking decisions without medical advice. He also highlighted how the self-testing kits are not 100% accurate.

Overviewing the current situation Malta finds itself in given COVID-19, he made the comments during a TVM interview. Self-testing kits are already used extensively abroad to get as many people tested as possible.

The wide-spread use has even resulted in shortages and people queueing for hours to get their own self-test kit. They are still illegal in Malta and cannot be sold or purchased.

Self-testing kits involve the use of swabs and a solution in which the sample is drenched. The solution is then dripped onto a strip which then provides a result within a few minutes.

Given their widespread use abroad, many vouch for them to become common practice to ease the pressure on testing centres and even test as many people as possible. Do you think Malta should follow suit and make them accessible?

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