It is the question scientists around the world are trying to answer: How long can the coronavirus survive in the tiny aerosol particles we exhale? In a high-security lab near Bristol, entered through a series of airlock doors, scientists may be weeks from finding out.
On Monday, they will start launching tiny droplets of live Sars-CoV-2 and levitating them between two electric rings to test how long the airborne virus remains infectious under different environmental conditions. Prof Denis Doorly, an expert in fluid mechanics at Imperial College London, who is not involved in the research, said:
It is a very important question.. There is now huge interest in what it could take to mitigate the risk of infection in enclosed spaces, in terms of enhanced natural ventilation, or air-scrubbing systems, or UV-C lighting – but this all depends on knowing how much viable virus remains suspended in the air.
When it opened in Brussels 31 years ago, many said a tourist attraction about European integration would never work. Now Mini-Europe – a collection of miniature landmarks and probably the only theme park in the world dedicated to the European Union – is closing its doors.
Earlier this month, owner and director, Thierry Meeùs, announced he had failed to reach agreement with landlords Brussels Expo, despite promising “major investment”. In a statement released last week, he said the Covid-19 crisis had “spared no one”, leaving him no other choice but to close on 31 December 2020.
Belgian media have since reported that the park, which includes the Eiffel Tower, Mount Vesuvius and the Acropolis modelled in exacting detail, could move outside Brussels. The nearby towns of Louvain-La-Neuve and Waterloo have been touted as possibilities.
Cases are surging in the UK, new figures suggest, with 1 in 300 people in Wales, and 1 in 500 people in England, thought to have had Covid between 13 to 19 September.
Meanwhile, one in 300 people are thought to have had Covid in Northern Ireland between 6 to 19 September.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics, which surveys infections in the community, come as the latest R figure from the government is revealed to be between 1.2 and 1.5 for both England and the UK, with the number of new infections growing by between 4% and 8% every day.
But the scientists behind the R value warn the number does not reflect today’s situation, noting the value is based on data collected over the previous three weeks or so – meaning the current situation could be even more concerning that the figures suggest.
Data from the Covid Symptom Study app, a project led by researchers at King’s College London, has also shown an surge in infections:
The latest prevalence figures estimate that 147,498 people currently have symptomatic Covid in the UK, this figure has more than doubled since last week for the second week in a row.
Tim Spector, professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, said cases were rising at an alarming rate:
In particular, we are worried about places like London and other major cities like Manchester, Belfast and Glasgow where cases are surging and the R value is around 1.4.
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Household visits must soon be banned for London’s 9 million residents, Sadiq Khan has urged the prime minister, warning that a 43% fall in testing in the capital risks masking the severity of the virus’s spread.
The mayor of London spoke to the Guardian as the government announced the city had been placed on the “watchlist” of areas at risk from tougher restrictions. “It’s obviously bad news that London is an area of concern. But the good news is that finally the government will pull their finger out and give us additional support,” Khan said.
He said the number of Covid tests carried out each week in London had fallen 43% between mid-August and mid-September as other areas were prioritised, despite the period coinciding with schools, universities and offices starting to reopen.
It beggars belief. We all knew that in September there would be a greater need for testing.
I’m really angry. It’s another example of lessons not being learned. You can explain the delay, incompetence in March. There’s no excuse now.
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