I don’t know why you say that. Omicron will be the beginning of more lockdowns and restrictions.
First there will be community spread and then back to zero in terms of lockdowns.
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It’s the only way to end this shit. Omicron won’t kill many and it will be finished.
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I don’t want to be one of the first ones. I don’t want to be locked up. Hopefully we are at the just wait at home until better stage when I get it.
Don’t forget the run on goods! 
Guy
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But it will be used as a political tool by the KMT. If it gets in and spreads uncontrollably and even one person dies from it the KMT will blame the DPP’s policies. On the other hand, if the DPP orders lock down to avoid spreading and we suffer economically the KMT will complain and say that the DPP’s policies hurt Taiwan.
As I’ve been watching the news throughout the world every night, it has been spreading uncontrollably throughout the United States Canada and Europe and everything from transportation to emergency services to hospitals are affected. It is a complete shit show. Even the Netherlands has shut down.
So, What makes you actually believe that if it starts spreading uncontrollably here in Taiwan that we will be finished with it? I’m seriously asking because I don’t believe it.
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I’m with Malcolm here. Let the sh&tshow happen elsewhere. Hopefully, we can watch, learn, figure out best treatment and best practices when Omicron eventually does hit us.
Guy
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I was the first poster on forumosa to suggest allowing people carrying Omicron to bypass quarantine. I was pretty sure I was right then, and I’m almost certain I’m right now.
Quarantine other variants so everyone can contract the Omicron variant. Totally logical. Obviously people will die with Omicron, so as you say politically it might not work. However, a brave leader would do it. Unfortunately, we have elections coming up
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Meantime natural immunity weakens, as does vaccinated immunity.
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I like where your head’s at and I pray that you’re right.
But as an avowed pessimist, I believe you will be sadly mistaken.
Uncontrolled Omicron spread has not ended things anywhere in the world as yet. In fact, by most estimates our systems in the US are back to last winter’s stats. It’s bad.
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Toilet paper! Toilet paper!!!
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Problem is last May proved that:
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WFH? More like WTH.
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Remote learning? Not ready, ain’t working.
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Lockdown? Ain’t happening.
Yeah. Half my family has it. Half of an Italian family.
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And many go to Belgium to shop now, and have a beer, a movie, dine.
The only thing to be pessimistic about (according to current data) would be the response to an Omicron outbreak, which is also one of your concerns.
I still think it’s best to let it in sooner rather than later in order to reduce additional damage of two years of reduced natural immunity and gradually declining vaccinated immunity.
Perhaps it would be best to wait until after CNY and then take a look at the situation. I hope they don’t drag this shit out until 2024 for political reasons. Pragmatism died two years ago, so this will probably be the result.
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Not practical as it takes a few days to sequence variants unfortunately. However, I’m pretty confident in predicting Delta will be totally extinct and replaced by Omicron within a month. 600,000 positive cases in the USA yesterday (they ran out of tests, so the true result is probably much higher) and I’m sure most of those would be Omicron.
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I’m not sure that’s strictly true. IIRC, some implementations of the PCR tests can be used to indicate omicron rather than another variant (because it comes up as negative for one of the ca. three sequences tested for owing to the mutations in that region). This allows for testing for a particular variant without more rigorous sequencing. (It would also be fairly trivial to deliberately design a test that does that based on this method.)
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if you want a good laugh google translate some of the comments. People tripping out… 
Now outside everything is rammed full. BARS, CLUBS, KTVs, etc. I don’t think omicron will break quarantine and control protocols. People need to chill.
btw, who has more strict controls? hk or taiwan?
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If we go down, we will go down fighting.
ps
Did I just heard that one Omicron case came from China? So China also has Omicron?
A little too melodramatic for my tastes. I prefer this…
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Sigh. Game of Thrones gifs just make me sad now. That show made Lost’s fantastic first season look mediocre, and Lost’s bad-at-the-time ending look actually pretty good in retrospect.
To get back on topic, um, I dunno, let’s hope that COVID peters out in a similarly dumb, pointless, and forgettable anticlimax? “Whew, first season was memorable, but after that, dwindled into best-forgotten obscurity.” Does that work? (Please let’s not develop the analogy with Red Wedding in the third year or whenever it was.)
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