I tried to find who first called VUI202012/01 a variant, given that the position of various protein molecules on the virus varies a fair bit without that term being used. The answer seems to be British kingdom scientists. (Reuters). Why do they name it after the month of December when according to the BMJ it was first noticed in September?
What a Christmas this looks like being! Britain is unusual in that traditionally many or most people in employment stay away from their paid work from Christmas Day until after New Year.
Meanwhile there is a Great Conjunction right now between Jupiter and Saturn. The apparent motion of both planets is slow, so it’s not just a one-night thing, but it will be especially cool to observe on Monday, the day of the winter solstice. (Look southwest close to the horizon after sunset.) Such a conjunction also occurred in 7BC and is thought by some to be referenced in the story of the “Star of Jerusalem” that led “wise men” or “kings” to where a family of Palestinian refugees (don’t forget this) had just had a baby.
Meanwhile in Kent there are huge queues of lorries waiting to leave the country.
The Port of Dover’s chief executive Doug Bannister says the rush in freight in the run-up to Christmas could mean that the following weeks were quieter. Yes indeed it could. No freight companies want their lorries stuck in a country where the economy has collapsed. The queues are going out, not coming in. I don’t believe they are mostly caused by British companies “stockpiling”, i.e. buying more stuff from the continent than they would do usually. They’re more likely to be caused by companies saying hey let’s play it safe and get our lorries somewhere they will actually be able to transport stuff and continue to bring us some income when Britain goes “pop”, i.e. let’s get them to the continent ASAP.
Unusually high concentrations of people in an area during an epidemic are surely a bad idea? Lorry drivers have to pee and eat like the rest of us…