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The hypothesis is the mutation occurred outside of Asia, and countries in Asia closed ports after the initial infections, but before the mutation. > sunlight (

The hypothesis is the mutation occurred outside of Asia, and countries in Asia closed ports after the initial infections, but before the mutation. > sunlight (UV-B), heat/humidity Much of Asia is in the northern hemisphere (e.g. China and Japan); same season as Europe and USA. Australia is in Asia too, close to China with much travel between. I agree there are many factors and it's early. But the low cases and deaths over all countries in Asia has a peculiar uniformity - in contrast to elsewhere.

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago
> Australia is in Asia too, close to China Most geographers would disagree. It's a 12-hour flight from Beijing to Sydney, no closer than Beijing to San Francisco.
barkingcat 6y ago
The continent of Australia is massive. It contains many distinct ecosystems. Referring to Australia as being "close to China" is like saying Russia is close to England. It's its own continent. To put it in more concrete terms, any (direct) flight you look up from Wuhan to any city in Australia is 12+ hours. That's a much longer flight than New York to London.
hyperpallium 6y ago
Wow, HN is strange sometimes. Have covid19 strains become political/tribal somehow? I'm just pointing out something interesting in the data I was curious about. It's a pity HN picks out one detail and ignores the interesting thing... but upon reflection, pedantry is typical of today's HN, and partly why pg withdrew. Regarding Australia, it's often said we are in the Asia region. And for the specific purposes here, of initial transmission, we have much contact with China, through tourism, education, primary produce and trade in general. It's expected we'd get initial infection direct from China (which trwcing shows we did), rather than via Europe.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago
  I didn't downvote you (can't even if I wanted to since you replied to me!), but the difference in outcomes is unlikely to be explained solely by differing strains, and there's no evidence at this time that the mutations have any biologically meaningful difference: https://www.virology.ws/2020/05/07/there-is-one-and-only-one-strain-of-sars-cov-2/ https://www.virology.ws/2020/05/07/there-is-one-and-only-one...
  - hyperpallium 6y ago
    Thanks. I did say it was only "suggestive". A series of similar events in similar circumstances can be explained by a series of different causes, but it seems worth looking at a similar cause, no? This is at the stage of initial hypothesis. Gosh, maybe people thought I was saying it was the absolute truth.

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago

> Australia is in Asia too, close to China Most geographers would disagree. It's a 12-hour flight from Beijing to Sydney, no closer than Beijing to San Francisco.

barkingcat 6y ago

The continent of Australia is massive. It contains many distinct ecosystems. Referring to Australia as being "close to China" is like saying Russia is close to England. It's its own continent. To put it in more concrete terms, any (direct) flight you look up from Wuhan to any city in Australia is 12+ hours. That's a much longer flight than New York to London.

hyperpallium 6y ago

Wow, HN is strange sometimes. Have covid19 strains become political/tribal somehow? I'm just pointing out something interesting in the data I was curious about. It's a pity HN picks out one detail and ignores the interesting thing... but upon reflection, pedantry is typical of today's HN, and partly why pg withdrew. Regarding Australia, it's often said we are in the Asia region. And for the specific purposes here, of initial transmission, we have much contact with China, through tourism, education, primary produce and trade in general. It's expected we'd get initial infection direct from China (which trwcing shows we did), rather than via Europe.

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago
I didn't downvote you (can't even if I wanted to since you replied to me!), but the difference in outcomes is unlikely to be explained solely by differing strains, and there's no evidence at this time that the mutations have any biologically meaningful difference: https://www.virology.ws/2020/05/07/there-is-one-and-only-one-strain-of-sars-cov-2/ https://www.virology.ws/2020/05/07/there-is-one-and-only-one...
- hyperpallium 6y ago
  Thanks. I did say it was only "suggestive". A series of similar events in similar circumstances can be explained by a series of different causes, but it seems worth looking at a similar cause, no? This is at the stage of initial hypothesis. Gosh, maybe people thought I was saying it was the absolute truth.