Back into red, Wordle, Life on Mars, and the usual anti-vax roundup

As you read this you'll know that the country is now back into the red traffic light setting. The Omicron variant of COVID is now out in the community and, given its transmissibility, expected to spread widely and quickly. In the press conference yesterday it was acknowledged that there is likely undetected transmission of Omicron in the community. Omicron has likely been transmitted by flights around the country (a flight attendant was infected with Omicron) and people also have attended a wedding and visited various venues.

A week seems like a very long time at the moment! But just over a week ago, the island nation of Tonga experienced a huge volcanic eruption and resulting tsunami. The effect of the tsunami was made worse by the fact that the islands are low-lying so seeking high ground is all but impossible.

If you spend any time on social media you'll have no doubt seen fairly enigmatic posts with a grid of yellow and green squares in various combinations. This is Wordle - a daily word guessing game that has taken the world by storm (or at least, that seems to be what I've been seeing!)

Amidst a global pandemic it's sometimes easy to miss science news. But this one really piqued my interest.

So, back to COVID vaccines. This past week has seen a huge amount of activity in anti-vax circles.

Ending on a positive note (no pun intended) this week, NZ Skeptics committee member Brad MacClure was featured in an article on Stuff about piano tuning, and skepticism. There's a nice write-up and associated video.