Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

Spudman_20000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118948634#Comment_118948634

Flew to Luton at the weekend with Ryanair, masks were still being enforced.

JP Liz V1

Do Irish hospitals still have dedicated covid wards?

phormium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118948714#Comment_118948714

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118949489#Comment_118949489

Didnt say it was the official line, merely what's happening in real life, maybe it depends on the crew, I'm sure they are tired of trying to enforce it!

podgeandrodge

British Airways have immediately removed the mask mandate for travel to the USA, following the ruling. They said it is up to customer preference once the destination rules don't mandate it. A sensible decision.

But British Airways are part of the IAG group, as are Aer Lingus. But Aer Lingus continue to enforce the mask mandate.

dalyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118951227#Comment_118951227

Aerlingus are making up the rules as they go along. They bizarrely quoted “US federal LAW” mask wearing requirement on a recent Dublin bound flight from Chicago. The cabin crew were extreme in the enforcement too. We were directed to sip water from our bottles and immediately replace our masks. (Was as if we were at the height of the pandemic March/April 2020 or something)

Constant messaging from the crew over the announcement speaker and spot checking the passengers up and down the aisles. I personally couldn’t wait to get off the plane. Nightmare flight.

I’ll be certainly be avoiding aerlingus on my next US bound flight if they keep up that disproportionate nonsense.

podgeandrodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118951720#Comment_118951720

Yeah, that's my concern. They are broadly blaming US rules for the mask mandate on those flights, but as soon as the US rules are removed, they just are, like, well, whatever. How does an airline that is part of AIG, not have to move to make adjustments in the same way as its sister company British Airways. Politics somewhere here, not science.

podgeandrodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118951227#Comment_118951227

So now, Aer Lingus have REMOVED the mask mandate for..................direct flights from Manchester to USA.

"Note: Face masks are now optional on direct flights between Manchester and the US."

So, the website https://www.aerlingus.com/support/covid19-information/new-safety-measures/

states:

"In light of Covid-19, we have introduced new measures to maintain our high standards of health and safety."

But not if you are going from Mancester. Cos....like....Covid treats em different there.

dalyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954090#Comment_118954090

Such a load of operational cods wallop . Are lingus should just remove this last remaining mask virtue signalling throughout its entire fleet. Concentrate on real safety issues now.

ps ….. they can appease the hypochondriacs by assuring them that the hepa filters are fully operational and “cleaning” the air or whatever.

pps….. I’m due to fly to Spain this coming Tuesday via Ryanair. It’d be great if Micheal O’Leary (who was very vocal during the covid madness over the last 25 months) actually followed the US ruling and removed the flight / mask mandate. Shocked he hasn’t done this yet. Why’s he waiting ?

podgeandrodge

Gas thing, the masks mandate they have introduced for "health and safety" of their customers related to Covid. So they must therefore not care about their customers over in Manchester? :)

podgeandrodge

Ahh, here is the answer in the Irish Times:

On Monday it emerged that US authorities will no longer enforce wearing masks on aircraft, trains or buses following a Florida court ruling.

In response to that, an Aer Lingus spokeswoman said it follows the Irish Government “protocol for the management of air passengers in light of Covid-19”, a position informed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) protocol. Both provide for the wearing of masks.

“However, in light of the Florida court decision regarding the United States mask mandate and the fact the United Kingdom does not require the wearing of masks on board, there is now an urgent need to review both the Irish Government and EASA-ECDC protocols in order to remove the provisions regarding the wearing of masks on board,” she said.

Any such move would only follow a broader relaxation of coronavirus restrictions. But it would likely lead to unease among some passengers.

VG31

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954090#Comment_118954090

I suspect that's a commercial decision. Since BA and Virgin Atlantic don't require masks they don't want to lose business. The Irish market doesn't matter as much as masks are still mandatory on their main competitor Ryanair.

maebee

Sorry if it's been answered before (I only visit this thread occasionally) but are the free antigen tests still available from the HSE for ages up to 39? I looked on the HSE site and couldn't see anything about them.

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954165#Comment_118954165

The covid mitigation measures didn't stop making sense recently

They never did.

Effective as rosary beads

podgeandrodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954305#Comment_118954305

Nah, see other post. Turns out "Aer Lingus spokeswoman said it follows the Irish Government “protocol for the management of air passengers in light of Covid-19”, a position informed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) protocol. Both provide for the wearing of masks."

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954328#Comment_118954328

Short answer is no. If you're under 55 OR fully boosted and you have symptoms, the official advice is that a test is no longer necessary, you just have to isolate until you're 48 hours symptom-free.

However, you can still request them from here: https://www.hse.ie/antigentesting/

There's no real logic in the form, they won't check who you are or whether you're "entitled" to free tests, so fire away.

seamus

Hospital decline continues with no indication of slowing down. Down by nearly 1,000 in 3.5 weeks. 654 today.

At this rate by Saturday we'll have the lowest number of people in hospital this year.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955121#Comment_118955121

A 1000 drop in 3.5 weeks is just phenomenal.

dalyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955170#Comment_118955170

And it’s a further indictment on the medical / media push of last month to continue to enforce mask wearing in a mandatory form. They have remained very silent in the past 3 weeks while we witness the obvious natural declines.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955393#Comment_118955393

I was just thinking to myself that if mask mandates were brought in weeks ago i think that without doubt they’d be all claiming that masks were the reason of the big drop in hospitals.

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955170#Comment_118955170

A plethora of doctors and supposedly intelligent medical experts look very silly after baying for reintroduction of mask wearing on any form of media that would entertain them.

Can you imagine if masks were reintroduced and we were again lectured with bullshit graphs about how hospital number decreased by a thousand after measures were introduced?

How many restrictions were effectively useless since 2020?

We were just trying to stop the tide with a bucket, cases rise and fall naturally, we have proof now.

lee_baby_simms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955423#Comment_118955423

100%. The public health advice was bang on the money and the government stuck with that and stood firm against media/TU pressure. Hugely significant moment.

bikeman1

I was on a call to my mother a short while ago.

"Oh yes, just back from the shopping centre... there's not very many people wearing masks, very worrying isn't it?"

Me "Well the mask mandate has been completely dropped many weeks now, and the numbers in hospital and catching have continued to drop, despite the lack of mask wearing"

"Oh, yes, errr well I'm still wearing mine"

"Why? they are as useful on your face as they are on your knee"

"Stop being silly, of course they work"

"Ehh... not those **** fabric / look good masks you wear"

"Ok, do you know about this new restaurant we are visiting this weekend.." (And with no mask on for two hours will many other people)

It really is going to take some time for people like my mother to come around!!

Amenhotep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956256#Comment_118956256

My uncle is a covidian too, will wear a mask while he dashes into a SPAR for 2 minutes, yet we were at a reunion last week where for 5+ hours we all sat in a large group in a restaurant and had some more drinks after - all maskless.

We were talking about it , and he was disappointed they didn't reintroduce mandatory masking again, he couldn't see the irony in the situation he was in - he even said he isn't wearing one as "I am eating..." - this was about an hour after finishing his meal.

It's a cult.

phormium

Our supermarkets must be a hot bed of covid! It's practically the only place I see any great number wearing them these days and it's somewhere that in general unless you stop for a chat with someone you are not that near other people really and it's not jam packed. If I was picking on a 'must wear' place the supermarket wouldn't be my main worry.

celt262

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956558#Comment_118956558

Yeah i always wear mine in the supermarket and the bus all the time but i leave it off at the weekend when in nightclubs.

Terence Rattigan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955393#Comment_118955393

Ah no, any day now Scare Byrne & Co. will do a segment on this wonderful development and highlight the victory of nature over masks........wont they?😀

billyhead

I have this cnut of a virus at present and I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy. I was of the view it was no more than a cold and I'm superfit. The dose I got is like a bad flu.

crossman47

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957624#Comment_118957624

I had it a few weeks ago. I wasn't too bad at the time but I'm constantly tired since. Absolutely knackered if I try to do any little think at all. Avoid it if you can at all and that includes wearing a mask and continuing good hygiene.

My son is in crèche so we've had several illnesses in the house over the last few months.

For all the panic, COVID was actually the most mild.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957954#Comment_118957954

I got it this week and I'm floored with it.