Relaxation of Restrictions, Part XII *Read OP For Mod Warnings*

stephenjmcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438874#Comment_118438874

The sec gens of the departments can activate a derogation though if they feel there's critical issues in a number of areas relating to staffing so it takes cabinet out of it altogether along with NPHET

Spanish Eyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438847#Comment_118438847

Par for the course, everyone other than them are the "little people". You just have to look at MUP, ostensibly introduced to curb binge drinking and to boost the health of the nation, yet there still exists a Dail Bar. Yep.... a bar in the workplace. Do as I say not as I do.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438452#Comment_118438452

"Hasn't been remotely close to being overwhelmed..."?! Oh, deploying the army to hospitals isn't remotely close to being overwhelmed?! Okay.

EDIT - ...and we haven't been in lockdown since November.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438892#Comment_118438892

When it comes to civil service perhaps (and I'm not entirelysure they can), but definitely not the wider economic sectors 🤔

mightyreds

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438912#Comment_118438912

That's because of staff shortages you might want to add at the end

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438404#Comment_118438404

Even the daily mail reported how much of a non issue it is. It’s too much for folks here to read past the headline though

Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), said in a statement: ‘It is reassuring that the study found only a small, temporary menstrual change in women.

No fertility issues were uncovered at the time, according to an analysis of the data by Dr Victoria Male, a lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London.

Richard Hillman

https://twitter.com/MichealLehane/status/1479811453632794624?t=k6P4h5vVQ3tgOxroQtu8mQ&s=19

Why do they need to liaise with the EU over internal restrictions?

It's adding more fuel to the notion that the vaccine pass mandate is coming from the EU

walus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438534#Comment_118438534

By that logic we should ban the obese from entering the country as there is no vaccine or a test that they can take to prove they will not end up in ICU with Covid. I’m sure you would agree to that.

stephenjmcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438913#Comment_118438913

They can for civil service anyway

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1478642917833064451?t=CKafa2JShogcjU8lsGU3YA&s=19

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439001#Comment_118439001

Thanks , I just wasn't sure 😏

stephenjmcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438986#Comment_118438986

You'd imagine it's in relation to the ECDC and perhaps a change in offical advice from them in general for the entire bloc along the lines of the CDC.

HalfAndHalf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438912#Comment_118438912

200 Army personnel sent to cover sick staff isn’t overwhelmed though is it.

Overwhelmed is when they’ve more patients than beds.

Blut2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438912#Comment_118438912

At no point since July, when the country re-opened, have English hospitals been at capacity (ie full). The data on this bed use is public and easily accessible. By any definition possible they haven't been overwhelmed. They've used army staff to fill 200 staff shortages, in a country of 70 million people, because excessive mandatory covid isolation has effected a tiny regional area.

Society has been back to normal there now for almost 7 months. Full nightclubs, full stadiums, normal life. While we here in Ireland had 3 weeks of having something close to a restriction free life (but still with masks and other measures in place) in November.

This despite the fact that England has a much worse risk profile than Ireland, as previously mentioned - more at risk minorities, an older average age, a higher obesity rate, and a lower vaccination rate.

If we had any sort of decent media in Ireland our government would be being asked repeatedly "why are large sections of our society still locked down while England is free and hospitals are coping perfectly fine?" The evidence is overwhelmingly clear at this stage that we don't need to be locked down.

brickster69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438986#Comment_118438986

Got to get the nod from the Politburo, can't just go around doing what you want you know.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438759#Comment_118438759

Same

It's not hard to see a slow cautious staggered reopening. Would not surprise me if they wait til after Paddys Day to reopen hospitality fully, we maybe might get back to 10.30pm last orders mid February. God knows with the shower we have in Government who Will once again let NPHET decide

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438886#Comment_118438886

You are optimistic and yet you think there will still be restrictions in the summer. That is rather the mindset I am talking about, restrictions should be gone within weeks and yet you already know that this will continue to be dragged out, a few crumbs thrown here and there but still limits for months to come. If thats optimism I sure would hate to see the pessimistic view.

I will hold my tongue on this part: "And in any case keep the Covid certs and linkeage to boosters as a way of selling the lifting of those restrictions."

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438986#Comment_118438986

Imagine a group of public health experts in a union of states meeting to agree a common approach. Who would have thought a union would involve cooperation. What a ridiculous concept

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438986#Comment_118438986

Because they don't make any decisions. Ever.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438986#Comment_118438986

If internal restrictions are the same across the EU it would boost tourism as people know what to expect when they're on holidays

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438872#Comment_118438872

Are you not perhaps missing the point. Those unvaccinated are much more likely should they become infected to require hospitalisation or even ICU care.

While getting vaccinated may be an inconvenience for some, I can see why countries that are having to deal with the inconvenience of the disproportionate numbers of their own unvaccinated putting pressure on their health systems, would not be particularly bothered about putting pressure on those unvaccinated wishing to visit to get vaccinated before doing so.

Economics101

Just suppose the powers that be made a slightly bold decision: move the hospitality closing from 8pm to 10pm from mid-January. I would imagine that the increase in custom spread over a greater number of opening hours should not be a significant hazard. Some small steps might be good for morale, and could be reversed if things went badly wrong (unlikely , in my opinion)

deholleboom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439143#Comment_118439143

Well, let me just say that whatever can be seen as optimistic and pessimistic has to have a relation to a realistic framework. So, to be realistic i proposed a few likely scenarios. It is no use in talking about what should happen unless it has some influence on what might happen. I dont think posting messages on boards.ie will do that. What is more important is that enough people in government circles push back on keeping unreasonable restrictions proposed by Nphet. The government has been able to sell their message with the help of the media and a fearful, compliant public. Once that fear is diminishing my (optimistic) expectation is that the goverment will be more prone to lifting restrictions earlier. It is a balancing act but i suspect a tipping point has been reached. Now it is all about keeping enough restrictions they can get away with while lifting some other ones. I dont know if one would call them 'crumbs'. That would depend on the details. A good start would be raising the 8pm o clock closing time to 11pm for the whole hospitality sector and allow entertainment to happen. But i wouldnt get my hopes up of that happening with a 'staggered, cautious' approach and changes every 3 weeks. In that way i am pessimistic. And yes, i think mask wearing etc will still be with us in summer as will Covid certs and possibly booster QR coupling, especially when organised on an EU level.

Do i like it...NO.

PTH2009

Seems to be no rush having a meeting about easing restrictions by the powers that be

A bit laughable and it wouldn't take them that long to call a meeting to impose them

AlekSmart

Got my new Ausweiss today also.

I was a two dose Moderna guinea pig,and understood I was recieving a Pfizer booster (Hi Albert 😉 )

However browsing through todays email,I find I've recieved a shot of Spikevax,previously known as Covid-19 Vax Moderna (courtesy of Modema Biotech Spain S.L.)

Strange thing is my Vaccinator also appeared to believe she was shooting me up with Pfizer's best....at this juncture I could'nt care less.....I'm of the belief now,that the only snake-oil around is what's being pumped into our arms.

One big Con-Job...keep following the money !! 😀

ceadaoin.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438979#Comment_118438979

If you read the accounts of women affected, it's not a non issue and it's not "brief". Many haven't had a period since last year! Women being fobbed off in medicine again, shocker. I guess we are just getting hysterical about it and should just shut up 🙄

For example

https://www.reddit.com/r/Periods/comments/oxezdn/covid_vaccine_and_periods/

it's clearly affecting a lot of women and not just "briefly"

stephenjmcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439660#Comment_118439660

Well why would there be a meeting now when the current restrictions are in place until the end of the month ? They've another 3 weeks to run & we all know they'll run that full course. The SI states 30th January 2022 in it.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438813#Comment_118438813

And they're expecting more next week, but no, our restrictions which were introduced to keep cases low are working according to Micheal Martin...

Looking at booking confirmatory PCRs and there's 0 availability any time I check, I, and many others like me are putting faith in antigen tests for the moment.

When PCRs open up again I can see many people booking them as a way of checking if they had it this week or last so case numbers will be high for a while to come and hospital numbers should be dropping at the same time

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439792#Comment_118439792

They are constantly saying if new information comes out about the virus that they won't hesitate to change the restrictions before they were due to expire

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439817#Comment_118439817

It really is quite alarming , the lack of PCR tests , I was thinking earlier that if NPHET hadn't suddenly become so positive about antigen testing , we're in God's name would the country be given only a fraction of cases being detected via the PCR route.

There's more and more reports on the costs of these antigen tests and I have to guess a lot of people not even doing them because of the expense.

The dogs on the street knew a surge was coming with Omicron, obviously it's not as dangerous as Delta but that's not really the point. It's an extraordinary situation really 🙄

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118439837#Comment_118439837

Yep and that stance quickly sweep under the carpet when things seem positive