Acceptable Covid death rates

It’s not mandatory for people to work. If you are afraid to go to an office, maybe working is not for you.

You can always sign on and get social welfare.

But let me guess, that’s not good enough? You want your salary and a nice handy work from home job as well.

No appetite from most in this country to actually get back to normal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106694#Comment_118106694

the concept of hybrid working and WFH is not all Covid related. I’ve been working 2/3 days a week in the office for nearly a decade now and would like to see everyone have the same opportunity. It’s about building a better society and work life balance, not just ‘getting back to normal’ after Covid. ‘Normal’ wasn’t all good

sekiro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058215169/acceptable-covid-death-rates

I feel sorry for your situation but the reality is that everybody dies eventually.

When talking about acceptable or preventable deaths it's a bit of a difficult conversation. Many deaths in this country are avoidable. We could stop people from eating junk and smoking and drinking and so on and save a good few lives. We could help people who are suicidal. We could help people who may become suicidal. We could do more about deaths from the flu and deaths from accidents and really we could go on and on there.

With COVID the friction is coming from asking what is a reasonable amount of freedom to give up so that someone else might live? Where is the border between "take responsibility to keep yourself safe" and "stay locked down to save others".

There would obviously be two polar extremes here. On one side we could have absolute lockdown until covid is gone. No mixing, no going outside, whatever it takes to keep people apart and safe. On the other side we would have no lockdowns or restrictions at all ever and it's survival of the fittest, I suppose.

If the best solution is somewhere between those two extremes then unfortunately "how many deaths would be an acceptable number" would need to form part of that conversation.

As an example, in a car crash, it's very possible that an airbag can cause serious back or neck injuries. However it is also far more likely that an airbag can save a driver from injury or death. The decision is then made that a certain number of negative outcomes are acceptable when the bigger picture is considered. Try telling that to the guy who is paralyzed because of an airbag.

Maybe the message could have been delivered with a better bedside manner but at some point there is going to be a "bigger picture" to look at with lockdowns and restrictions and difficult questions will need to be answered.

marilynrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106133#Comment_118106133

Yes I understand that, but it's not correct to say they didn't know about it.

As we were locked down for months the government sat and did nothing to stop people travelling here, knowing that variants from other countries would come in. Even when they eventually brought in mandatory hotel quarantine India wasn't even on the list initially. By then it was clear delta was a huge worry.

The government did not want to bring in hotel quarantine at all and that's when a lot of people started to become increasingly angry and frustrated about the situation. I understand with the UK it may not have been possible but they could have stopped others from travelling here. They chose not to and wanted all the restrictions on the citizens instead.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105207#Comment_118105207

The masks are a good idea in crowded areas to deal with respiratory viruses outside of Covid as well. The culture of wearing a mask has been common in the Far East for a very long time, sometimes it was because of a response to extreme air pollution, other times in response to repsiratory illnesses.

Lockdowns and restrictions are needed to ensure that our hospitals are not overwhelmed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106694#Comment_118106694

Nonsensical solution.

But, in your wisdom, please advise what social welfare payments those in high risk groups can claim, if they give up their "non-mandatory" employment.

Jobseekers requires the claimant to be actively jobseeking.

Diabetes or severe asthma is not sufficient to qualify for Disability Benefit.

Illness Benefit only applies when you are actually ill, not just managing a condition.

And even if by some miracle, this was feasible, (given the numbers in the high risk cohorts) how long would it take before the usual suspects would start calling those at high risk scroungers, and complain about having to pay higher taxes to cover the increased social welfare bill?

Is it even necessary to mention, that not everyone who is high risk is in the kind of employment that can be done from home?

I guess it is. 🙄

Lol, whatever happened to "we need to get everyone back to work to get the economy going!"

Now its turning to "let everyone in the high risk groups stop working and claim welfare!" ?!?

😏

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107095#Comment_118107095

No solutions are needed. If you want to work, work. If you have to go to the office, off you go.

But people need to stop using Covid to whinge that they should be at home.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107374#Comment_118107374

I don't see anyone here who is high risk whinging that they should be at home.

If anything the ones whinging that they should be at home are those who are put out at being inconvenienced by them being in the workplace or anywhere else outside of their own homes, basically.

Thanks for the non-update on the social welfare benefits available.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118102547#Comment_118102547

you were never told we would go back to absolute normal once vaccinated.

what we were told is that with a high vaccination rate we could go back to near normality at first with a few minimal restrictions, with the ability to go back to normality down the line as cases go down and down.

ultimately yes, as it has been through out this pandemic, it is the few who refuse to protect themselves and others who have ruined it for everyone, the vast majority of those won't be over weight however but will just be concerned about going against the government, nphet, or just about anyone else.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104835#Comment_118104835

well get caring as you are factually incorrect.

it's that the comment is so stupid and cringe worthy that is the issue really.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105192#Comment_118105192

the government give dates based on the evidence at that time, the evidence then changes meaning they have to extend as the numbers didn't go down to the level needed.

restricting unvaccinated people makes a difference, as it should keep them away from vaccinated people as much as is possible, and it might incentivize some of them to get the vaccine, so it is a good measure and perfectly justified in this case.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105697#Comment_118105697

that's wonderful, but other then the fact you run now and then, the rest of your post is just meaningless sound bites that don't work.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106694#Comment_118106694

yes, the poster wants to do their work, that's far from a surprise.

there will be people working from home indefinitely now as some employers see the savings to be made from not having office space.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105697#Comment_118105697

More silly juvenile stuff ..read my answers yesterday . Not wasting my time posting the same stuff over and over .

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106790#Comment_118106790

your arguments about cars, junk food etc have been done to death and found to be invalid to covid as there are laws and rules and guidelines and advice in place to minimise the effects and potential deaths that can happen.

the argument to have a somewhere in between the 2 extremes are what those who you suggest want lock downs until covid is gone are actually looking for, but the throw open the doors brigade, the very vocal minority that they are, won't even except that.

the only people who seem to want long lock downs are the minority who complain and won't abide by the restrictions, minimal as they are now, since if they didn't want lock downs then they would abide and do everything possible to avoid lock downs, and would have done so through out, since if you don't want something then normally you would do what is needed to be done to avoid it.

marilynrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108033#Comment_118108033

The dates they gave definitely were not based on the evidence they had at the time, they knew from previous lockdowns that the numbers don't go down that quickly so that's simply not true.

It won't keep the unvaccinated away from the vaccinated as much as possible, it just stops them going into pubs and nightclubs. They are still going to be mixing absolutely everywhere else over the busiest time of the year. The difference is going to be miniscule.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104810#Comment_118104810

You can not create and deposit fat from thin air. Apart from the camp guards, there were no fat people liberated from extermination camps at the end of WW2, no matter what metabolic disorders they had. Fat goes in through the mouth, and that's the beginning and end of it.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108321#Comment_118108321

Recommending starvation now ...

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108345#Comment_118108345

Putting words into my mouth for me; how kind.

skimpydoo

To those criticising fat people, it's not always to do with over indulging. I know somebody who could not loose weight. They finally found out that they had various food allergies. So don't assume people are fat because they eat too much, you don't know anything about them.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108099#Comment_118108099

Yeah they could just be big boned. Massive arse bone and gigantic belly bone.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108706#Comment_118108706

There are an abundance of ignorant people out there, Skimpydoo, who think they have the answer for everything that medical science doesn't by a quick scroll through a ' health' website or by reading some influencer's story in the daily rag.

We wil not be changing the minds, of those who don't even read posts properly.

Sesshoumaru

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107374#Comment_118107374

People who can't adapt to the world as it is now are the ones who are whining about others who are capable of adapting. Not everyone needs a cubicle to work. There are lots of jobs that can be done more productively without wasting time on commutes, damaging the environment and also helping to support the local economy by working from home offices.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118100026#Comment_118100026

If people take the easy wins such as wearing masks on public transport and in shops etc. then the other things become more possible. The couple of times I've had to get on public transport over the past few months I've noticed a complete disregard for simple measures. Those people are pissing away other people's past sacrifices and everyones potential future gains for nothing except laziness and ignorance.

To the poster moaning above that people should go on the dole instead of working, well if you actually really want people to be back working (rather than just talking about it) then wear your mask when you can. That is how things get back to normal.

Numbers are huge today. But the last time they were this bad the hospitals were getting overrun. So I can't understand why others are whinging about being "fooled" by the vaccine. We have hardly any restrictions now relatively speaking and yet we are still managing.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118100073#Comment_118100073

It is nothing to do with "justified". They will do it if it is necessary unfortunately. It won't be done based off peoples' acquiescence

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106694#Comment_118106694

You are right. As mentioned above you will see the lazy ones who have no interest in getting the country back to normality. And they are fairly obvious about it. They are the ones who can't even be arsed to properly wear a mask and observe social distancing in the few places it is mandated.

oookkkaaayyy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118109398#Comment_118109398

But is it necessary? With our high vaccine rate? I plan on getting a booster when the time comes but then that's it. It's time to move on and accept that the virus will be here for a very long time and accept the new reality. The government needs to invest in more icu beds instead of taking the "easy road" via lockdowns, if of course they actually plan on initiating another lockdown, it's all speculation at this point.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118109695#Comment_118109695

You might not be saying that if you have an upcoming procedure scheduled in the hospital and it is cancelled 2 weeks out and put back by 6 months because the hospitals are dealing with a surge. The virus will be here and we need to learn to live with it. But that means knowing how to manage it and behave appropriately. Some people appear to think that "learning to live with" means pretending it doesn't exist.

I don't want more lockdowns. Which is why I get frustrated seeing people not making a slight effort to do the easy things right.

oookkkaaayyy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118109733#Comment_118109733

A complete overhaul of our health service with increased funding would solve that, but good luck with that in Ireland. I lost an uncle to cancer last January so I'm aware of the issue with crowding. It's simply not realistic to lockdown whenever the going gets tough with high case numbers. The cost to our sanity and economy will be immense. Again, I'm speculating, hopefully it won't happen.

CivilCybil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106694#Comment_118106694

I don't mind the country getting back to normal. But if a person is at high risk of actually dying from contracting covid and they can do their job from home I don't understand the issue?

I've been working from home since march 2020 with no issues, meeting targets etc etc. I'm high risk, have had my booster. Work from a socially distanced office. Happy enough so far. But am not keen on going back without any social distancing when I know there's people who won't get their vaccine sitting near me and people who will come in sick etc.

I can work perfectly well from home, keep myself safe and let people who aren't high risk back to the office without having to wear masks etc.

I don't think I should throw away 20+ years of education and experience and sign onto social welfare. Who will that benefit. But working from home will benefit me and my health plus benefit my employer, plus I pay taxes etc etc. Seems very short sighted to suggest all high risk people who might prefer to work from home should pack in their jobs and go on social welfare