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

Restrictions are impacting on people's lives. Pre-covid I could rock up to the gym at any time I liked during opening hours now I have book a time that I will be going same for the swimming pool. Not only do I have to book the swimming pool, if I am bringing my kid with me I have to book them is as well. Going on holidays in a few days and there is waterslide place were we are going, pre-covid you could rock any time and pay and off you go, now you have to book and because of restrictions on numbers there is nothing available. So yes restrictions are having an impact on people.

Jokes on you, if you didn't go to the gym or on holiday or to the shops or meet other people then you could go through life unaffected by any restrictions.

Right. Unless someone quotes me again regarding this, I'll not respond further. The facts - OP made a statement saying that there were 'a myriad of restrictions on every aspect of people's lives." I responded to say that I could go for days without restrictions affecting me. This means that not only did restrictions not have an affect on every aspect of my life but also that there wasn't a myriad of them. I didn't say ANYTHING about other people and their lives. Restrictions are certainly having an effect on everyone...just not a myriad of them on every aspect. Settle yourselves.

More than 100 Covid outbreaks are occurring each week, most of which are happening at social gatherings and in workplaces, the National Lead for Testing and Tracing at the HSE has said

And I'll bet a huge amount of those workplaces are offices, I especially like how the govt can legislate overnight for pubs to close but only "advise" employers allowing their workers to work from home

People are far too quick to assume all workplaces in Ireland are cubicle farm style offices.

There are a hell of a lot of people in Ireland who cannot work from home.

This is the dancing sh*te all over again.

Embarrassing to be trying to defend it, it really is.

As I said, it's like saying there are no restrictions if you stay indoors all day (because you wont encounter any) - that doesnt mean they arent there.

@Penfailed , if there werent so many covid restrictions and mask mandates etc, you might end up opting to go into shops instead of standing outside at hatches etc. Also you even mentioned that some of the restrictions are deliberately ignored in your work - that doesnt mean they dont exist, it just means you break them!

From what I have read, it seems that people have interpreted your comments as “playing down” the nature of the restrictions — and I think for my own part I would say you’ve maybe delved into a bit of ‘restrictions relativism’ (for want of a better phrase).

The problem in saying that one can go for days without encountering restrictions is that people have now kind of shaped their lives around the restrictions so that they “encounter” them in less visible ways. If I was to go to the pool on a walk-in basis I’d encounter the reality of being told I need to book, or if I was to wander to a bar without my vaccine cert I’d encounter being told that I can’t enter without proof of vaccine. But because I’m aware of these things, I adapt to them. It’s also fair to say that people are encountering the restrictions in an indirect sense too — as many employers continue to take differing approaches. I haven’t been back to my office one single day since the March 2020 lockdown because my employer has taken a very strict view of the guidance around working remotely unless absolutely necessary. So I’m still stuck in the flat, day in day out, and that has really had a profound detrimental impact on my general wellbeing — less motivated, more sedentary, less active.

As for the relativism point, certain things don’t feel “restricted” anymore because there’s a tendency to compare where we are now with Level 5 lockdown. But the restrictions still remain quite far removed from the freedoms we enjoyed before Covid and are still impacting greatly on society, even if we aren’t encountering Garda checkpoints anymore.

@Penfailed I see you’ve not taken the vaccine. Anyone I know who was even slightly on the fence got it in the end just to be able to dine indoors... Are you perhaps not really one for dining out or going for pints, etc. and perhaps that might be why you don’t feel as restricted as other people who pre-pandemic enjoyed a night out?

You mixed up a couple of words there. I’ll place them correctly.

We will all need to look at one at some point but it may not be this autumn and winter, just the vulnerable groups if we administer them.

Very good post. I think you are correct. People have made the interpretation that I'm playing down the restrictions. I can certainly see why they would think that. I was responding to a post that you could say was "playing up" the restrictions. I enjoy going for a walk on the beach. There isn't a 'myriad of restrictions on every aspect of my life' when doing that. Saying that seems to have riled some posters up.

No. There were no such restrictions at that festival. Are people so upset by my posts that they're trying to catch me out now?

Yes, I went to one with no such restrictions. I was at the Stendhal Festival outside Limavady. They had a similar event in July. At the July one, I was temperature checked on the way in. Even that didn't happen at the weekend.

Tony urges caution

Numbers today and yesterday were sitting around the 1500-1600 mark, down from 2k a few days ago and 1700-1800 for most of last week... Too early to be certain but I think we're passed the peak