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

Its at fault for us staying under restrictions the whole year though. I think restrictions now would be more tolerable if we had non restricted times this year and knew we'd have non restricted times in the future.

Hmm, Germany and Austria have mandated ffp2 masks for ages now. Their case counts don't really say much for them working tbh.

They already have this in place via surge capacity and private hospital capacity, those with COVID won't go untreated.

The problem is that to use that capacity (as it's an emergency system) they need to stop other health treatments, which means lockdowns and restrictions, so it's not like it comes for free.

There is also the problem of what the correct capacity is, if we were at the same capacity as, say, Germany, it would still get stretched by COVID and cause restrictions come in, unless you run all the time at +30% and pay for that, when 97 years out of a century, it goes unneeded.

The other aspect is that Ireland has done particularly well economically compared to most countries, despite restrictions, the PUP and measures cost a lot, but our high GDP growth masks it and is less proportionately than other countries (so the ECB will manage printing of money, but Ireland stays in relatively good health compared to others who've had to spend comparatively more during the pandemic), while we give out, rightly, about restrictions, we're also best placed to take advantage post pandemic, so why would politicians put that at risk (assuming things are back to normality by next election, which isn't a given). The macro view of everything is quite interesting.

There are many many things the health experts would probably do differently or phrase things better with the benefit of hindsight, but the one thing I think could have helped ward off the current and justified anger many are feeling is if they hadn’t made the vaccine(not including the booster) as the silver bullet and made it sound like once the vaccine was rolled out, we’d get back to normal. The fact there’s now boosters needed(boosters aren’t unique to covid vaccines) and people aren’t seeing the return to normal, they are questioning of the whole vaccine strategy which will hurt our way out of this, because people will ask why should they bother.

I don’t know anyone who’s angry or questioning anything.

I find it’s the more educated Irish Times fair trade woke types who are particularly nasty and obnoxious.

Well frustration then if that’s more an appropriate word. You can’t deny people are frustrated and fed up over this whole thing.

A very interesting debate between the editor of the Spectator and a SAGE model guy. **** me !

You are completely deluding yourself if you think that Tony Holohan doesn't have a lot of power. Or is your interpretation of power a narrow one related only to the power bestowed by elections? There are many sources of power, the media and social media being one of the most potent. Look at how he uses Twitter, how he guest appears wherever possible, how he has God like status in many Irish homes in spite of or perhaps because he is outside Government. And as CMO he is an authority figure and there is still an enormous degree of subservience to authority in this country. That old sense of the boss knows best and don't dare question.

And yes you're right that the chief goal of politicians is to get re elected. In order to continue their cushy lifestyle. Therefore many will be in a bind over how to play this. Many, deep down, resent the power [a massive psychological power] that TH has over the Government and many, deep down, don't agree with this constant abundance of caution. But they'll play safe, they won't defy their party whip and let's not forget that a great many people support these restrictions, though less and less as time goes on.And unfortunately there are those who benefit from the restrictions and they're all voters too.And finally, let's not forget the power of group think and how politicians operate in their own little bubble where conformity rules the day, especially nowadays. So when he weighs it all up Johnny politician reckons he's far better off toeing the line and back slapping the friends in high places.