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

Those ridiculous 2k restrictions certainly weren't pro health either. I quite frankly would have never went out cycling if I had obeyed them, as it would be tedious as can be. I remember seeing a lad cycling up and down the same section of road, again and again, and to me he was a mad man, in his own head though he was probably a hero.

It is essential that the government look for the details of how many people are in hospital for covid and how many are in hospital and test positive and are not being treated for Covid.

The way this variant is going we are all going to get it the case numbers are probably 30,000 or 40,000 at this stage.

If we keep testing everybody going to hospital for non covid related issues the numbers in hospital for Covid is going massively increase.

If we base policy based on hospital numbers and cases then schools wont open and we will go into lockdown despite Omicron actually being what is going to end the pandemic.

People's mental health will be destroyed looking at just hospital numbers also.

We need to split out hospital cases by Covid related and incidental and report on that going forward.

Hospitals will be overrun in January like every year so it's in Nphets best interests to keep restrictions or impose more to cover themselves unfortunately.

The fact that we have more ICU beds this year does not change the fact that the numbers unvaccinated in ICU are grossly disproportionate compared to those vaccinated. From the CSO figures where vaccination status is known for the 4 months August - November the percentage of those unvaccinated in ICU are. August 61%, September 60%, October 48%, November 54%.

Those percentages for just 7% of the population are crazy. They have nothing to do with the numbers of those vaccinated in the 12 -24 age group as none that age were in ICU during those months, and little, or most likely nothing, to do with those too frail to take a vaccine, as they would not even be admitted to ICU. Other than those immunocompromised being advised to get boosters due to their conditions resulting in the vaccines waning faster, I have seen no advise for them not to availing of a vaccine due to being immunocompromised. The opposite in fact.

Vaccines and boosters prevent serious illness and death in all groups, not just those most at risk. Hospital and ICU numbers for the unvaccinated show that. While this strain appears to cause less serious illness, could that not possibly be due to so many being vaccinated and boosted or from having recovered from a previous infection ?

I see Boris is now claiming 90% of UK ICU admissions not boosted, seems UK moving on from blaming the unvacinated for clogging up ICU beds, not a mention of course how many in UK ICU beds fully vaccinated.

Watch this space, non boosted in Ireland will be the next pariahs in Irish Society 🙄

Yet. We don't know if omicron wave will feed through into hospitalisations/ICU admissions. That is probably why government/NPHET are holding fire.

Well something is most certainly feeding into Covid19 hospital admissions, considering that they have increased by 50% in under a week.

There are 50% more people in hospital with Covid in the last week?, source please.

Sure but reasoning may help to give a post/opinion a bit more credibility. Anyone can fire off a one liner!

Mostly people would rather see actual news or failing that diverse opinions on non-COVID subjects.

There is an undercurrent of schadenfreude in relation to how some people are viewing this situation.

The curtain twitchers of Catholic Ireland of the past are now replaced by the tut-tutting of Covid rule enforcement types.

Most of us are in the middle ground on this issue but as much as there are oddballs on the anti vax side they are balanced out by the dogmatic fervor of those on the opposite end of spectrum.

Does anyone know how much money media outlets have been given by government since Covid started compared to the years before? I assume that such information is in the public domain.

It must be substantial given the extent that the media toe the line, go along with the narrative and never ask any tough questions.

Its crazy that we won't be going back to 2019 normal in early-mid 2022 (hell you could say all off 2022 possibility) we will get something similar to Octobers reopening. No questions will be asked about the state of the health service with numerous groups been blamed again for the rising numbers

The head on the fella taking the picture, absolute Dickhead 😳

Ray Wally (GP) of riddle me fame (P Kenny show) painting a grim picture on the news at one but intriguingly there is no PCR tests available anywhere and I mean anywhere. Basically he's saying those with mild symptoms need to wait for test availability, don't be bothering your GP unless serious symptoms. This would suggest as Omicron symptoms are mild, people will be waiting for PCR tests and in essence the numbers being reported not very reliable.

Of course there's another problem with this chaos, with businesses already shuttered, those who have to isolate don't actually know they have to , without a pcr test or instruction from HSE or GP , people can not claim the enhanced illness benefit, in essence go days without pay .