Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

Unfortunately my aunts husband is gone into hospital with suspected Covid today. He had done an antigen test at home yesterday and it was negative. He was in a bad state today though. Ambulance men told my aunt that the antigen tests are useless and should be thrown in the bin….dunno about that but they weren’t useful in this case anyway. They said they are 100% that it’s Covid he has. He couldn’t even walk by himself to the ambulance. He has had the booster and all. I’m suprised he’s that bad. Hope he’ll be ok once he gets some treatment in hospital. He has had heart issues in the past and is due to go for an operation on his prostrate in January so perhaps this is why he got such a bad dose…my aunt just ended chemotherapy a few weeks ago so really hope if she gets it that it’s not too bad for her.

There obsession with washing hands is pretty much nonsense at this stage. The Irish government didn't bother to update the guidelines around this for 12+ months.

CDC have had for 9+ months on their website that Covid transmission via surface contamination is the least likely, the primary being aerosols and close contact - either someone coughing/breathing at you or you walking into a cloud of cough / exhale.

Yes, hand sanitising helps and is a good practice (limits influenza and other pathogen spread) but it's only a cherry on top of the cake, it's not some of a core ELEMENT of anti-covid strategy as it's become established in Ireland.

Hand washing - that's just a normal habit where I'm from. Does Tony insist that Irish people are dirty fellows who didn't get to learn basic hygiene standards?

List them!

Or that maybe he's a "rounding error" as someone said here the other day.

Fact is it's only advice, they don't make decisions about what we do. That's my point.

titan18 is one, anyone calling for no restrictions without a strategy to manage hospitalisations is another (though it's hard to tell if they really believe that restrictions do nothing or just winding people up at this stage, most of them have been calling for no restrictions from day 0 and ignore the data showing that they work so continuing the same rings hollow).

There's a few others that just want obese people to die.

Lots of banned people among this number (see post 1 for a list).

Oh yes I know, that’s why I said “I dunno about that” in relation to what they said. I know they can be useful if someone gets a positive as it makes people isolate but equally if the test says it’s negative and they do have covid, then they are just going to go about their business as usual…when they might actually have it. I dunno; it’s all a shitshow really!

If you're vaccinated a professional antigen test up to 48 hours before your arrival should be ok. You can try some self administered antigen tests beforehand to confirm you're testing negative.

A PCR test might show positive for up to 12 weeks post infection according to latest data - referenced by another poster earlier in the thread.

Well fingers crossed they are both ok. Vaccinated and boosted means good protection. Will be a difficult few days for your aunt also.

You think it’s the advice that is causing the infections? Not the current variants transmissibility and our social behaviors? The advice so far has been to get vaccinated and the huge uptake will hopefully save a huge amount of hospitalizations and deaths. I am very glad that so many of us are protected to the point that omicron is being reported here as a mild cold.

Hopefully it will burn slow enough over the next few weeks to be manageable. Squeaky bum time for next few weeks.

Tbf just saying I'm one isn't really getting what I've been saying right.

I'd rather no restrictions cos ultimately I think some of them are doing more harm than good at this stage and a lot are theatre, but you can still manage covid, protect hospitals and the economy.

Mandating masks in health or elder care settings, vaccines should be voluntary but strongly encouraged for vulnerable populations, and then invest in covid only treatment centres so you can keep covid positive patients out of hospitals as much as possible. I'd rather spend money on that than PUP and covid supports for locked down businesses.

Our strategy ATM is nowhere sustainable long term and imo hasn't been sustainable for a while.

So the rest of us plebs would be much better off if we could think as critically as you?

Don't get me wrong, there are others that share your position, they just try and hide it or feign outrage or go running off into the ether only to come back a few days later, hence why giving a full list would be an exercise in futility as they would all scream and squirm and get outraged at their position being put in writing in that fashion.

I will add this, health professionals prioritise vaccine spending because it means they don't have to spend as much on other systems, they pay for themselves, they are also most effective when a high % of the population take them, hence the early childhood programs and information provided to encourage uptake, they are not as effective when used solely as a prophylactic (where exercise, good diet and not being sick with something else is about the best prophylactic for COVID) as some people think they should be used.

probably already posted but schools to close for 3 extra days

sorry ignore as was pointed out date is wrong was sent to me should of checked it