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

I'd say Meehaul is bulling this morning about leaks last night. The letter apparently recommends the government be "pragmatic" in lifting restrictions, which implies not dropping everything at once, but phasing it in. The excitement of last night puts the pressure on Meehal now though. He won't get away with dragging this out much longer than 2-3 weeks.

I know we've only one source on masks being dropped on 28th February, but that would seem to make sense; give enough time for the current wave to tail off, allow all other activity to resume first before dropping them.

Masks will still remain in some contexts for most of this year. I expect if you attend any kind of medical appointment (even the dentist), you will have to wear one, and of course any hospital, nursing home or care facility. Until the end of this year, at least. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for hospitals to make this a permanent thing. Attending an A&E feels like going for a swim in sewage.

Was reported by some paper last night but I don’t believe it’s accurate

I'd say the "pragmatic" bit is just a bit of covering to avoid accusations of changing things too quickly. Holohan is quoted as saying there's no public health justification for the majority of restrictions anymore. I can't see even dithering Martin dragging this out too long.

They're an independent body, accountable to nobody, so who's going to call them out?

I expect we'll see an "open letter" from Hegarty, Staines and Ryan this week accusing the government and NPHET of being "reckless" with public health and imploring them to keep capacity restrictions, masks and distancing for at least the rest of the year.

Their 15 minutes of fame are coming to an end, so they're getting more and more desperate to keep their names aloft.

Will close contact rules be dropped?

you are right, this isn't the place to have such discussions. another issue for another day

Unlikely for a while and it will probably be linked to decisions on masks.

I don't discuss politics with my friends. I shut down those conversations.

My advice is put it behind you and just focus on the friendship.

As in, called out by journalists/media etc. for how they've conducted themselves. I realise they can't be held accountable in any sort of official capacity as they didn't legally do anything wrong...morally is another matter. But you're probably right, they'll make a few final plays for relevance before drifting off into obscurity (hooray)!

Masks in a healthcare setting should become a permanent thing imo. Such a low cost measure for preventing spread of infections. COVID wise the most important thing is that we don't let the disease surveillance lapse. I can see this relaxation of restrictions also leading to a relaxation in testing and tracing. It should be scaled back appropriately. My concern is though that it may be reduced to level where it's insignificant.

That is probably why both you and I and a large percentage of the country would benefit from some form of counselling😊

No doubt that there will be healing that needs to happen individually and between family and friends- I do hope time and normality wipes the slate clean and makes us less divided as a society. For me seeing the scorn and hate spewed online towards people who held an opposite opinion was one of the biggest negatives of the whole thing.

Numbers not wearing them/half wearing them have been increasing anyway. I'd say they'll fizzle out as you say then we'll get a formal removal of mask requirements once half the country isn't using them anyway.

The main consideration for hospitality is stock and staff, I know my local this morning is trying to change rosters for the weekend now to take account of the changes, along with ordering more stock in & by all accounts the suppliers are out the door with late bars, clubs etc trying to get stock in ASAP so it could be a long day for deliveries.

Apart from that most places are good to go.

If you can open fire away, some might need a few more days but really it's down to the individual business now to make that call.

A lot of those talking about being scared are just waffling anyway.

I've often seen these people saying they're concerned but they still go the pub every week.

Just normal Irish whinging rubbish that people don't actually mean.