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

It sure is! Happy to eat my hat - assumed we were in for a completely painful 'phased reopening' with an 'abundance of caution'. Martin has been handed an open goal/off ramp by NPHET here and he'd be mental and politically clueless not to grasp it.

This would have been a valid concern even 8 weeks ago, but Omicron changed the game completely. There is virtually no difference at this stage with Omicron. Restrictions on or off it will spread just as quickly. Look at China. Locking down entire cities and using forced mass testing and they're still only barely getting on top of it. So it's clear that if a country is not prepared to go to those extremes (and I would hope most countries aren't), then most restrictions with Omicron are a waste of time.

Good to know if anything like this happens again in the future, thanks

Publican on Pat Kenny said if they get the go ahead from government at 6pm they can open until regular closing hours tonight... So they only need 2 hours notice

I understand this but this is another reason why I think this leak is odd, they seem to be retaining masks but getting rid of the COVID cert for hospitality etc, is there any evidence that cloth masks reduce Omicron spread? There seems to be evidence still though that non vaccinated people make up a disproportionate amount of hospital numbers.

Is there any evidence the COVID cert reduce Omicron spread?

I used to respect him as a broadcaster, but Covid has definitely changed him I feel. Absolutely obsessed with it. I think his own personal circumstances (he must feel at threat from Covid) are influencing his broadcasting ability too much

There hasn't been any real reason or logic behind most of theses restrictions for a very long time, not much point trying to figure it out now tbh. For what it's worth though, i'm guessing they see masks as a 'least offensive' type of restriction they can just hang onto as a sop to the true believers. I'm hopeful there'll be enough non-compliance eventually to see them quietly disappear (that's me being overly optimistic now!).

The face mask should be optional except when rammed on public transport.

Honestly in the early days I found him fairly balanced, pragmatic and calling for simple measures to be used like mask, antigen testing etc.

He, like a lot of people found it difficult to reverse course once vaccines came on stream. He's a great broadcaster imo but I've pretty much tuned out over the last 6 months in any covid chat.

Threads this morning showing all the giddiness of a child the day before Christmas, but it's a good thing!

I feel most people are having difficulty seeing beyond their personal circumstances in this whole thing. You have people who've wanted restrictions lifted for 18 months so they can go to the pub, so they can bring their kids into shops, so they can book big tables.

I also see other people today feeling somewhat "lost". They have vulnerable family members and they're feeling now like they've been suddenly placed in harm's way, asking what they're supposed to do.

Both kinds of people not seeing the bigger picture. I think it's perfectly OK for someone in the latter camp to feel worried today, it's natural. But they have to accept that one way or another the day was coming. Notions of completely eliminating Covid have been gone for nearly a year at this stage. We always knew that eventually we would have to just vaccinate as much as we can and then move on. Indefinite restrictions were never an option.

They will ease back into it. They lived their lives before 2020 going into busy pubs, packing into stadiums, visiting friends and family without a second thought given to what diseases might be circulating in the air. And they will do so again.

I understand that, but people feeling anxious and asking what they're supposed to do is, quite frankly, laughable. Do these people need Tony and the government to regular every inch of their existence? Hold their hands crossing the road? If people feel at risk, exercise personal responsibility, stay at home, don't go into a busy shop, don't visit a vulnerable person unless you've taken an antigen, etc. After 2 years, the facilities are now in place to live like this...if one wants to.

Odd that. These would be the same schools that they've insisted for the last 15 months were safe and not a main driver of Covid spread?

Dropping all other restrictions overnight really highlights how utterly pointless most of the hospitality nonsense was, especially things like the 8pm closing. Should have started phasing them out weeks ago, but better late than never!