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

In shops, schools, public transport, Dr's, hospitals, etc .

However not in pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, hospitality, etc.

However some people are trying to move away from them in other settings . There basically in people's pockets and will be put on if requested.

Freedom Day has finally landed in RTE. Not one mention of the C word on Morning Ireland. Neither has Claire Byrne mentioned it in her intro.

I know. It's almost as if RTE just report on and discuss the biggest news stories on any particular day depending on their importance and relevance to the Irish people. Crazy concept alright.

Pat Kenny talking about the freezing cold classrooms.

Why on earth are the windows still open? This is complete madness.

'There will probably be a few of the regular anti-everything experts on here who will support his noble (and possibly fatal) stance.'

How could anyone support it with even knowing the reason? He may have a religious scruple if he is prepared to choose death.

That isn't something the average Irish person can understand or sympathise with.

Why sulk over something that you can't even begin to comprehend?

"initially focus" - that means they're going to whitewash the Covid response post-mortem. (Nursing homes deaths discussion is unavoidable and so that'll be the token hard-hitting truth delivered.) 

Also this is an "expert" group which means they won't address operations. So no review of their engagement approach with govmt., media engagement strategy, shambolic IT systems, executive hiring and compensation, that recent headline about HSE hiring 2x senior managers than doctors last year, etc. Perhaps Minister Donnelly is going to task Paul 'I'm not a big reader' Reid with personally championing initiatives on all these - internally ;-)

No, it just shows a willingness to open up the discussion to a diverse range of contributions. There have been far too many phases, surges and all manner of missteps to claim that any country got it right.

Great to see hospital numbers dropping so quickly

According to Reid about half of the current hospital numbers were admitted for something else and of those most are asymptomatic, so we can expect a lot more discharges in the coming weeks I'd imagine

It's gone from 5% to 30% and now 47%

To be fair, I do the same, follow her and Olive. I just don't get them. Lock down until Covid goes away or there is a 100% effective vaccine ?

Waxing lyrical about how they're all staying inside to protect themselves and their families, yet not giving 2 f!cks about the people in Supply Chain, production, retail and delivery enabling their life of hermetic privilege.

As of 8pm tonight

678 in hospital and 70 in ICU

Last Thursday 849 in hospital and 89 in ICU

It could be also said that Sweden has gone through way too many phases, surges and all manner of missteps to try and claim it took the 'right approach'.

Globally Sweden has had the 52 highest death rate per million. Ireland fared somewhat better and is ranked at 73.

That said both countries have had a significant number of restrictions, an economic downturn and recorded a large number of deaths of people in care homes

An independent Swedish commission found that Sweden had failed to protect its care home residents due to the overall spread of the virus in society and that the response overall was "slow and insufficient". The Swedish Prime Minister Steven Lofven is on record saying that the the large number of reported deaths meant that Sweden's COVID-19 strategy had been a failure.

And that's not to say we haven't had many of the same issues here as well .

I do feel so sorry for their kids tough being locked in with over protective mammy all the time. They could very easily find themselves with kids who can't function or one's who want nothing to do with them in years to come.