To Mask or not to two - Mask Megathread cont.

No one has denied that the virus is still out there. It probably always will be in some form or other.

No one has denied that it makes some people sick either, however in the vast majority of cases that illness will be mild to moderate and only last a few days. There will be some who are greater affected and a small number who may require hospital treatment (the case numbers in that setting cannot be taken at face value as they include significant numbers who were admitted for something entirely different but incidentally are covid positive, and people who caught covid while in hospital).

No one has denied that some people will unfortunately still die - again, with covid or because of covid is an important distinction - but this is the case with every disease. However we now know who is most vulnerable to this extreme risk and have 2 years of data and treatment to call on to help but covid restrictions are not a path to immortality either. Thankfully, this outcome is far from certain even among the most vulnerable.

No one has said that you cannot wear your mask as long as you want to or distance, however even the ultra conservative and slow to relax NPHET have agreed that the threat is no longer serious enough to retain the mandatory requirements, but rather leave the decision to individuals based on their own risk assessment and medical circumstances. This is entirely correct incidentally and indeed long overdue.

However, the problem I have (others here can speak for themselves) is the "agenda driven misinformation" still coming from some quarters that suggests there's still a "lethal virus" circulating that poses a significant threat to the majority which was thankfully NEVER the case, and certainly not since Omicron became the dominant variant.

I also have a problem with the effect this can have on vulnerable people - not necessarily medically vulnerable, but those generally anxious or hesitant - as the effects of these scare-mongering articles and the narrative therein has had a very real impact on the mental health of such people and society as a whole. The fact that we are still having this debate despite all the above is evidence of that.

I really have a problem with the notion that not only should everyone retain mask wearing (under threat of jail time or brain damage!!), but that not doing so will lead us back to restrictions. Such arguments do not tally with where we are now, the huge numbers of vaccinated people, nor the universally acknowledged milder strain of covid (omicron) that is dominant.

So who are the ones with the dangerous agendas? Those encouraging people to look at the reality of the situation, balance it against their own circumstances and decide for themselves what the right course of action is.... or those still acting as though it's March 2020 and calling for the reinstatement of authoritarian restrictions and regulations despite the huge damage they caused to mental health, the treatment of other health issues, jobs and business and the economy and wider society as a whole, and for no other apparent reason than their own fears and anxieties?

I have managed to catch covid - not recommended.

Hopefully the exceedingly minor inconvenience of having worn a mask means I won't have passed it on to the guy I was playing chess with a couple of days before symptoms kicked in.

To say he's less than impressed with the "study" would be an understatement:

Omicron covid is still serious enough to put people in hospital though. I feel with social distancing abolished, that mask wearing is even more necessary. As i say herd immunity is obviously the strategy here, and i think that's a dangerous game NPHET and the government are playing. I'm not saying we go back to 2020 now. I'm saying though that encouraging others to stop wearing face masks, is very sinister and dangerous behaviour imo. Saying covid is no worse than the flu, is also sinister and dangerous behaviour. People on this very thread boasting about deliberately trying to infect people with covid, is sinister and dangerous behaviour as well.

RTE virtue signalling at its finest.

Come back to me on why you think there's (still) a "lethal" virus circulating and what you're so concerned about that you would call for the return of restrictions and mandatory mask requirements despite the overwhelming majority being double or triple vaccinated, a significantly milder variant being dominant, and even our conservative "expert" body (NPHET) having agreed there is no longer a basis for the restrictions

Then we can talk.

Apache's hesitation and uncertainty is certainly understandable after 2 years of restrictions and constant coverage and scaremongering, but it's thankfully no longer something to be overly concerned about - unless actually medically vulnerable.

Well that's not what op was doing in his post.. Some of you guys are really missing ability to read.

Yeah, because information coming from Russia is 100% correct these days... You know it's bad when people are using articles from a country that's currently invading another country...

It would be great to see you heading that way.