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

ddarcy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119049731#Comment_119049731

And if anti vaxxers followed the money they will find vested interests as well making money off them. But you don’t want to admit to the fact you’ve been manipulated.

vaccines still help but aren’t the end all. Poorer countries will be impacted more as they will have poorer diets etc and be more prone to serious infection. If it causes less deaths I see no issue there.

seamus

North Korea are reporting nearly half a million cases of people being ill with an unknown cause - what they mean is that they're sick but haven't been tested. And they've reported their first Covid death.

What this means is that Omicron is already running rampant and they're getting ahead of the leaks by revealing the information first themselves.

They are completely unvaccinated (though I expect the top brass have been done since early 2021 and are getting boosted every 3 months) and already on the verge of famine before this.

They're going into lockdown, and while they have the civil capabilities to enforce a lockdown, they don't have the resources to supply residents with food and water during lockdown.

This has the potential to be a humanitarian disaster.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119039925#Comment_119039925

I note you quote another utter buffoon , Ben Scallan !

Another good reason to avoid the Twitterati .

Spudman_20000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119059260#Comment_119059260

Doesn't make it any less true, it's literally audio of McConkey making the prediction around deaths.

Maybe I could have provided a tweet from an MSM source if any of them ever took the time to report in a balanced way, instead of just parroting the biggest doom mongers they could find.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119059889#Comment_119059889

Providing a tweet from an idiot about an idiot sort of cancels it out , imo , but it's just my opinion spudman .

seamus

In a morbid way, North Korea might be about separate the wheat from the chaff here when it comes to whataboutery and bad predictions.

In 3 days, NK has gone from "1 dead, 200,000 probably infected" to "50 dead, 1 million infected".

And it would be reasonable to assume those numbers are being underreported. Around half of those are "receiving medical treatment", which could be "given paracetemol", but in comparison to Omicron outbreaks here in Ireland, these are bad numbers.

They're in lockdown, but we know from past experience with Omicron that it's already too late. Numbers there will keep increasing for around ten days and we're going to see what really happens when Covid spreads unchecked through an unvaccinated population.

AdamD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069371#Comment_119069371

Unvaccinated population with widespread malnutrition and likely poor access to medical supplies, could be carnage.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069403#Comment_119069403

Yes. it’s not really a comparable situation to the western world when you have people with widespread malnutrition and bad conditions. Going to be a lot of sick people over there!

Regarding BA.2, there are rumours it maybe a bit milder than BA.1.

corkie

Reporting of cases now moved to weekly on the Hub. As of today.

Change to Frequency of Updates: From the week of 16th May 2022 onwards, data on COVID-19 cases (PCR and positive antigen results) and deaths will be updated once per week, each Wednesday. The weekly update will include data for each date since the previous weekly update and will not result in any gap in the time series.

https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/

First HSE (/gov.ie) stops posting the details and this now.

Micky 32

Looks like Anthony Staines not too happy that we are living our lives again. Found it on Twitter. Some of the replies regarding the litigation part would make you vomit. One guy on twitter is “excited” about it.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/living-with-covid-is-empty-sloganeering-in-need-of-a-plan-1.4877792

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072000#Comment_119072000

"However, long Covid, which affects about 125,000 people here."

"Very recent work suggests that all of these are quite resistant to current vaccines, and that even recent infection with BA.1 or BA.2 (the “original” Omicron) provides little protection."

"masks are cheap and surprisingly effective, with recent Irish data suggesting they can reduce transmission by more than 40 per cent."

Yeah those statements are all bullshit.

A bunch of friends and family that supported severe lockdowns are now voicing their frustrations at the cost of living and getting scared with record levels of inflation and recession.

It actually baffles me that the penny is only starting to drop now.

Micky 32

It seems the new buzz with the zealouts and NPI crowd on Twitter have latched on to is the reinfection figures of Omicron.

I think i need to start licking door handles and kissing strangers. I just can’t catch it even once 😆😆

seamus

Academics. Out of touch with reality, as usual. "wearing FFP2/N95 masks in crowded indoor settings – retail, schools, workplaces, public transport". Like, what, forever?

These guys think it's reasonable and feasible to require that everyone carries a mask with them at all times and put it in when they go into busy indoor places. Indefinitely.

They've always been this out of touch, but it's kind of amazing how many people remain obsessed about this mask thing and won't accept the reality: The vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of transmission takes place at home and other social settings.

Why in the everloving name of fvck would you be bothered with a mask when out and about when the chances are that you'll catch it at home?

Howok

covid 19 will disappear soon

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119075056#Comment_119075056

According to some of the twitteranians no mask mandates and no heavy restrictions won’t be sustainable 🙄

Micky 32

Good news :

https://twitter.com/laoneill111/status/1526566293737963521?s=21&t=fWDRFiamt92gvNIp8HJt5Q

corkie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119076313#Comment_119076313

Have not been following the covid news recently didn't know of the new variants.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/omicron-subvariants-ba4-ba5-singapore-explainer-infectious-wave-cases-2689416

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/epidemiological-update-sars-cov-2-omicron-sub-lineages-ba4-and-ba5

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119076313#Comment_119076313

Twitter is a funny old place with craziness alongside good sense, as above but to be honest most people know the extremists at this stage ..and Anthony Staines has been more than a bit extreme all along .

Luke O'Neill has been right down the middle with an almost insanely positive outlook, while being totally rational however .

Economics101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119071991#Comment_119071991

There is a benefit in keeping reasonably up-to-date information available, and the cost of doing so is trivial in the context of the HSE's gigantic budget. The HSE are always lazy and late with information.

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079377#Comment_119079377

In the context of the HSE's budget, all discrete costs are "trivial". On that basis you could hire a "backup intern" and justify it because €25k a year is trivial in the context of €20bn. This is how waste happens, by justifying unnecessary actions on the basis of their small cost. The value of such actions must also be justified, not just the cost. Whatever time it takes someone to collate and update this information - even if it's five minutes a day just ensuring nothing looks awry - is time they could be doing something else.

Economics101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119080658#Comment_119080658

Sorry, but I did mention a benefit when I called attention to the very small cost of up to date data. There is a benefit in daily data as it should help to remind people in some small way that Covid hasn't gone away and some small degree of prudent behaviour is warranted.

Rather more importantly, waste doesn't happen just because an expense seems trivial. It can happen on a massive scale when big projects are not properly planned, e.g. children's hospital.

DLink

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119081008#Comment_119081008

But covid has gone away, why keep flogging the dead covid horse?

Why "help to remind people" about something that most likely won't kill them, or affect them in any significant way? We have had this covid crap rammed down our throats for years now, give us a bloody break.

Things are almost back to normal, and long may it stay that way... why should people keep looking over their shoulder for something that is of no real threat?

CruelSummer

‘Load of horses***e' – Dr Tony Holohan’s reaction to Government plan and lack of trust in Stephen Donnelly on pandemic matters

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/load-of-horsese-dr-tony-holohans-reaction-to-government-plan-and-lack-of-trust-in-stephen-donnelly-on-pandemic-matters-41606011.html

Just wanted to leave this here for the record. While the media and Government played the game of them being helpless in what they could do in the face of public health advice from NPHET, it turns out in this article that Stephen Donnelly had been willing to sign the Irish people over to the mercy of a private corporation to track our every moves down to how much people were social distancing.

Why is there no one in media following up on this? Why is Stephen Donnelly sitting there as health minister about to sign the Pandemic Treaty and sign away our sovereign rights? Why has Willie O’Dea had to ask Míchéal Martin in the Dáil if he needs to ask the advice from the Attorney General on bypassing national referendum on the issue? Under no circumstances should the people of Ireland sign themselves over to a Global Governing body such as the WHO - they performed so poorly with Covid, it beggars belief and 100% would need a referendum. They’re also privately funded with ‘philanthropic’ billionaires who would then have full say in how this country is run.

““What emerged was an almost Orwellian plan, bizarrely dubbed 1 Government Centre (1GC),” the book says.

The Government ultimately ditched the plan which Dr Holohan said was a “load of horses***e” in meetings.

Nphet was concerned with EY being enlisted by the Government to assist in tackling the virus and developing social distancing guidelines. However, Mr Donnelly was supportive of the firm being involved in pandemic discussions.”

seamus

There's nothing to "follow up" on. Nobody went to EY and said, "We would like to implement widespread surveillance, tell us what to do". When you hire consultants on a matter, they produce a range of possible actions, and the impact and cost of each.

The fact that they came back with something so clearly overstepping and unfeasible tells us that their brief was way too wide ("how do we respond to a pandemic") and they were completely out of their depth. Which supports Holohan's assertion that the EY document was a pile of sh1te.

There's nothing to investigate in that, nobody was planning on implementing widespread surveillance.

The questions to be asked are what the connections are between the civil service and the big consultancies. Despite having our own state employees numbering in the hundreds of thousands, we seem to run to Deloitte, Accenture, EY, KPMG or PwC at the drop of hat for "consulting". And as we've seen from various farces like PPARS, these companies are nothing but a money pit, sucking up millions in fees and producing very little of substance except unworkable options or more opportunities to charge fees.

AdamD

Funnily enough EY is where Ronan Glynn has gone

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119083955#Comment_119083955

They need to bulk out their healthcare arm with people who know what they're talking about, health is big business for the next few years. The head of EY's health consulting has qualifications in business consulting. All of her experience in the healthcare sector comes exclusively from working as a consultant to the healthcare sector. Bit of a circular argument.

This is fairly typical of all these companies though, they operate industry-specific consulting arms run nearly exclusively by people with MBAs and other business qualifications, and no actual relevant industry experience.

Anyone who works in technology for example, will tell you that hiring any of these companies for IT projects is a complete waste of money. They won't assign anyone who actually understands the technology. It's a mixture of new grads and qualified accountants who fancy themselves as IT consultants.

Same clearly goes for their health consulting, hence why they're now bringing in actual medics with real world experience.

CruelSummer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119083948#Comment_119083948

The article clearly states the current Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly supported such a move by EY…surely this is something that needs explaining to the public. He is totally incompetent in my opinion which means Health is a dangerous brief to have him in over the next few years.

seamus

The article clearly states the current Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly supported such a move by EY

No it doesn't.

It says Donnelly supported the use of EY as pandemic consultants, it doesn't say that Donnelly supported the ultra-surveillance plan. I've no love for Donnelly here, but the reason this isn't being talked about is because it was a piece in a document that the government never had any plans to use. It's pretty clear that it was "considered" (i.e. the document was read), and then "ditched" (i.e. ignored). Aside from a few paragraphs in a document produced by a 3rd party, there was no other discussion of this.

CruelSummer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084665#Comment_119084665

If you read the wording in the article, it states that Stephen Donnelly ‘supported the use of the firm EY in pandemic discussions’ which included a surveillance system. It is therefore clearly implied Mr Donnelly supported both their involvement and their proposals IMO. Of course you can also draw the conclusion you’ve drawn and are free to do so, but more information on this firm & their involvement would be of benefit in my opinion. Especially as we now have the Deputy Chief Medical Officer leaving his role for this firm (Which he is fully entitled to do).

NPHET rejected the proposals and as such, the proposals were dead in the water. I think it’s an important question going forward into the future to ask as to why Stephen Donnelly wanted to include this private consulting firm in a public health crisis here. I know this isn’t terribly unusual - but it raises the question as to what the civil servants are doing & how Ministers are influenced in their decision making by private entities across the board.