Reflection on the pandemic: questions about the authorities' response.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983459#Comment_119983459

So people in your job think they have a cold and tested negative... So probably they do have a slight cold...

You should probably pursue getting a remote working job.

We can't all take time off work every time we have a sniffle.

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983767#Comment_119983767

We lost a colleague to Covid. Given recent events and sensitivities, it's company wide policy that if anyone has any symptoms of anything they remote work where possible (we are all office based). Makes sense and remote-working culture has meant we lose a lot less man-hours.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983759#Comment_119983759

This isn't about what people think. HSE advice is stay at home with symptoms and not rely on negative antigen tests WITH symptoms. What do you not understand about that?

odyssey06

Pre Covid, people would be in the office with colds and flus. Consequence - only a matter of time before they took out half a team with the same bug.

It was stupid then and in light of covid makes even less sense.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984319#Comment_119984319

It wasn't covid and the media. It was a global pandemic. No one can tell me that repeated infections is any good in such a short amount of time whereas if I compared that to the flu, I got that once in my 40 years of life. Oh yeah and long covid doesn't sound any fun either, I cannot afford to be out sick long term. Not that you care.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119982640#Comment_119982640

I am convinced one of the reasons Alpha hit Ireland so badly was because by that point the gov't had wasted precious goodwill with all their farting about over "opening-up" plans, and the population as a whole just threw caution out the window over the crumb of normal life that was offered.

shesty

Was that around December 2021, @PommieBast ?If so, I think somewhat similarly - jumping to "level 5" at the end of October in the full and certain knowledge that Christmas was looming on the horizon, and that people would be well fed up with restrictions by then was an extremely badly judged move.People blame the whole "meaningful Christmas" idea but I think the problem stemmed from the sudden jump into full restrictions, and ignoring the fact that within 4 weeks of that decisions, case numbers had plateaued, were not dropping and we were still about 4 weeks out from Christmas.Decision makers read the public - and human nature - very very badly, and that fed into the resulting desire for some bit of normal that we all knew would only last for a couple of weeks.

I think that decision to suddenly impose all restrictions at the end of October instead of taking a longer view and maybe just adding some restrictions to see how it would go, was at much as fault as the "meaningful christmas" nonsense.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985052#Comment_119985052

Stop with all that sensible thinking

The government and NPHET done us all good remember and we should be all grateful. They 'never meant to do this and that and were always following the trajectory of the disease' etc. We need to forget about the thinking of stuff like 'Antigen Testing been snakeoil, Covid loving alcohol, why aisles were closed in supermarkets, why we could go xxkm far for this but not for that' so on and so on

Were thankfully out the other end and we have to deal with it but the decision makers are doing fine and that all that matters to them.

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985110#Comment_119985110

We acted in line with most other countries. A majority of the public supported the measures at the time and the general govt handling of the crisis.

I had criticisms at the time for some aspects of the measures, but within reason, and I understood the underlying reasons and risks. I also know how easy it is to nitpick anything with hindsight.

However some people just seem to have this bitter axe to grind about the whole thing, and it just smacks of spite more than anything.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985161#Comment_119985161

People were banned from going to the beach. Then the guards were sent to the beach to make Tik Tok videos dancing. Epic trolling of the Irish population. This sort of nastiness should not be forgotten. Let’s not pretend they weren’t intelligent enough to know what they were doing.

hynesie08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985091#Comment_119985091

The 2 major mess ups imo were not opening pint pubs with the same restrictions as food pubs in summer 2020 and the government pandering to a meaningful Christmas bollocks, we were either closed or open, reopening to basically say we'll be closing again in the near future was never going to end well.

Ultimately though, the delta wave threw more curve balls than <insert baseball player who throws lots of curve balls>

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985204#Comment_119985204

When rules and guidelines are made at short notice for an entire population in response to a fluid pandemic, there are always going to be issues. Some of the stuff led to situations that didn't necessarily make sense or were contentious - most rational people understood this.

Multiple countries temporarily asked people to stop going to beaches during the height of the first wave for various reasons.

It's not "nastiness", it's not being done maliciously. Calm down. The level of paranoia required to even think like that is scary.

Beasty

Some posts deleted

At least try and make some effort to interact in a civil manner

raspberrypi67

We should just get over it, suck it up, and worry about the pending catastrophic outcome the planet is facing!!

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985091#Comment_119985091

Ye are mixing up Alphah (Jan 2021) and Unicron Omicrom (Dec 2021) ..?

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984527#Comment_119984527

Most people don't know what a cold is.

Do you stay out of work if you have one of a cough, runny nose or a sore throat?

Because if people took off work for one of those then you would have very few staff at this time of year and that's including chancers who would be faking illness as often as they could.

In some workplaces people don't get paid if they take days off work so paying their mortgage is more of a priority.

If people can work from home then great but in real life in most cases people taking time off for a sniffle is not going to work.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986137#Comment_119986137

People who have regular allergies know what an allergy is.

People who are in an office coughing and sneezing, constantly blowing nose and spraying germs on other people shouldn't be there.

I'm talking about the people who know they're sick and are only getting through the day dosed up on lemsip or whatever.

And I've seen the opposite happen, very few staff because someone came in when sick and infected them too.

The opposite of the 'chancer' is the martyr, who comes in because they think they are indispensable if out for 1 day but what actually happens is they make themselves sick for days and others with them.

I take your point people go in for the reasons you have listed, but I'm listing the 'real life' points why it's not a good idea and it's not just about being judgmental or obsessive.

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986195#Comment_119986195

Anyone with the flu or a serious cold won't be going to work Martyr or not unless in the example of they don't get paid and have no choice.

Maybe I should have quoted the poster who complains about someone going to work with a cough or sniffle.

It is something that has always happened and will continue to happen regardless of Covid, because that's how real life works.

Companies can't afford to always allow anyone with a sniffle take a day off work because they would get no work done this time of year.

The one thing Covid has changed is the flexibility for working from home which can help in some workplaces.

PommieBast

Edit: Deleted

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986137#Comment_119986137

We closed the beaches again a year later. This and other measures accelerated spread of the virus by forcing people to congregate indoors. It’s not paranoia despite the efforts to rewrite history.

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988586#Comment_119988586

Context:

"However, they said thousands of people lived within 5km of some of the busiest locations on Sunday and were permitted to exercise within that “5km-from-home zone” under restrictions currently in place to combat Covid-19.

The Office of Public Works reported Phoenix Park, Dublin, was “extremely busy” on Sunday with all car parks “near capacity” at about lunch time. Those who planned to visit the park were asked to “consider walking or cycling”."

"After a Garda request, and in a bid to control numbers going to the park, the Chapelizod Gate was closed until 6pm.

Fingal County Council reported its parks were “extremely busy” on Sunday and urged people “not to drive to parks or beaches” more than 5km from home."

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/gardai-may-be-redeployed-to-beauty-spots-as-crowds-flock-to-parks-and-beaches-1.4491239

Perhaps stop misrepresenting the situation and then gaslighting about "rewriting history".

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984527#Comment_119984527

Flu fair enough. You should stay at home with flu symptoms. Seems a bit of an overreaction to stay at home with a cold if you know it is just a cold though.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988665#Comment_119988665

It is not an overreaction staying at home with a cold. Covid can feel like a cold in some people. Tests can be unreliable at picking up covid. God, we're three years into this. Why can't people understand this?

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988750#Comment_119988750

People understand.

They simply do not intend to live their goddamn lives in fear.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988800#Comment_119988800

That's all fine. But you're still unable to understand. If you're sick, stay at home and stop spreading whatever you have. Spreading to others who might not do so well with getting infected.

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988750#Comment_119988750

Pre-covid, as you were discussing, I would still regard staying home because you have a cold an overreaction.

Spudman_20000

Trying to completely avoid ever getting sick again does wonders for the human immune system I must say.

Stormyteacup

Inquiry to begin in 2023. Also reported in the IT but not much on it anywhere else as yet. I suspect due to the media’s handling of the pandemic, initial reporting will be low-key.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41039129.html

Interestingly in September 21, M Martin did not want it called an inquiry, favoured the term ‘evaluation’.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40371119.html

It seems now it’s expected to be an official inquiry, with some called to testify. Hopefully lessons learned and safeguards put in place to ensure same mistakes are not made again in the future.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120054868#Comment_120054868

Excellent news.

Hopefully our handling of nursing homes, refusal to use Antigen tests and the anti science nature of some of our more daft restrictions will all come under intense scrutiny.

We need to do much better if something like this happens again.

odyssey06

The Journal has a different take on it.

AN INQUIRY INTO the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic should not be about “pointing fingers” or “ascribing blame”, the Taoiseach has said. Leo Varadkar also said he wants an inquiry into the response to the virus “up and running” this year.

The Fine Gael leader added that he is conscious that the pandemic is not over and that many of the people who are battling the virus would be the people being asked to give evidence.

Last year then-Taoiseach Micheal Martin said an inquiry would be a comprehensive evaluation so the country would be ready for any further pandemics but it would not involve health chiefs being called as witnesses.

“It’s not going to be about pointing fingers or ascribing blame,” Varadkar said. “It’s going to be about getting to the truths, understanding what happened. What we did well, what we did badly, what could have been done better, because we can’t assume that this is going to be the last major pandemic in our lifetime.

https://www.thejournal.ie/leo-varadkar-covid-19-inquiry-5959295-Jan2023/