Covid 19 Part XX-26,644 in ROI (1,772 deaths) 6,064 in NI (556 deaths) (08/08)Read OP

Just seen that Russia has done 27 million tests, well done considering they were late to the game and Alot of their population would be very isolated

majcos wrote:

I don’t know if they are being performed routinely anywhere but antibody testing is or was happening in at least four hospitals.

Maybe only done by the request of a Consultant then.

Definitely not available to GPs or NCHDs I would say.

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

GAA needs to be stopped, every day there's clubs closing down due to cases

Think they are closing down before even having a definite positive result which is reassuring that they are being cautious. Report today on a club in Donegal suspending activity while one of players waits for a result. Not a definite case. Some of the clubs that have previously suspended activity but the tested player has turned out to be negative.

Martina1991 wrote: »

Maybe only done by the request of a Consultant then.

Definitely not available to GPs or NCHDs I would say.

Yes. I would imagine it is limited like that but availability seems to be spreading even though validation still being debated. It’s not available publicly to GP patients and is limited to consultant approval in hospitals only as you say.

As well as TMB, Trinity Clinic and Malahide Family Practice offering antibody testing for 90 euro and probably more places soon for those able and willing to pay for it.

mountgomery burns wrote: »

Separate question, when did the social distancing guidelines relax to 1 metre? Saw a lot of signs recently that say keep at least one metre, ideally two. Was a big talking point for so long but that seems to have gone under the radar unless I missed something?

Close to Derry again? UK were talking about dropping to 1m plus.

majcos wrote: »

Think they are closing down before even having a definite positive result which is reassuring that they are being cautious. Report today on a club in Donegal suspending activity while one of players waits for a result. Not a definite case. Some of the clubs that have previously suspended activity but the tested player has turned out to be negative.

The GAA is an amateur sport with professional notions. Players training and playing (with no social distancing) is a risk that does not need to be taken in my eyes.

It's different for professional sports teams that are essentially kept in a bubble with no contact with anyone else expect their team mates and coaches. Many professional leagues have implemented regular testing of all involved. These are salaried players and there's wide ranging commercial obligations to be fulfilled. It's a business.

The GAA involves amateurs who also have day jobs and as such likely have wide social circles and a large number of close contacts. Their chance of being infected is thereby higher and the uncontrolled environment that GAA activities are operating in compared to the "bubbles" seen in professional sports is way riskier.

All this for the fulfilment of meaningless amateur competitions. Personally, I just don't understand why the GAA had to return, in the context of a global pandemic that is not going anywhere any time soon, I really think amateur close contact team sports should have been shelved.

ACitizenErased wrote: »

Take out the top 5 countries who are having a ****show and we’d have half the cases that currently exist worldwide. Not sure why some people still claim the world is ****ed when this fact exists.

Because there are more new cases worldwide now than there were 1-3 months ago. I'm not a huge fan of these arguments where we can choose the suitable statistics in order to make the situation favourable to one's viewpoint.

It's true we could remove USA, Brazil, Russia and select Latin American countries, and the statistics would look beautiful. But it's a worldwide pandemic that spread to every country (even Turkmenistan and North Korea, despite what they say) from one country, and the virus is still present in every country.

The point is, even if we ignore the likes of USA and see how well we are doing, it doesn't really change anything. The pandemic is still ongoing. I personally believe that Ireland will manage until a vaccine arrives, and a lot of Europe will too, but we shouldn't be complacent about it.

Always_Running wrote: »

All going by the protocols and fair play to clubs being cautious.

Between training, challenges and championship games GAA action has been back 5 weeks now and as far as I know no on field GAA activity has led to a positive case thus far in ROI.

Outdoor transmission and sports won't be a main driver of this. Clearly it spreads far greater indoors. The risk is not 0% but the fact that Norwich had a player play a friendly against Tottenham with a player who was infected with Covid it did not lead to an infected case should give players some confidence that Outdoor sports are pretty safe. At the moment GAA clubs are handling it pretty well I think. Some clubs taking a cautious approach and suspending activity if a club member is even tested. The lack of distancing with people watching games and subs needs to get better.

owlbethere wrote: »

Yes. Yes they do.

There was a poster here on boards.ie not so long ago. He was a doctor or a professor. He did the questions and answers thing on boards. In the early days of this pandemic, way back in February, he wrote a post with some general guidelines. I don't know if he was recommending posters to follow it if he was writing to tell the reader what he does to minimise picking up the virus.

It was a list like
Avoid public transport
Avoid crowds
Don't be around sick people, if you're out and see someone coughing, avoid,

I started following his guidelines. It was well before our own hse and government implemented guidelines. We had some guidelines of washing hands and covering coughs but it was limited guidelines.

That post from that boards user stood to me. I avoided crowds and public transport and kept away from sick people.

Folks need to remember, what might appear to be obvious to most, is not necessarily obvious to everyone.

Just on the antibody testing, I would't be so sure its accurate anyway..... My sister in law was a confirmed case back in ... March I think. She paid privately for the antibody test there last month - doesnt have the antibodies apparently. So either:

Her C19 test was not accurate (she had and still has lingering symptoms)
Her antibody test is not accurate
You can catch the virus again - within 3-4 months