Coronavirus and the effect on Public transport

TutboTommy wrote: »

Normally not a fan of these forums for many reasons, but I had to correct some of the nonsense.

I don't know if he was a troll or not, but to the guy who thought there is no enforcement on PT there was and there is, you just have not seen it yet.
I work with the health minister so i'm aware of all the strategies they are using and some of them are pretty clever. They are stopping people getting off busses at major points, sometimes even boarding the bus before the stop and having driver close the door behind them.

The guards get lied to about 20 times a day, it's part of the job you have to learn to live with pretty quickly, the one plus side of it is because they get lied to so often they are good at spotting it when you are doing it. If tey doubt you they might ask for some sort of proof of what you are saying.

Remember you can't just say ''shopping'' and that's it, look at the language of the actual Act of Oireachtas and the actual miniserial order it can't just be an excuse it has to be a ''reasonable'' excuse. So if you are far from home because you are going to get chemo in hospital ok. If you are shopping but you have gone 60 miles from home past loads of possible supermarkets, chemests etc, you have failed the 'reasonable' test.

They are also checking rail they may not ride the actual train, because we don't have a transport police they can't go outside their district (which is stupid) but the train will hold while they do their thing. They often pick major interchanges but I've also seen them at smaller stations.
Incidentally, if you don't have a ticket you are technically tresspassing and that's probable cause for a search...they are catching a lot of criminals by using the covid regs as a gateway!

I think DBs idea of different fares at different times was a great notion...what seems to be happening, over and over, is the 3-4 members of the cabinet that have some cop on and brains bring stuff to the full cabinet and then the rest rip the ideas apart and some half assed watered down version comes out later. That is what happened with the house party regs, they were ripped apart and no no no last time, then covid spiked like crazy and they had to go do what was suggested in the first place...a law to deal with house parties.

THe reason they are scared re:50 percent is masks are not the total protection people seem to think they are.

There are two issues I think the govt and the last one should have put more emphasis on:

1. Covid can wreck your body even if it does not kill you, search the terms 'long term covid' etc and see about the scarred lungs, the never ending low energy, the heart problems etc etc at the start of this they were eager to put out the message 'dont worry most people just get flu like symptoms v few die' that they put out the suggestion that if you don't die you are fine...that's not the case, there is a huge third category. 60% have nurological symptoms months after they have ''recovered'

2. Masks are not a cure all, they reduce they dont' eliminate. Even the masks they wear in hospitals don't stop everything escaping, so we can't pack the busses again even if everyone is masked. There is some debate to be had (there is a range of possible reasonable options in every covid decision) about what % but we can't just stuff people in like before.

GT you are flat out WRONG that it only affects vunerable people severely, that is not true. THey are the most affected group that is not the same as saying it ONLY affects them. There are 28 year old athletes with scarred lungs for life and 30 year olds with no energy no matter how much they sleep, people with brain infarks because of lack of oxigen. It's NOT a case of die or the flu.

This things way more contagious than the flu and way more lethal.

If we had not locked down earlier in the year there would have been exponential growth and 30-50 000 deaths.
In addition, these vunerabe people can't just be thrown to the wolves. They mix with everyone else all the time there is no way to seal them off, you are talking about around 30% of the country here, everyone thiks that group includes just old people but it's a wide category. There are 20 year olds who are expected to live a normal lifespan, and going back to toral normal before a vaccine or a proper testing system would write them off.

You can't bloddy seal the vunerable off, they have LIVES they have to go to work they have to go to the supermarket they will be breathing the same air as you no matter how well protected they are.


There is a boatload of new quick test kits order coming in december that will allow people to test themselves and at work etc which should allow things to open a bit, they are quick and easy they may be a game changer they are already on order.
Theres also several vaccine trials looking promising several of which would be manufactured here. Though the vaccine will come in phases certain groups will get it first.

This won't take forever. I had someone take my head off on the 145/155 the other day. The driver got out of his cab and asked a woman (to my shame wearing a jacket from the same uni as me) to stop eating and put her mask on. She did, I got a panic in my chest I'm working from home loads because liver issues mean I'm in the vunerable group despite being extremely fit otherwise. I opened two of the small slide windows to clear the air since I just realized (which i had not before) someone maskless was sitting right behind me. She rather hysterically got up and slammed them shut. I kinda lost it and said they stay open until I get off so the air can clear, or I'll f---- toss you off the bus myself. This may be something some people read about but I have to read all these horror reports at work and in news knowing full well it could be me gasping on a respirator any day because someone was too lazy to follow some easy rules.


Our grandparents and great grandparents endured plagues, carpet bombins, world wars, genocide, famines, and diseases like smallpox with 50 and 90percent death rates...if we can't handle a few restrictions here and there we ought to be embarrased to be their successors.