Relaxation of Restrictions, Part IX *Read OP For Mod Warnings*

Boggles wrote: »

Are we still pretending it's purely seasonal?

Covid-19: Brazil surge reaches new level as daily deaths pass 2,000

Large parts of Brasil dont have seasons at all really - and of those that are currently in their "Autumn", its still warmer than our summer. The seasonal argument doesnt really apply near the equator.

Deleted User wrote: »

Whether in RTE or shouting at a lamppost, they have no influence

Nobody had any influence outside of NPHET and Cabinet in 2020.

In 2021 it seems that nobody has any influence outside of NPHET.

The problem is fairness in how ISAG members are treated when appearing on air.

It would be front page news if there were leaks regarding Michael O'Leary or Tom Parlon (Construction Industry Rep) seeking to misinform the public and downplay the virus.

ISAG internal communications have been revealed which shows a clear effort to manipulate and scare the public in order to pressure the media and opposition into supporting their approach, such as it is.

ISAG are presented as a kind of noble but naive group who just want to save us all from Covid.

Michael O'Leary or Tom Parlon or any other business or industry representative is always grilled with a "oh you just care about your profits, people are dying!" line of questioning.

It's not right.

It's hard not to feel depressed with what's going on esp looking at other countries plans to reopen

NPHET calling the shots and the nodding donkeys going with it without thinking of things outside of public health

PTH2009 wrote: »

It's hard not to feel depressed with what's going on esp looking at other countries plans to reopen

NPHET calling the shots and the nodding donkeys going with it without thinking of things outside of public health

but but but... they didn't listen to NPHET at Christmas and look what happened... :rolleyes:

Graham wrote: »

We're already seeing a significant decline. Why would you expect it to take decades?

Because it is most likely an endemic virus, keeping case numbers down without restrictions is very unlikely, even if (which looks likely) the vaccines reduce transmission. Maybe if you maintained >80% vaccination coverage it would happen IMO.

I said this in the context of Kermits appeal for people to wait until case numbers go down further - the true metric should be deaths and admissions to hospital.

dockysher wrote: »

Just heard today from a care worker that a large group of travellers in her area, have being allowed play indoor soccer in big groups throughout this lockdown as it is deemed essential for their mental health.
I cant even met one other person to train according to restrictions.

Thats on par with "My aunts uncle heard it was raining frogs in Syria". Unless you are prepared to provide some context or validation then this comes across as a simple bit of casual racism.

I really do hope UK manages to stick to their reopening dates, have a family over there and their house will be free over summer can’t wait to go, i reckon that will be the closest to normality for me this year

Padkir wrote: »

I wrote the below email to my local TD's today.

I don't really expect anything other than a token response, but I feel better having written it.

I'm sure people will pick holes in parts of it, but it at least attempts to articulate my frustration at a number of areas, which I'm sure I'm not alone in.

Will post back if I get any meaningful replies.


Dear Sir/Madam,

I am emailing to express my disappointment and dissatisfaction with the government’s ongoing handling of the COVID-19 situation, particularly with regards to the extreme, over-cautious approach to re-opening of society and easing of restrictions, as well as the poor standard of communication over recent months.

In relation to communication, there is conflicting information coming from various senior ministers on a regular basis, via interviews, leaks from party meetings, etc. The relatively recent example of news of a significant extension to severe restrictions being provided to to a tabloid journalist reflects the perceived disdain in which Micheal Martin holds the people of Ireland. If there is a plan, it is not being communicated effectively to the people of Ireland and there is a constant moving of the goalposts as to what is required in order to remove certain restrictions. Consistent focus on variants are being used as an excuse for being over-cautious, delaying re-opening, etc. However, while they warrant acknowledgement, they should not be a key determinant in policy. Scientists and medical professionals are always going to be worried about things like this – that is their job. The government needs to consider the wider issues, with this advice being just one of the inputs.

Constant negative media and sensationalising of potential issues, have conspired to strike fear into a not insignificant portion of the population. Anyone who is seen to go against the party line in relation to restrictions is portrayed negatively. This means that a number of people who would like to protest are dissuaded from doing so, at the risk of being labelled a “conspiracy theorist” or “anti-vax” or whatever other buzzword is in fashion this week. However, that does not mean that dissatisfaction with the current situation is not growing in the general population.

In relation to the ongoing restrictions and the plan (I use the word loosely) for reopening, there seems to be a complete deferral to NPHET and public health advisors, to the complete detriment of all other aspects of our society and economy. I don’t think many people disagreed with the restrictions in January and early February as the significant spike in numbers in our hospitals needed to be controlled. However, as hospital numbers are declining rapidly, and the most vulnerable are being vaccinated, we are not seeing any benefit from this whatsoever. All we hear is that we need to get the numbers lower, we aren’t where we need to be, etc. Extremely severe restrictions just continue to be rolled over, all the while costing us billions, for minimal return. A decision seemed to be made in February that no significant easing of restrictions would take place until May at the earliest and it looks like, regardless of the progress made between now and then, that is going to be the case. This is a poor approach and flies in the face of the supposed “data-driven approach” we have been promised.

There are certain restrictions where I just can’t fathom how they are still in place. This includes, but is not limited to, construction, retail (even just click and collect), outdoor activities. We were in the midst of the worst housing crisis in my memory prior to the pandemic, and will be in a worse position when it ends. Construction is essential and needs to be reflected as such – it should never have closed. Non-essential retail is only non-essential for a short-term period, not for months at a time. There is significant evidence that outdoor transmission is negligible, yet for some reason we are not yet allowing outdoor sport, group activities, etc. We are in the farcical situation where 25 children can sit in a room together all day, but then 5 of them can’t go and kick around a ball together after school.

This is before even looking at the ridiculous restriction that is the 5km exercise limit. This is one of the most unreasonable measures in place and needs to be removed immediately. Rightly or wrongly, this is seen as one of the most oppressive restrictions and is difficult to justify in any way. Micheal Martin, back in early summer 2020, stated “there is no remaining serious justification for the 5 kilometre limit” and “the public health concern is how people behave around others – not how far they are from their home. In fact, the research shows that this limit may in fact be forcing people in urban areas into more crowded situations”. Arguably, it may have been deemed acceptable at the start, when we didn’t really know what we were dealing with. It is not acceptable now. This on its own I believe would go a long way to getting people back on side and focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least tie people over for the next number of weeks while the next steps are being agreed.

Other areas such as hospitality have been continuously undermined throughout the pandemic. In current circumstances, I think there is a general acceptance that this will be one of the last areas for restrictions to be relaxed, which in my opinion is fair. However, these businesses need a target in order to plan for their reopening, and the people in general need a target for this in order to have some hope. These businesses were open for much of last year (with some restrictions) without major impact; they should be allowed to re-open in advance of the summer months, as the most vulnerable will now be vaccinated. There is no reason the hospitality sector can’t open with limited restrictions in early summer, with the restrictions to be removed completely once a critical mass of the country is vaccinated later in the year. A major concern that I have is no one in government is talking about a situation where we will no restrictions at all. Our plans don’t seem to envisage such a situation, and is giving rise to a lot of concern that some measures are here to stay, or will now be in the government’s arsenal to deal with flu spikes in years to come. This needs to be addressed, and clear measures as to when all restrictions will be lifted provided to the people.

I’m not going to get into my personal circumstances, but I feel those who are making these decisions are heavily shielded from the negative aspects of their choices, and will be protected from the inevitable economic pressure to pay for over a year of restrictions. This is not the case for many hundreds of thousands of people in our country, who are bearing the brunt of restrictions, and will also bear the brunt of the economic fallout. Health officials and politicians are still going about their daily business – going to meetings, travelling for work, etc. I suspect if they had to spend a several months effectively locked up in their own house with a routine of work, eat, sleep (except for a weekly trip to the shops and a local walk down the road) the perspective would quickly change.

The worst thing is that all of this is for a disease which, while potentially dangerous for a sub-section of people, is not as deadly for the general population as we would be led to believe. In retrospect, I would argue that there has been a significant overreaction to this pandemic on a worldwide basis, with little consideration given to the detrimental impact that extended restrictions are having on society, economies and people. Whether or not you agree with this does not mean that we should continue to make the same mistakes now. As the old saying goes, we shouldn’t throw good money after bad.

I’m disillusioned with this government at the moment and have no faith in our leadership to appropriately bring us out of the current lockdown, as I believe there is an over-conservative approach being taken, with the hard decisions being deferred to NPHET. I accept that there have been periods over the last year where restrictions were necessary. For a significant portion of the last year, however, the restrictions were excessive. Several months of the prime of my life have been wasted, with seemingly many more to come with little to no progress. I feel I am far from the minority in this line of thinking. I have largely voted for FG or FF candidates since I have been of voting age. However, the performance of this government over the last year will be remembered the next time that you or your colleagues stand at my door looking for a vote.

Regards,

I imagine a 100% of negative letters a government politician gets is signed off with that line.

You might as well have finished it with "Bus Wánker"!

Boggles wrote: »

I imagine a 100% of negative letters a government politician gets is signed off with that line.

You might as well have finished it with "Bus Wánker"!

That's all you've taken from it?

And yes, it probably is. But if the volume of them is increased, plus the negative government sentiment at the moment, then they might start to take it seriously. It's the only way to potentially make a difference here. The only issue being the opposition parties are actually cheerleading for worse...

Graham wrote: »

Hairdressers I'd consider non-essential retails so I think we're along the same lines.

As case numbers come down and vaccinations numbers go up, a staggered relaxation of restrictions makes absolute sense.

Relax a bit, monitor the outcome, relax a bit more, monitor the outcome......

So you support the population of Ireland being confined to 5km of their home for daily exercise for close to 6 months? What is your justification or scientific reasoning for that? Did I catch Covid when walking by the sea on an empty path well outside my 5k last week? Does the mountain climber catch it on the peak of the mountain? Does the surfer catch it from a wave? Does the hill walker catch it from the grass?
The attempt at trying to tarnish people who are calling for some humanity to these absolute draconian restrictions with no end goal in sight is long past being an effective argument. Ireland = youngest population in Ireland but longest lockdown in the Western World.
If the Government don't hurry up and get a reopening plan in place for the summer (May onwards) when least transmission will take place as we can see this happened from last year, there will be no economy or functioning society to reopen for.
Pushing out reopening until Autumn when seasonality will again be a factor is madness if there are variants at play. Get the main at risk groups vaccinated and get a plan together.
And yes Boggles, seasonality is a factor. You cannot compare Brazil to our climate, they are in a more tropical climate than us. Covid for all we know could transmit better at this time of year for them than their summer (Oct - Feb)

Boggles wrote: »

Well no. It's a complete and utter moan festival, filled with half truths and lazy assumptions.

It peaked for me when you said 'you had lost months of your prime'.



Well I suggest if you want to get your letter at least read, is don't rant and rave and end it with a threat.

Write personally about how the restrictions have effected you and people you actually know, negatively and positively (if any). Be sincere.

Condensing what the various malcontents are bleating on social media into email form is just utterly pointless.

I'm not particularly shocked you don't agree with it, based on your posting in here.

Which is fine, because I didn't write it for you Mod snip: no need for this