Covid 19 Part XXXIV-249,437 ROI(4,906 deaths) 120,195 NI (2,145 deaths)(01/05)Read OP

gozunda wrote: »

What MHQ here does do is discourage those who choose to come here and stop the further spread of such variants.

It also catches those who do arrive from these countries and go on to develop covid even if that is a small number
.

We know this, the question is whether the benefit of the small decrease in risk is worth the costs. Zero-Covid was not put forward as a platform by any of the Government parties when they ran for election and has not been properly debated.

Obviously Israel did something amazing in the 4 days between when they were put on the list and when they were taken off. We won't know what happened because we're not being told what the criteria is for going on the list. Albania was removed also because..... ? We've been variously told it was because of current variants, future super-Covid, or countries which have a lot of infection.

There's huge decisions being taken, including enforced detention of people, with little public scrutiny.

MHQ appears to be , as usual, with this government to be brought in without any proper planning or consideration.

Read in todays press there is no MHQ in cork or limerick which results in travellers been ferried to Dublin.
Also talk of using a hotel in rosslare for ferry passengers from France.

The case taken by the lady who arrived from Israel may cause further issues.
She's coming here as a HCW full vaccinated and with negative PCR tests yet must quarantine.
It's a shambles and maybe the FG ministers are happy to let it fail and have Donnelly and FF shoulder the blame. It does appear Donnelly is making the running on it.

Maybe lockdown has sent me a bit mental, and while I can’t see sense with adding the likes of Israel and the US to the quarantine list, I’m glad we finally brought in MHQ (albeit a year too late).

People were crying out for something like this at the start. Hearing the likes of Simon Coveney say things like we couldn’t stop the Italian fans from flying in as we wouldn’t like it if they did it it us, at a times when other countries in Europe were closing their borders to each other, it always felt like we wanted to be seen as the good boys in the EU. Then when Europe stopped flights coming from the US, we still allowed it as we didn’t want to be upsetting our favourite cousins, the USA.

So following this, I’m just glad the government have finally taken a decision to look after the well-being of it’s citizens and it’s not all about politics for once. I hope by September it’s scrapped tbh, and it probably won’t even last that long as it seems to be full of holes, but at least we finally tried it.

I hope there will never be an event like this again in my lifetime, but if there is, at least there’s the precedence there for us to take one of the obvious steps from the beginning and quarantine incoming travellers all the while locking down the rest of the country. Or at least try it.

hmmm wrote: »

We know this, the question is whether the benefit of the small decrease in risk is worth the costs. Zero-Covid was not put forward as a platform by any of the Government parties when they ran for election and has not been properly debated.

Obviously Israel did something amazing in the 4 days between when they were put on the list and when they were taken off. We won't know what happened because we're not being told what the criteria is for going on the list. Albania was removed also because..... ? We've been variously told it was because of current variants, future super-Covid, or countries which have a lot of infection.

There's huge decisions being taken, including enforced detention of people, with little public scrutiny.

I was replying to your claim that "Israel never had a problem with VOC's and was added to the list."

It has.

Zero covid is not being pushed. Travel has not effectively shut down like Australia or New Zealand. Its allowed for essential purposes but otherwise is being discouraged.

But yeah that's the big problem with Covid. Cases can go from Zero to 10 in the blink of any eye.

As far as I'm aware VOCs are the main criteria for the MHQ. But I can see how countries where rates of infection are out of control and / or variants are suspected (but unknown) could also be added to a list.

gozunda wrote: »

I was replying to your claim that "Israel never had a problem with VoC's and was added to the list."

It has.

1% of cases is a problem? And why was it a problem 4 days ago and not now?

I'm looking at a news report which says that Germany has 0.8% prevalence of B.1.351 - why are they not on the list?

As far as I'm aware VOCs are the main criteria for the MHQ. But I can see how countries where rates of infection are out of control and / or variants are suspected (but unknown) could also be added to a list.

It's not good enough that we have not been clearly told what the criteria is. Germany, Poland and India could as easily be on the list as they have expanding epidemics, and might end up on it next week - potentially impacting on hundreds of thousands of people who live and work here.

If the new strategy is zero-Covid let's say that and have the public debate. At the moment the plan is full of holes and contradictions.

DebDynamite wrote: »

Since October, I’ve not been able to see my parents in the next county (bar the 3 week break at Christmas). We still don’t have a date for out of county travel - I’ve heard July being mentioned. So from October to possibly June/July, we can’t travel outside our own county. This is the kind of stuff that affects the majority of people. Never mind that, since January we’ve not been able to travel further than 5km unless for a very small list of essential reasons.

I’ll be honest and say I don’t know one person who has travelled abroad in the past year or intends to for the rest of this year. MHQ affects the general population the least. It was definitely worth a try.

No-one with family abroad counts as long as I’m all right Jack.

stephenjmcd wrote: »

476 positive swabs, 3.02% positivity on 15,787 tests.
7 day test positivity is 2.7%

Happy with that. No sign of an Easter bump.

Multipass wrote: »

No-one with family abroad counts as long as I’m all right Jack.

How many compared to people living here who can’t see their families? I also have siblings abroad btw.

Sure a Covid positive person can go shopping or meet friends if they want too, yet people arriving in from abroad who test negative are put into a room without their own key for 12 days

DebDynamite wrote: »

How many compared to people living here who can’t see their families? I also have siblings abroad btw.

How many is irrelevant. You want to cut other people off from their families for what reason? To stop variants that are already here, or to stop imagined variants that don’t even exist yet. From a pretty random list of countries with no justification. This is an exercise in appeasing social media hysteria, nothing else.

Doctor Jimbob wrote: »

Travel is allowed for essential purposes like TDs running off to Brussels for a meeting that could have taken place on zoom. It's not allowed for non-essential purposes like attending the funeral of a family member.

Evidently this is a well thought out and rational plan. I have no idea why anyone is taking issue with it. Our government has been fond of telling us the virus doesn't care about x and y. Someone should remind government that this fact also applies to them.

You're incorrect there.

Current regulations are:

You should only travel to Ireland if you have an essential reason for doing so.

Essential family travel does not include social visits, but may include:

Caring for children
Caring for older or vulnerable people, particularly if they live alone
Exercising your legal right of access to a child
Going to a court hearing
Going to a funeral

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/travel_to_ireland/travel_to_ireland_during_covid.html#l87fcf

Up to this week

You can travel to / from Belgium for work
You can travel to / from Belgium for a funeral

With the new MHQ rules thst those travelling from red list countries require two weeks quarantine which obviously rules out a lot of funeral attendances

Those arriving from red list countries are unlikely to be provided with an automatic exemption regardless of how awful that is for those concerned.

As for work related travel from Red list countries (which now includes Belgium btw) - any politicians who do so - will end up in MHQ as well.

Vicxas wrote: »

Because people travelling from another country could have a variant from Brazil or SA that would make the COVID situation here much worse.

But someone here could already have it too and wandering round your local supermarket. Even if they didn't they could still have common covid, but yet could be freely wandering around with only 'advice' to stay home.

Stheno wrote: »

NPHET have done a fair bit of it too, along with the Taoiseach

I understand NPHET have a job to do and it's also their job to worry about these things so they will have a particular view, but reporters should do more than simply parrot what they are being told at press conferences. There are lots of dangerous viruses in circulation and we balance that risk with getting on with our lives. That's not to downplay Covid or encourage the deniers, but someone needs to be looking at the bigger picture also.

DebDynamite wrote: »

Since October, I’ve not been able to see my parents in the next county (bar the 3 week break at Christmas). We still don’t have a date for out of county travel - I’ve heard July being mentioned. So from October to possibly June/July, we can’t travel outside our own county. This is the kind of stuff that affects the majority of people. Never mind that, since January we’ve not been able to travel further than 5km unless for a very small list of essential reasons.

I’ll be honest and say I don’t know one person who has travelled abroad in the past year or intends to for the rest of this year. MHQ affects the general population the least. It was definitely worth a try.

This exactly the problem with trying to explain to people why MHQ is wrong and not acceptable to lock people who are healthy away.

While the travel to your parents is frustrating, the same applies to people from abroad or who have family there.

Some people have their whole lives spread out across the EU in particular. I’m Irish, but have family in the UK, Spain, the US and France with close friends in Italy. That’s just me. Now think for a second if something happens here or with any of them abroad, I’ll be up and gone or they would be back to Ireland. I’m talking about a family issue, bereavement or serious illness.

You can do the same here in Ireland, hop in the car or bus and you’re there. These people who have embraced global and European life are now treated as disgusting infected people because they get a clear PCR test and take a plane with PCR cleared people to make their essential journey.

Just because you have a local family and friends circle, the same is the case for very many Irish and other citizens living here. MHQ is disgusting and the whole mess should stop immediately.

Where do we stop? Why don’t we lock away the 400-500 people per day testing POSITIVE? They have no checks or balances out on them and they are infectious.

Governing by Twitter or Facebook is no way to run a country but that is what we have now.