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

This whole situation is maddening and the lack of leadership from our government is the most galling of all. I've followed the rules during the whole thing, got vaccinated as requested, worked from home and paid taxes etc etc. My wife works in a hospital and has been in work as normal too. We are doing all we can to support others and this country.

After the multiple lockdowns, and juggling with home schooling and working at the same time (with the guilt of dumping my kids in front TVs and consoles, effectively ignoring them for 8 hours a day as I HAVE to work!); I'm ready to give up! I am exhausted of it all and tired of this circular existence. What's the point of all of this effort? We get the numbers down, they are then not low enough. We get the hospital numbers down, both beds and ICU. Still not enough.

Now, as the health care system struggles with normal numbers (excuse given by HSE and NPHET), we cannot consider that numbers of COVID cases could rise again without an understanding of what numbers we can cope with. But we were told that cases where not the metric any longer as the link between numbers and hospitalisation had been broken by the vaccine effort. Yet, here we are with panic from our "leaders" over potential case numbers. Examples of Scotland being used to justify the partitioning of our society (young and old - vaxed and the unvaxed); yet, at the same time, Scotland plan to continue opening up. THEY are not panicking over the numbers vs hospital cases; I guess we are on their behalf. Generous to a fault it seems!

Dr Holohan continues to work the room and the media channels to double down on his viewpoint. I should say his facts as, after all, they are using some sort of scientific basis for their assertions. However, these models have been wrong in the past and we have not backtracked and accused him of lying. Yet, his calculations cannot be questioned (you can but he is not really interested) nor his opinion of the place of antigen tests to support return to normal cannot be queried, even though they are being extensively used in Europe to manage risk.

However, whatever you say about NPHET, they are just advisors not governors. Sadly, they do speak to the public in a manner that would suggest that they make the decisions which is not the case; however, the elected government should address this approach and make it clear what their role is, but that would require a spine and/or leadership which is sadly lacking.

I should bring my rant to an end! I'd just like to refer to the stats in the UK which may support why they are not locking down when case numbers would suggest that is the very thing they should do. This has been taken from The Guardian today:



Screenshot 2021-07-01 at 23.04.25.png

I guess the 3rd wave in the UK is bedded in, but it does not seem to be causing anywhere near the impact as before. I wonder if anything has changed like the odd vaccine or two?

Overall, we should at least enjoy the freedoms that we were given by our masters and take advantage of the 19th July travel easing but we should not forget come next Election Day. Nor should we accept a healthcare system that is very well funded but fundamentally failing our people in the future.

hynesie08 wrote: »

Glad to see you're still not thinking about faceless strangers on boards......

Ah sorry, I couldn't help it

You dished it out to so many, to the point of saving posts, to try and ridicule people. It's only fair you get it back

normanoffside wrote: »

For a country with the tightest restrictions in Europe we are actually doing terribly in terms of case numbers as the latest ECDC maps show.





Look at all those countries with crowds at Euro Matches- all green- meanwhile we can't have matches or indoor activities and we are miles off being greeen.

Jesus, that's a very disturbing graphic.
I don't know how I've never seen it before, but the Baltic Sea looks very much like some kind of seal/pelican hybrid pointing towards the East.

The numbers are also pretty depressing.

Rrrrrr2 wrote: »

What is the story? Come 19th July we “can” travel and if vaccinated no PCR tests anymore?

Who knows...

Get better communication from smoke signals than that lot.

I'd just go tbh. **** it

road_high wrote: »

My understanding is that's EU policy and the donkeys here struggle majorly to go against it. Despite how much they obviously desire to keep perpetual restrictions for us little people

Just go.
They can't stop you.
If the EU law is you must have a vaccine or negative test (not sure of the details) to travel, then no Garda, no Government, no NPHET can stop you!

I'd love to see MM explain that one to the EU leaders. Would he get defensive and give short answers then?

MOH wrote: »

Jesus, that's a very disturbing graphic.
I don't know how I've never seen it before, but the Baltic Sea looks very much like some kind of seal/pelican hybrid pointing towards the East.

The numbers are also pretty depressing.

In fairness I think we are testing at 10 times the rate of other EU nations. So will naturally find more cases.

b0nk1e wrote: »

Having looked at every post on this thread over the last couple of days, I now have an image I can't get out of my head.

After a long day of smashing cherished small local businesses into the ground, forcing young people to emigrate and destroy families, and taking the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, Dr Holohan arrives back at the home built for him by the taxpayers of Ireland who've given him over a quarter million euro in salary since the start of the pandemic (no €350 a week for Tony!).

The porch light is on. He opens the porch door and carefully bolts it, keeping the world, and the virus out. He opens the front door, flicks on the hall light, and steps out of his shoes into his slippers. The front door clicks shut. Tony is home.

He glances to the wall as he strolls through the hall, and on it hangs a cherished piece of crochet. It says, simply, "thanks from Sadcon".

very good. You should continue with the fiction writing - I think you have a real talent there

Though tbf - I think you may just be just a tad jealous that someone isn't thanking your posts :pac:

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I must agree. MM even makes Boris look like an effective leader*.

*Checks. Thats a definite no ....

FileNotFound wrote: »

In fairness I think we are testing at 10 times the rate of other EU nations. So will naturally find more cases.

Where are you getting that from ? Denmark are testing 80,000 people a day in a population similar to ours.

Nash Lemon Serfdom wrote: »

The Brits are going live with it and let it rip through. The impact of the will be felt here. We should do the same given the geographical considerations.

If the health system is not up to scratch, that's not the public's or small business owners fault.

The really sad thing is that, with all the borrowed money we couldve doubled the HSE hospital/clinic capacity last year, protecting and separating the Covid19 fr hospital patients w the extra advantage of ending the yearly trolley problem and provide actual jobs.
We didnt as we went w lockdowns, sit tight and wait for the storm to pass..

eskimohunt wrote: »

It's worth emphasizing that, even with vaccines administered, a cohort of the population remain vulnerable.

For instance, people with:

• immunocompromised states
• rheumatoid arthritis - or states which require corticosteroids (drugs that suppress the immune system)
• cancer
• HIV/AIDS
• Crohn's disease / ulcerative colitis

The above is quite a lot of people in the population. Even if any of the above were to take a vaccine, it may be too weak to trigger an immunological response - meaning these patients are still susceptible to severe disease post-vaccination.

Of course, this impacts the elderly, too - many of whom do not respond to vaccines as effectively, and who may be comorbid with other serious diseases.

So, whilst vaccinations are highly effective, we must accept the consequence that many people will still die or experience severe disease as a result of this infection.

Now, that doesn't mean we should delay re-opening. To the contrary, we should advance re-opening as fast as possible (irrespective of what fearmongering nonsense NPHET conjure up). We must learn to live with the virus in the same way the above populations live with the risk of other viruses that permeate society.

But it's worth considering or acknowledging that, even in a fully double vaccinated population, the above risks still exist for the populations listed above (and some others, not listed).

amen.
It seems Ireland is willing to sacrifice the healthy population and economy in order to protect the vulnerable, the ones likely to be the most cautious.
That caution will protect them but yes, some will suffer, some will die.
Some of the relatively healthy people will also get (long) Covid19.
It seems the UK is prepared to take the hit for the sake of the country as a whole, though their initial Delta nrs were much higher so the impact of multipliers idem ditto.