Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

Absolutely, but people aren't afraid of it anymore. More and more people pushing back. Mask wearing and social distancing in employment settings is slipping, pubs aren't enforcing the covid cert. As time goes on, more and more businesses will also continue to ease off restrictions whether mandated by government or not.

I think it will go like this.

1. We have to wait till everyone is vaccinated.

2. We need to get all 12-18 year olds vaccinated before we end restrictions.

3. We need to get 2-11 year olds vaccinated. The vaccine will soon be approved for them.

4. We need boosters for the vulnerable to end restrictions.

5. Everyone needs a booster.

This will see us well into 2022.

The new layout doesn't help, but also having the same conversations over and over again loses its appeal.

On holiday this week. Been indoor dining all week. Can't think of anywhere that hasn't checked the covid pass if you're inside. The pub had someone taken out by the guards don't know what for as he was outside. Restaurants are busy.

I wouldn't have gone away if indoor dining wasn't open.

Reminds me when this started someone said this pandemic will be over when people decide it's over.

Genuine question - what kites are you seeing being flown? I've seen basically no commentary on the new "roadmap" beyond a disappointing meeting with the ents industry, but I haven't been paying much attention.

As above, I'd like to see a plan that's more than "on the 20th September we're going to do X and then on the 4th October we might do Y if everything looks OK and beyond that we'll see."

But I'm not confident Michael is willing to put firm plans down in writing. As @stephenjmcd says, FG put out a solid plan, and it didn't go to plan, but that fact didn't hurt them at all. Having a plan which might fall apart gives more comfort than having no plan at all.

There was a piece in the Examiner recently quoting government sources (for what that's worth) indicating 4 criteria that needed to be met before allowing further easing of restrictions. Can't find the link as I'm on the mobile.

They outlined an R number at or below 1 and hospitals not struggling amd stable case numbers and advice from public health officials before allowing further easing.

I agree with you, a plan that doesn't work out due to external influences is better than no plan at all. I find it incredulous that they don't have a plan in place. I refuse to believe anyone is that incompetent.

There was a Mickey fella in here earlier in the year, rolling his eyes and laughing at anybody who said there would be further restrictions over the winter.

He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the justifications for lockdowns last year would still apply this year. If it is about protecting the health service then that will apply no matter what the reason for their struggle, whether it is covid or anything else, and once we opened the pandoras box of societal restrictions we will find it hard to justify NOT using them again. Because why would we allow our front line heroes to suffer when there is something we could do about it...

This so called public health emergency should already have been officially ended months ago, anybody who thinks this is still about covid needs to cop the **** on.

I heard on the radio this morning that a member of NPHET has said that schools and third level education re opening have priority over a further easing of restrictions on society

I am a little depressed about the situation in the future today.

We have one of the highest uptakes of the vaccine in the world. I expect that we will have one of the highest uptakes for vaccinating the under 12s once the vaccines are approved for that age group - though obviously the uptake will be much lower than the adults.

It appears that we are still going to have covid circulating in the community no matter how many get vaccinated, and we are still going to have a cohort who will need hospitalisation, even if they are vaccinated. Given the lack of flexibility that existed in our health system pre-covid, it appears to me that even a lowish number of hospitalisations is going to lead the hospitals to struggle, especially in winter. It feels to me that the government are going to impose a 4-8 week lockdown every winter, or possibly two or three times over the winter, every year ad nauseum.

The only way out of this is to build and staff more hospitals. Like that is literally the only way out of this. And you can't just magic up qualified medical staff - they either have to go through college or be imported from abroad. We're a relatively small country, we probably could get enough staff from India or elsewhere to staff two or three more hospitals. Is that what the government should be doing?

This question has been asked from the beginning, not by journalists or any one in the media, and still no definite answers.

I think they can but that abundance of caution and last Christmas will not let them stray away from the graphs. Add in a government who can't say No to advice and we stay as we are for now. The HSE don't really have anything to do with this and do deserve a lot of praise for a pretty excellent vaccination programme.

So unvaccinated kids will be sitting in a class room together all day but fully vaccinated adults can’t go to a nightclub

Doesn't make much sense to me

My kids will be sitting in a well-ventilated classroom with masks on, movements between rooms restricted, no lockers, no physical contact, physical exercise limited to walking outdoors, trying to get an education.

You're comparing that to a packed nightclub with a bunch of pissed and drugged up people all over each other.

I am in favour of nightclubs re-opening but it's a ridiculous comparison.