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

Definitely not alone anyway, that's the first thing.

I'm surprised we're still locking down so hard despite the evidence that vaccines are largely holding up in terms of hospitalizations.

Interms of how to cope mentally, different for every person, maybe try talk with friends? As alot of people are finding this hard, yes, some harder than others.

Try think positively too, like the days will be getting longer, more treatments are available (covid pill, gsk's antibody treatment, vaccines etc.).

Ultimately, I think there's going to be a tsunami of mental health issues after this so maybe its a case of you need to talk to a councillor or a gp. Either way, there are alot of people struggling and don't dismiss your problems as being "just first world problems"

And as other posters have said turn off the news etc. There's nothing positive they have to say (Something I look at too much 🤦‍♂️)

Just listening to that aswell that Dr didn’t get the memo 😂😂😂 all joking aside seemed to really be playing it down no extra restrictions, peak over, no mad hospital increases all very positive

Yeah . The data is there from SA . It's hard to know what's going on .

If it does turn out or be milder that’s a good thing won’t help us to lift restrictions before end Feb as i still believe the main reason is to cover the HSE inadequate qualities regardless of data. It will take that lent of time to “read and examine the data”. But I’d be confident we will have a better summer this year

Caitriona Perry did the same thing on the news last week . Pushing and pushing MM to close schools . He was having none of her either

I think it’s becoming clear that some countries are using their restrictions as a last resort. It will be interesting to see how quickly the Uk go back to full open and lift restrictions. I think we will have much less restrictions after paddy’s day this year. And hopefully less doom and gloom for the summer and get rid of daily update and numbers

The schools are been kept open for one reason and one reason only if they close then a lot of essential services will have problems with child care. If the kids are all at home the most two income family’s have a problem

Thats the problem. "Eventually".

COVID has probably removed my ability to ever have a family. I moved home-home, in with the parents on a temporary basis in late 2019. Then Covid happened and I couldn't leave them then to move in with a (now) ex. I knew I would not be able to see them. That relationship ended for other reasons anyway. Now one parent is quite ill and the other is deteriorating.

I am 38, pushing 39. I can't leave the parents, they need care and I have no brothers/sisters/relatives. None of my grandparents ever went into a nursing home, so my parents assume I'll look after them. There is already a huge creep in the amount of work I need to do to keep things going.

COVID means I can't date without risking bringing it home to them. They are massively paranoid about it. There is little to no dating going on in my age group. Even a gig I wanted to go to in London after Christmas - gone due to Omicron and the hysteria around it.

Had I been living with someone before all this started I'd likely have a family now.. I'm going to be too old by the time it ends, and more importantly by the time NPHET and the Irish Government back down.

Eh the point is that journalists on Rte are pushing people to say what they want to hear .

I rang the HSE helpline this morning with a complicated query . Credit where its due the man couldn’t have been more helpful and got it sorted .

Sometimes we get lucky !!

I don’t think it’s anything more sinister then we don’t have a fit for purpose health service along with a highly transmissible virus. We pinned our hopes to vaccines which although work haven’t worked in the way they thought and this is dragging into a year 3. Leo said himself he thought 2yrs would be it. So when your only other weapon is lockdown your kind of fecked. So they have so do this were as the UK and other countries health services are able to deal with higher hospital numbers and can stay open longer.

You could be right they will push hard for the kids to be vaccinated before the summer when cases will start to drop with the warmer weather. Parents won’t be as quick to get them vaccinated unless they want to go on holidays and it’s required.

But I still think they don’t want to close the schools because of the knock on effect of child minding for the essential services.