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

To be fair I’ve seen the opposite in the last year, a lot of people out walking. Way more than I’ve ever seen before.

If I go to my local beach nowadays it’s always got people walking on it and even swimming in December. Most of that seemed to start during the county bounds travel restrictions and has continued. There are coffee places and little coffee vans booming away in places I’ve never seen them before and at scenic locations that would have historically been badly served. Things got organised and people went out.

Also if you look at the greenways (walking and cycling) and cycle infrastructure in Cork City for example has boomed and is busy.

Loads of people seem to walk now rather than get the bus too.

I’m finding in general a lot of people become less worried by a bit of rain and are way more outdoorsy. The outdoor dining is also fantastically well put together in Cork City and I think that’s driven a bit of a “getting over” our pathological fear of slight breezes.

I think it depends on the individual though. A lot of those very out of shape people wouldn’t ever have gone to a gym in the first place.

I would agree though the cocooners had it very rough in some cases not going outside their hall doors for months. That was probably unavoidable pre vaccine but it wasn’t well handled. I know a few people who frankly went into completely over the top mode and still are terrified to go outside. You’ll often see the old man, walking along on an empty beach or an empty street at night wearing full masking etc. I worry a bit about those. That kind of stuff doesn’t really make sense anymore and probably never did. I can understand taking precautions in busy spaces, indoor and unventilated spaces, even in packed city streets it makes sense, but I’ve often seen people out for a lonely walk fully masked and it just makes me wonder about the advice being given and how it’s being interpreted by some. I’d suspect there’s a layer of serious social and even psychological problems that were triggered by this. I mean, can you imagine how someone who maybe already had OCD or agoraphobia might feel right now?

I’ve also found that the anti everything brigade have caused some of those issues to be left without discussion as they’re turning everything into a conspiracy theory and caused a chilling effect on discussion, as the moment a topic is raised they pile on with the crazy stuff. A lot of stuff that needed to be talked about isn’t being.

It’s complicated though. Some things have worked well. Some people have gotten on a lot better than others and it all depends on personal circumstances. I think it’s been a very different experience for different people and I think people need to be able to express that they’re not ok too.

My point is those aren’t the only people rushing for PCRs at the slightest sniffle. I know several people who’ve no pressure at all, yet were hammering the website to get PCRs. I’m talking IT people and work from home people with mild sniffles. Even self employed in some cases and won’t even be eligible for sick pay. They just want their PCR and email.

They also don’t need the recovery cert being fully, fully vaccinated.

I think the “snake oil” messaging and initial dismissal of antigen tests as a technology is coming back to haunt them in the health services.