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

I am hoping, that people effected badly by this can now get a voice... before omicron, you couldnt moan about the restrictions, as it was seen as selfish, or you supported the mass killing of grannies.. now with Omicron, people who have lost alot should be given air time and headlines.. non compliance will only get so far, I think we need real peoples stories and situations shared... someone called out earlier we love misery... use this misery to our advantage and not NPHET, this is the misery that can hopefully bring about support for the lifting of restrictions.. but I dont know are the media ready for this side of the coin yet.

All these people in their cushy situations, need their eyes and ears open..

I long for a day where we will be told that we are now moving into a legitimate "personal responsibility" phase of the virus.

If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask.

If you don't want to go to a packed concert, don't go.

If you're afraid you could pick up the virus at a packed concert and pass it to somebody vulnerable and don't believe the vax and boosters are enough to keep them safe, book a test before visiting them.

If you work in any sort of health care setting, take regular antigen tests.

Basically engage your own brain.

My employer has advised me that come February I will be down to a 1 day working week as the EWSS will be reduced to €203 and I can claim the days I don't work on Jobseekers. I would much prefer if everything opened up as the sooner it does hopefully the sooner I can get back to working a 5 day week. Getting totally fed up with this keeping society closed and telling businesses what time they have to close a

You'll probably have some middle aged lad who works from home telling you that there are barely any restrictions and some anal, pettiness about saying society is closed.

There is a certain vindictiveness or vengeance thing going on with the ones still pushing for mandatory vaccination or the continuation of the certs. Just look at the lunatics over on journal.ie

Most people, as you say, don't care as long as they still get to go to the pub.

These nasty little rules will hang around longer than they need to through apathy on the one hand and bitterness on the other.

Its mind boggling how we have actually got here, how the country have being divided by the Gov/MSM and the affect of this deadly virus. I feel personally some members of the public who are vaccinated and maybe boosted got the vaccine cause the word was "get vaccinated & this is over" but cant let down appearances now so got boosted to keep in line per say. All we can hope for is some sort of closure this year for the majority of the world and keep the boosters, anti viral drugs and whatever else they for those most at risk

The Irish government will look to follow whoever is the most strict in terms of restrictions.

Its not about evidence, or favouring one country over another, just about being cowardly and trying to justify it.

The UK are the model they will look at here especially as it appears we've passed the peak and our cases look to be taking a tumble. There may be something to be said for being so close to them and importing all that Omicron! It's hard to say how those currently enforcing vaccinations will deal with the summer tourist season. Right now other countries are looking like a much better place to book.

Right now probability of dying from Omicron is 50 times lower than dying from flu. There are no medical reasons fir anybody who is not vaccinated to go and get the jab, especially kids. There is also no medical reasons for which all of current restrictions should continue on. Not to mention fabulous ideas for mandatory vaccinations.

The reason why people are still getting vaccinated and why restrictions will continue to be in place is political and commercial. As the saying goes “never waste a good crisis” and so what we are experiencing is not going to end anytime soon. If this was all for medical and health reasons we would be opening up tomorrow.

The French election might change things too!

Cultural closeness won't come into it, these are political decisions and there is zero chance of our lot being seen to side with the UK, who regardless of evidence will always be branded a pariah. Our lot will never want to be aligned with that.

They have no problem with making Ireland an outlier when it is deemed to be on the "righteous" side. Most restricted - look at us being so tough and brave and correct. Most open - which we would be if we did what we should at the end of this month (which is remove everything, including masks and certs) - no way, couldn't be seen to be so out of lock step with the rest of the EU. We will never want to an outlier on the other side.

They take their cue from those we are in a union with. For now at least there doesn't seem to be imminent EU level diktats to members - the ultimate worry is that this is happening behind the scenes and only a matter of time for it to emerge fully. This is now what I am most worried about, and pray it won't happen.

can't emphasise enough how much I hope I am wrong.

The UK do the same things as us, pubs, social activities etc. and are a few weeks ahead so they are a useful indicator of the progress of Omicron, far more than the surging cases elsewhere in the EU. The only things we have really copied from the EU are the certs and our fairly daft curfew idea. Our cases are on the way down, quite quickly perhaps so that plays into tracking the UK more. Hospitals have peaked at 1,000 so the health system is saved for another winter!

Does anyone have any information on how the latest Omicron forecast modelling scenarios in December by Philip Nolan has played out versus actual real life data?

Surely if we know how Omicron has played out (in terms of cases being massively high but the actual effect on people has been just a really sore throat for the vast majority), is there any scenarios being created to show how this relatively positive news can play out on our hospitals and population and get us back to pre pandemic normality? Or is that too optimistic or positive?

Again, surely if we know the effects are minimal to the vast majority of the population, why is there little to no 'real' noise about opening up society properly and simply getting on with it?

Fatigue?

Absolutely bonkers. Macron is trenching down for the long term with this nonsense. Vaccine passports are not going anywhere for at least a few years.

Good luck with their tourism industry, especially from the UK and US who will be moving on from it. Not getting a booster every 4 months.

This is why he will be pushing the EU to standardise this around the states. He won't want any outliers. Tourism is one of their biggest industries and there are a lot of people around the world that have been itching to go on holiday.