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

Any idea of todays numbers up or down

No, I agree that we are very much not in the same situation as we were, Adam ,thankfully.

But we need to keep in mind the possibility of this turning nasty again with the now very real danger of a variant that has evolved to evade not just vaccines but treatment . As it is Omicron has both antibody and some vaccine evasion properties, and some treatments like monoclonal antibodies that were used successfully with immunocompromised people with Delta , are useless now. There is only one which retains its use against Omicron, called Sotrovimab atm and supplies are very hard to come by as the whole world us looking for it .

But these are issues that should not be a worry anyone healthy or vaccinated or recovered at present .But the " head in the sand " approach ,yippee it's all over is not appropriate either .

The emergency is over but the fight to contain and treat so it truly becomes endemic goes on .

Yes ,acutely aware and no fan of the HSE as it stands , I think you know .

However this is extreme at present with literally no isolation areas left . So it's like a trolley crisis/ + terrorist situation and someone has let offa tear gas canister in A&E and you don't want the ordinary patients to be affected , but there is nowhere to put them .

With the greatest respect to gg when there is light ahead those who have grown afraid of life without the safety blanket of restrictions grasp on to "new variants" and "long covid", i have started to take it as good news when i see these fears mentioned.

You are not reading them . I have said what I think many times , so you obviously are not interested really. That's ok.

At least you are polite awec in fairness I'll give you that .

I don't reply to posters who are rude and offensive like another on here .

@Widdensushi Haha , am fearless for me , but maybe will just have to stop worrying about the nation so much, point taken 😊

We are( largely) in a better place ,I do agree .

Just to add, the last time I brought up about being careful about variants I was bashed for it too as everyone thought it was all over ,vaccines here etc

That was just pre Delta !

Yes agree . Normally that is what should happen.

Problem is with noone to advise a pretty clueless minister about how this current wave will pan out , how does the minister know to recommend to the government?

This is a populist move on Donnelly's part . I hope it doesn't come back to bite him ( and us )in the proverbial.

Look , am outnumbered here obviously and could be answering till the cows come home , not going to change anything.

My opinion is that we need to watch things over the next few weeks and excercise caution and maskwearing if possible in crowded settings .

Oh and test and isolate if you have symptoms.

I bid you all adieu ! 😎

A reminder of what the emergency powers entailed that will expire tonight:

“”Micheal Martin confirmed in

the Dáil that pandemic emergency powers will

expire at midnight tomorrow.

He was responding to Independent TD Mattie

McGrath who said he had a petition with 3,000

signatures from people who wanted the powers

ended.

"Are they finished, as was promised, and will they

be gone?" he asked.

The Taoiseach responded the measures would

"obviously

" end because there had been no

amendment put before the Dáil.

The Health (Preservation and Protection and Other

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act

2020 was signed into law in March 2020 and

extended until 31 March this year.

It gave Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly

powers to make regulations to slow down the

spread of Covid-19.

Under the legislation, he could make regulations to

restrict travel to and from Ireland and restrict

travel within Ireland to stop people moving to and

from affected areas.

It also gave the minister power to stop gatherings

of people from taking place and to make organisers

of these gatherings put in safeguards to prevent

the virus from spreading.

The powers also included making businesses (such

as shops) set up safeguards to protect their staff

and customers along with measures to close

premises, including schools.””

Kill a few patients? With infected healthcare workers ? Think we all know why testing cannot be stopped in hospital and for healthcare workers.

Not going to happen..discussed yesterday user1998 as to why not / cannot in reply to Seamus , if you are interested.

And do you know how many people are hospitalised in a "very bad flu season "?

My guess is, you don't at all and are just throwing around stuff .

I will not entertain that as a serious statement until you go and look up the flu season hospitalisations and compare them yourself.

Clue ...this is helluva lot worse !

Oh yeah, you are a living proof of the very little knowledge, judging by your posts. Unless you are just taking a piss out of everyone and if that's the case I must admit you are doing very good job. And since when you are referring to yourself as "we". I've seen that happening on COVID threads a lot, must be another secondary product of pandemic, or way too much booze.

Will there no longer be a legal obligation to self-isolate once the emergency powers lapse?