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

Sorry to hear that. If I were you, I'd ignore the noisy relatives and get back to living. Once you get out, you'll feel better and wonder what the hell all the fuss was about.

Best of luck.

Don't even stress it.

There are a pile of nutjobs online (on both sides) who seem to think that govt can & will go "surprise" this evening and change their mind and bring back masks.

Extending the legislation requires discussion and votes. Getting votes for that requires advice from the relevant public health people & bodies. None of whom are advising it.

The advice for over a month now has been unwavering that mandatory mask legislation is no longer necessary. That's not going to magically change today.

There's tonnes of evidence showing the value of other measures, at least as standalone measures.

And properly-used and appropriate masks were and are one of the best ways of reducing both transmission and individual risk, by now we have a lot of studies showing this (and not the clean surfaces/hand washing melodrama that was touted in early 2020).

Many of the restrictions had overlapping effects and it's not easy to quantify any one single effect without using a lot of circumstantial evidence to sort the wheat from the chaff. The German figures throughout 2021 do suggest that routine testing and FPP2 masking requirements made a huge difference compared to what has happened in other European countries (including those with higher vaccination rates).

The exact amino acid substitutions in the spike protein don't make a blind bit of bloody difference 😂 the virions are the same size, even if you treat the various cell topism studies on Omicron at face value. Whether SARS-CoV-2 is replicating in the trachea or upper throat, the droplets and aerosols are almost entirely blocked by proper respirators that are correctly worn.

@Vachement wrote:

The concern here was not just supply line stuff, but feasibility too. It's one thing getting people to wear washable cloth masks that cost €3 a go, or basic 3-layer masks that come in boxes of fifty for 50c a pop.

FFP2 masks are more expensive for a start. And during periods of high demand, insanely so. If they need to be chucked after every use and they cost €3 a go, that's a massive burden. Remembering of course that the people who would most have to use these - essential workers, pensioners and people reliant on public transport - are the ones with the least ability to afford them.

I don't know how other countries implemented it. It would seem like you'd need to provide free masks to a lot of people to make it feasible. But I could certainly see here in Ireland, an "upgrade" to FFP2 being functionally unenforceable. People would have stuck with the medical masks they bought and told you to fvck off if you demanded they wear expensive disposable ones.

On balance of impact to the population, impact on infection and enforceability, I feel like an "any kind of face covering" mandate was the optimal choice over "FFP2 masks only".

Similiar position myself with certain family members. As the saying goes i’m “holding firm” and won’t let them dictate to me. Unfortunately it has caused major rows but i’m not giving in. The only thing they will achieve is me ending up hating them. But i think they’ll get the message soon.

Interestingly i find that their issues are with activities that are enjoyable and give you freedom. My work involves a very high risk in contracting covid but you never hear them complain about that. Definitely different agendas at play. Covid has been an eye opener.

Is she back broadcasting from her shed 😄

Overthinking will stress you out. Pick a position and stick to it!

Yes, and along those same lines - even though I’m delighted to see the back of NPHET it’s does seem like they were out the door and onto better things before we could say gbye. Yes the HSE should be able to sort its mess but all the guidelines and regulations were implemented on advice from, and in consultation with, NPHET. It seems like an abdication of duty to leave HSE in current state, they could have at least helped clear up the mess with some recommendations for step down of restriction procedures for hospitals. “Restrictions no longer necessary, except in healthcare - farewell good luck now”.

When did the HSE call for restrictions?

If the mask mandate, which is still in effect in hospitals, is effective then why is it not preventing outbreaks in hospitals? If the PPE worn by healthcare workers (face shields as well as masks of the highest grade) is effective then they won't be infected by patients who have Covid even if those patients are not wearing masks.