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

I don't see what's "extremely paranoid" or "creepy" about it... the dentist will be working at very close quarters, and there is a spike in covid cases.

Would you prefer your appointment was cancelled because the dental staff got sick?

It is an "abundance of caution" but need to consider that the dentist or one of their staff could be especially vulnerable to covid.

Consider that the dentist or one of their staff could be especially vulnerable to covid. Or maybe thinks will have less sick days not just to covid but other respiratory viruses with these precautions. Or maybe this particular dentist treats a lot of patients they deem to be vulnerable.

The other dentist may have better ventilation.

All kinds of possible explanations without having to resort to 'creepy' or 'paranoid'.

You don't know if they are sick do you. Or with what, it doesn't even have to be covid - could be flu. How do you know they aren't sick? Well?

They could have an air filter unit \ better ventilation in the room where the dental work occurs, but not in the waiting room. In the waiting room they could be mingling with more people. You just don't know.

Your solution is to change jobs! Sure, cos we have so many dentists? So no solution at all really.

While surgical type masks aren't as effective as n95 to state they "aren't stopping anything" is without foundation.

But you feel free to second guess the dentist here for taking some basic precautions. Sure, they are the one engaged in nonsense, not the one suggesting they quit their job.

Covid is more serious than flus and colds. It alters the equation.

You know what else happened in all those years? Staff out sick with those various viruses, appointments cancelled.

And sometimes people did not survive.

Maybe they had the precautions in place during the height of covid and realised they made sense and why were they unnecessarily putting themselves at risk.

People accumulate health issues as they get older, priorities change too. Suggesting someone stop being a dentist is no solution at all, and it is not like they can go back in time and change their degree.

I think the next batch of booster jabs and the winter flu jab will be brought forward here like in the UK

The UK are only offering boosters to over 65s and those otherwise at risk. Or that's what they said a few weeks ago anyway. Pretty sure the "updated" boosters also won't be for whatever the current variant is, but the kraken one which is already on the way out.

Nothing to stop anyone but no one has to do a test anymore unless directed to by a health professional. HSE advice is symptoms based now.

I was in my local ALDI this evening and they have taken all the COVID introduced perspex protection away from the cashier's.

Personally for staff protection from loon customers I'd have left them up.

I actually would have had no problem with the perspex screens being left in front of cashiers, sure who needs people coughing/sneezing all over them even in normal life. It's a small thing! Another thing I think should stay is sanitiser at entrance to restaurants/food areas, anywhere you might be eating food and you are touching it, bread roll/burger that type thing, no harm have a rub of sanitiser after touching door handles etc before eating.

It's amazing though how many places still have the stickers on the floor or the doors, only today saw a place with sign up saying only 3 people in shop at a time, now that is really time to move on!

Finally..

China came out and said that covid is lowering immunity.

Better order me a 5 skin mask.

Puts a bit of a dent into 'the science' says this and that and everyone who's sceptical is a right wing moron flat-earther who should be locked away for their own good though.

Which is all the critics were ever on about. Nobody would have minded if it had been a bit more level headed but the all-out bull-headed losing-your-marbles partisan hysteria couldn't get exposed enough for what it was in my opinion. It's that mindless shrill one-sided craziness that progroms are born from. Once you have the people agreeing to the level of madness we were at the next step isn't too far. You should think about that for a minute.

I read that only 14.5% of healthcare workers have taken the COVID vaccine as of mid November. I wonder why there is so much reluctance. Flu was 30%.