“It Is Likely It Is Here”

at

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly

This morning.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said “it is likely” that the new Covid variant is in Ireland.

Via RTÉ News:

In the coming days it is likely that the country will be identifying Omicron cases, he told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.

He said officials were focusing strongly and urgently on the new variant.

The scientific community is investigating if the new variant is more transmissible, more severe and what impact the vaccine might have on it.

It comes as the leaders of the three Coalition parties are due to meet the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) today to discuss the Omicron variant and the wider Covid situation.

‘Likely’ new Omicron variant is in Ireland – Donnelly (RTE)

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48 thoughts on ““It Is Likely It Is Here”

  1. Paulus

    The WHO should check possible anagrams before assigning a virus-variant name:
    Lambda/ad balm is a lot more soothing and reassuring than Omicron/moronic.

    1. Micko

      Sure didn’t they skip two names in the alphabet.

      “Nu” was next in the list, but the “new variant” wouldn’t sound too great.

      Next was “Xi” – no idea why the skipped the one ;-p

      And Omicron was next.

      Some great branding and marketing decisions there.

  2. SOQ

    “The scientific community is investigating if the new variant is more transmissible, more severe and what impact the vaccine might have on it”

    Then surely the first people they would speak to is their counterparts in South Africa and until proven otherwise, take their work that is is much less virulent? Or would that be applying too much common sense?

    If it is the case that it has now morphed into something much less serious then surely that is a good thing? It’s nearly like they are looking for an excuse to continue the carnage, rather than a reason.

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/south-african-medical-association-says-omicron-variant-causes-mild-disease/articleshow/87949404.cms

    1. paddy apathy

      “Take their work(sic) that is(sic) is much less virulent” – you’re just pure trolling now SoQ. Why don’t we all just take the word of all experts now and make a fresh start of it.

      1. SOQ

        Absolutely- the opinions of all qualified experts should be considered- not just the current cliques.

        It is supposed to be science after all- not religion.

    1. E'Matty

      Here’s Sara, who has yet to get anything right in this pandemic, come to tell those of us who have been consistently right what’s what. Sara, can you tell us how you think mandatory vaccines would be enforced? Will there be special busses sent into areas with large migrant communities they being one of the significant groups of unvaxxed, to round them up for forced vaxx or quarantine camps? What level of force should be used against those who refuse to be vaxxed or go to quarantine?

        1. Duncan Wheeler

          In what way? E’Matty has been one of the voices of reason on this sites comment section. You, jungleman, on the other hand just gives us bland unreasoned responses. Peace and love.

        2. E'Matty

          @Jungleman – Weren’t you one of those who sneered at those of us who stated restrictions wouldn’t end in October and that a new scare story would emerge to get the herd back in line for boosters and that kids would be targeted for vaccination next? You guys actually bought the “two weeks to flatten the curve” and “circuit breaker” nonsense and every bit of spin and propaganda since. You’re like the lads who supported the invasion of Iraq being rolled out to defend the regime change projects in Libya and Syria. You’ve lost all credibility.

          @Duncan – much obliged.

          1. jungleman

            I never believed that the restrictions would end, I just don’t see the restrictions not ending / rollout of jabs for the kids as a conspiracy or bad faith on the part of the government. This is a perfect example of how you antivaxxers are so confused.

            You see, level-headed people do not feel the need to spout on and on about how the vaccines will be given to kids or that there will be boosters because it’s not controversial to us. We can see that these are a likelihood just as much as you. You are not special.

            I was vehemently against the Iraq invasion, Syria and Libya also. Talk about poisoning the well.

          2. SOQ

            It may not be controversial to you but it bloody well should be. More injuries from these experiential therapies than all others in the past 15 years combined, and not even mid let alone long term safety data yet.

    2. Mr.T

      A non-sterilizing vaccine will only elongate the pandemic, not bring it to an end.

      The only people to be vaccinated with this ineffective treatment should be those at real risk of serious disease – if we vaccinate everyone we make it more likely that vaccine resistant variants should emerge.

      Mass vaccination actually puts the vulnerable at more risk in the long term for this reason.

    1. Johnny

      ….read the room.
      Delighted wow.
      For most people it crushed the hope of a somewhat normal winter,but thanks for link to the Journal,nothing good in India Times or Israel Daily ?
      Mood-yeah it’s changed for sure but delighted nah that’s just crass.

      1. Micko

        Delighted to see that people are copping on to the absolute BS the media is trotting out about the “Nu” variant.

        And that even on the Journal, which has been pretty much the last bastion for the “sky is falling in ” people they are calling it out for what it is.

        Yeah – so absolutely delighted.

        1. Johnny

          The sky did fall in for the hospitality and travel industry,hope just died,but sure anything good in the journal…zzz.
          Now what – everyone is as woke as you-do I need a sub to the times of India or Israeli Daily or just the journal….it’s lot take in but thankfully you will have a few ‘pals’ on the inside….keep us informed will ya….

          1. Johnny

            A few pals / friends who own restaurants and bars and hotels/nightclubs/music halls ya know hospitality – are you not ‘in’ that game ?.
            Anyways this latest variant is/was the weekend hope for that industry died-according anecdotally ….the weekend hope died,but your still dancing like a ….the music has stopped.
            But yeah delighted for eh …how’s the gigs looking -booked solid so,I’d bet…..

          2. Micko

            Oh, most of the companies that I work with have received massive payouts from the gov to put on the pilot concerts, (a good bit of which my business will get of course) so yeah we’re grand.

            Gigs are selling pretty well actually. In the past two weeks we’ve had 4 sold out shows. Three of which were sold out for months, but we had to reschedule coz of Covid.

            Funny thing is, we’ve had about 25% no shows for those three dates.

            Looks like “Tony Holyone” has spooked people pretty good. Only started happening in the last two weeks.

            Start of Nov = sold out dates, packed (but nervous) audiences.

            Last two weeks = 25% reduction in punters attending.

            Of course – we already had their money for the tickets, but pretty crap for the artist.

            But thanks for asking Johnny.

    2. Redundant Proofreaders Society

      @Micko

      Just curious, how are you able to post a link here to a competitor site? We couldn’t even post a link to a song on YouTube on one of those music lyrics competitions.

      1. Micko

        I just pop it in the comments box.

        Broadsheet is funny sometimes and links don’t post though. It’s happened to me once or twice. Seems to be an issue with the site and then if you post again you get a “duplicate comment detected”.

  3. f_lawless

    “What we want to do is slow this down as much as we can for a relatively brief period of time while we get answers to the big questions. How transmissible, how severe and is it able to evade the vaccines to any serious extent “

    Recipe for further chaos in that statement.

    “slow this down as much as we can”
    (It’s the illusion of control again)

    “for a relatively brief period of time”
    (fool me once.., etc)

    “get answers to the big questions. How transmissible, how severe and is it able to evade the vaccines to any serious extent”
    (use it as a convenient cover to justify the failure of the Covid vaccines to protect the vulnerable during this year’s seasonal winter surge)

    “What we want to do is..”
    (..spin this situation any way we can to our advantage to help reach our end goal of conditioning the public to accept the biosecurity surveillance state and periodic mass vaccination as a permanent aspect of modern day life. We want to use it to bolster the case for:another lockdown, boosters to maintain validity of digital certs, masks on primary school children leading to mass vaccination of that cohort, etc, etc)

    1. Micko

      Hehehe

      At the end of all this it’ll just be Mehole and Leo lying there.

      Alone in the snow like Childs and MacReady, waiting for one of them to fall asleep, so the other can absorb them and be Taoiseach forever.

        1. Micko

          Oh man that movie…

          I couldn’t watch it again. Too F’d up

          There were certain films like that in the 80’s that went down a mad old road. Like ‘Reanimator’ and ‘From Beyond’…

          1. alickdouglas

            First saw reanimator I guess in the late 1980s. Watched it again comparatively recently. I was a bit surprised by it at the recent viewing, there’s a rather explicit scene towards the end that I hadn’t noticed before, involving ah… A cunning linguist perhaps? that I’m pretty sure wasn’t in earlier versions. I wonder if a director’s cut emerged more recently.

          2. alickdouglas

            I always thought the Reanimator was a cheap copy of the Psycho theme, but I read now that it’s a bit more clever than that. Composer intended it to be a homage to Psycho that was acknowledged in text on the credits sequence, but some eejit forgot to add it to the credits. The Reanimator theme clearly different, but similar. Was looking for the film for Halloween this year but cannot find it on streaming, ended up with Evil Dead instead.

  4. Redundant Proofreaders Society

    “It Is Likely It Is Here”
    Ha! The official messaging on Friday was not to be concerned about this new variant. Which had strong nostalgic tones of public health announcements in January 2020 which are no doubt available on this site. We really are the child at the back of the class.

    Meanwhile, on RTE Radio One’s Brendan O’Connor show, a woman called in and was given about 10 minutes airtime describing her beleaguering process of booking a flight from Johannesburg to Dublin to get her adult daughter home from South Africa, just as it announced a new variant. The caller couldn’t wait to greet her and throw her arms around her. The daughter was there for five days at a wedding. The show’s host was so empathetic at the fact that hurrying the daughter to ‘safety’ was paramount. FFS.

    This is our media. Shocking stuff.

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