HSE CEO Paul Reid at Dr Steevens’ Hospital for the weekly HSE operational update on the response to Covid-19.

This afternoon.

Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin.

Meanwhile…

NPHET has told the Government that it will become increasingly difficult to maintain the level of suppression of Covid-19 that has been achieved since the New Year.

Dr Tony Holohan advised the Minister for Health that NPHET expects a large number of additional deaths from the virus in the coming weeks.

In its letter to Stephen Donnelly on 21 January, NPHET said the country remains in a very vulnerable position despite great progress in recent weeks.

It warned that “we will all find it challenging to maintain the very low levels of social contact and adherence to social distancing and hygiene measures required to maintain suppression“.

NPHET concerns over maintaining level of virus suppression (RTÉ)

RollingNews

Behold: the vertical magnetic field of NGC 5775, a spiral galaxy 70 million light years away in the Virgo Cluster.

Not just attractive, it’s even more attractive than previously thought. To wit:

For decades, astronomers knew only that some spiral galaxies had magnetic fields. However, after NRAO‘s Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope (popularized in the movie Contact) was upgraded in 2011, it was unexpectedly discovered that these fields could extend vertically away from the disk by several thousand light-years. The featured image of edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5775, observed in the CHANG-ES (Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies) survey, also reveals spurs of magnetic field lines that may be common in spirals. Analogous to iron filings around a bar magnet, radiation from electrons trace galactic magnetic field lines by spiraling around these lines at almost the speed of light. The filaments in this image are constructed from those tracks in VLA data. The visible light image, constructed from Hubble Space Telescope data, shows pink gaseous regions where stars are born. It seems that winds from these regions help form the magnificently extended galactic magnetic fields.

(Image: NRAO, NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & Text: Jayanne English (U. Manitoba)

apod

Nathan Evans

On The Late Late Show…

Jennifer O’Brien writes:

This week, Vicky Phelan underwent her first week of treatment in Maryland, for what she hopes will be a process that will prolong her life and afford her more time with her family. Vicky joins Ryan from the US to give an update on her journey so far.

RTÉ’s Northern Editor Tommie Gorman will be joining Ryan to discuss Covid-19 and the border issue, and the standout moments from the four decades he has spent bringing news reports to Irish viewers and listeners.

Wellerman singer and TikTok sea shanty star Nathan Evans will speak about his meteoric rise to fame…

…The Late Late Show will honour this year’s Axa Community Heroes…

…big things were expected of footballer Shane Carthy when he was called up by Jim Gavin to the Dublin senior team aged just 18. What people did not know was that since 5th year in school, Shane had been battling with his mental health and experiencing suicidal thoughts. Shane will speak to Ryan about how he got through the darkest of days.

Music on the show will be from Niamh Regan, the RTÉ Choice Music Prize nominee from Galway…

The Late Late Show on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.

Jo Hanley/Rolling Stone

This afternoon.

Further to yesterday’s Astrazeneca/EU shenanigans…

…and with the Anglo/Swedish pharma giant having denied claims that its’ vaccine was substantially less effective among the over-65s…

…via AP:

A draft recommendation from Germany’s vaccination advisory committee calls for offering the AstraZeneca vaccine only to people aged 18-64 for now, citing what it says is insufficient data to judge its effectiveness for older people.

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the 27-nation European Union on Friday.

…Germany’s permanent vaccination commission said that “there currently is not sufficient data to assess the vaccination effectiveness from 65 years.”

German draft doesn’t recommend AstraZeneca jab for over-65s (WBNG)

Yesterday: Vial Behaviour

Earlier: Zero Sum Game


Orla Gartland – More Like You

Comparing yourself to your heroes can be unhealthy and limiting.

That’s the message behind the brilliant new single by London-based Dublin songsmith Orla Gartland (top foreground).

And the expertly filmed video illustrates the theme perfectly, with Orla and dancer Hannah Hornsby (top at back) moving perfectly in tandem with each other under the direction of Greta and Elan Isaac.

Nick says: Falling for a dancer.

Orla Gartland

Boo, hiss.

This afternoon.

Where’s a surface to air missile system when you need one?

Billy H writes:

If we build it, they will come. If we fly there, they will travel. Lanzarote on a grey January afternoon! Let’s get airborne!

FIGHT!

Yesterday: The Tans

Broadsheet.ie