Tag Archives: coronavirus

Yeah, well.

I mean, are they happier?

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Previously: Herdy Gurdy

A service at The Pro-Cathedral, Dublin in June

Why is mass off?

Via The Irish Times:

In your report that Catholic archbishops have requested a meeting with the Taoiseach to address concerns about the loss of Mass services , you state that under Level 3 “all religious services must move online”.

It is important to be clear about the precise situation.

With the exception of funerals, where attendance is limited to 25 people, there is currently no legal prohibition on religious services, nor restriction on the numbers who can attend.

The Government has issued advice against the holding of religious services. There may well be good reasons for this advice. But if the churches consider that the advice is misguided, they may hold religious services without breaking the law.

Dr Oran Doyle,
School of Law,
Trinity College Dublin

Church Services, Pandemic And The Law (Irish Times Letters)

RollingNews

From top, left to right: Doctor Owen O Flynn with Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health at the Department of Health last night

Yesterday

Department of Health, Dublin 2.

At a press conference, young Doctor Owen O’Flynn shared his experience of ‘Post COVID-19 Syndrome’.

KN writes

Is it just me or are doctors getting younger? There was a guy on yesterday who looked like hadn’t gone to his debs….

Dr. Owen O’Flynn (23) shares his experience of Post COVID-19 Syndrome (GOV.ie)

RollingNews

Last night.

Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One.

Meanwhile…

Good times.

Previously: All Back To Claire’s

The Science Bit

Covid For Dummies

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

A demonstration, organised by the right-wing National Party outside the Dáil against covid restrictions, is confronted by a group from a larger, left-wing counter-demonstration, supporting the government’s lockdown approach, who broke through a Garda cordon on Molesworth Street before being repelled.

Both sides wielded Irish tricolours, with the mostly-masked left-wing element also carrying EU Starry Plough flags. Neither group strictly observed any of the HSE’s social distancing guidelines during the melee.

RollingNews

Thanks KN

Ah, lads.

This afternoon.

the N7 carriageway out of Dublin

Eamonn Farrell writes:

More ‘[Covid-related Operation Fanacht’] traffic chaos this lunchtime, even though the Gardai made alterations to the streaming of heavy goods vehicles at the filter lanes at this check point yesterday (which resulted in some drivers using outlying routes through villages), after the huge traffic tailbacks which were caused by their presence on Wednesday….

No one said eliminating the rona from our roads was going to be easy.

Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews

Yesterday: Motorway Avoidance

Jam Today?

RTÉ News, yesterday

Last night.

Broadsheet on the Telly‘s Neil Curran shared a graph with viewers (see below) showing  virus growth in Ireland with Dublin and Donegal singled out, prompted by an RTÉ article which Neil claims is untrue and generating fear.

Neil writes:

“Torture numbers, and they’ll confess to anything”
Gregg Easterbrook

The only people who like accountants are other accountants. But there is one attribute to accountants we can all take from; predictability.

Whether its good news or bad news, accountants like to be able to predict it. Otherwise, even if you are giving your investors sky high revenue and profit results, if you didn’t predict it then you’re not in control of your books.

The same can be said for viruses. The difference here is that unpredictability leads to uncertainty and leads to fear. Fear is a very powerful force.

On September 18, Dublin entered level 3+ on the government’ Covid-19 roadmap and on September 25, Donegal followed suit. Second waves, doom and gloom, shame and horror – we are back there again.

With Tony Holohan’s return last Sunday, it brought a further wave of anxiety as the Level 5 leak spread like wildfire (how many of you are receiving the WhatsApp messages already where someone’s Mammy’s Aunt is a teacher and heard level 5 kicks in on X date?). It’s now a media circus.

Yesterday, RTÉ ran a story with the headline, “Still ‘exponential growth’ in Dublin despite level 3 restrictions”. The first paragraph tells us how Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, Tomás Ryan has said the situation in Dublin has got worse and we have what looks like exponential growth.

This is completely untrue…

Rona rates in Ireland, September 18-October 8

…as you can see from this graph (above) which captures daily case rates since September 18, Dublin is not experiencing exponential growth. If we were experiencing exponential growth than the virus would need to be doubling its presence over a specific period of time.

Taking the daily rates from September 18 to October 8, cases are currently trending downward. That’s not to say we are out of the woods yet, we will need to see if that trend continues over the next 5 days.

However one thing is for sure, Dublin is not experiencing exponential growth and there is nothing in the data from the past 7 days that would suggest that.

So why did RTÉ run that article and give column space to an associate professor that was claiming a false truth? Why didn’t RTÉ fact check his claim?

It is fair to say beyond Dublin and Donegal the rest of Ireland is deteriorating rapidly. However, based on the data for Dublin and to a lesser extent Donegal, there is evidence to suggest level 3 restrictions are working, even if they are working at a slower rate than desired.

Yesterday, NPHET recommended no changes to current guidelines of level 3 nationwide and the government heeded their advice. Reading between the lines would suggest they are monitoring progress accordingly.

Without suggesting any return of complacency, it would do us all a favour if the government could acknowledge that level 3 is having a positive impact in Dublin and they are hoping for a similar trend nationwide.

Otherwise the lack of clarity will continue to fuel fear, madness and false claims made by people in positions who should know better.

Last night: Staying In Tonight?

Earlier: Death Without Dignity

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Ivor Cummins aka The Fat Emperor writes:

THE ULTIMATE LESSON from Sweden – short and sharp for sharing. It will help people to grasp the reality, in these strange, strange times.

Fight!

Meanwhile…

Oh.

This morning.

A report by the Special Dáil Committee on Covid-19 has recommended a public inquiry into each of the almost 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes.

Via RTÉ

The report notes how public health authorities “became overly focused on preparing acute hospitals for the ongoing pandemic in February and March” and that the State “failed to recognise the level of risk posed to those in nursing homes”.

Committee members also highlight the State’s “silo type approach…that did nothing to prevent the spread of the disease“.

…The committee recommends the public inquiry should examine the “large scale discharge of patients from acute hospitals to nursing homes at the beginning of March” as well as the response of the HSE, Department of Health, NPHET and Government to virus related difficulties in nursing homes.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has consistently defended NPHET’s decision not to recommend visitor restrictions on 6 March – however the committee recommends a public inquiry should examine this decision further.

Meanwhile,

TDs say there should be greater transparency around the data used by NPHET to recommend restrictions- and the data should be peer reviewed by an Independent expert panel.

Committee on Covid-19 recommends inquiry into nursing home deaths (Barry Lenihan, RTÉ)

Previously: Left To Die: Nursing Home Timeline

This afternoon.

Smithfield Square, Dublin 7.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu (above right) and Karl Mitchell (above left), from Dublin City Council, at the launch of a revamped outdoor plaza at Smithfield Square joined (at top) by Holistic Therapist Karen Ward (centre) and fellow business owners.

A partnership between Dublin City Council and local traders has enabled restaurants and cafés (and holistic therapy centres) to remain open during Level 3, safeguarding numerous jobs in the area.

In fairness.

Leon Farrell/ Photocall Ireland

A Madrid court has rejected government orders to lockdown the Spanish capital

This afternoon.

A court in Madrid, Spain has struck down a national government order that imposed a lockdown in the Spanish capital and its suburbs,.

The judge said the lockdown would ‘ravage’ the region’s economy.

Via El Pais:

The judges said that travel restrictions in and out of the cities and other limitations might be necessary to fight the spread of the virus, but that under the current legal form they were violating residents’ “fundamental rights.”

The decision means that police won’t be able to fine people for leaving their municipalities without a justification.

Madrid High Court strikes down Health Ministry’s coronavirus restrictions (El Pais)

Getty