Covid-19

[osarusan]

All overblown fearmongering, or is it really time to crack open skulls and feast on the goo inside?

Short of a complete lockdown of the entire country, similar to what Italy is finally doing, it seems pretty much impossible to stop the spread of this thing.

[D24Saint]

All overblown fearmongering, or is it really time to crack open skulls and feast on the goo inside?

Short of a complete lockdown of the entire country, similar to what Italy is finally doing, it seems pretty much impossible to stop the spread of this thing.

LOL Only thought of that quote earlier

[D24Saint]

https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/man-feeling-burnt-after-cork-17897645

[NeverFeltBetter]

All day, dealing with freaked students who want us to shut down. I've said the words "HSE guidelines" so many times they're starting to lose all meaning.

[dahamsta]

And you're right. However it could be argued that some of the advice coming from the top is questionable. For example, the national emergency group (can't remember the name off the top of my head) says that nursing homes shouldn't necessarily be closed, when the biggest at-risk group is the elderly, and they're arguing against undertakers suggesting that bodies should be sent for cremation immediately. Whatever about the latter (undertakers arguing against their bottom line?), my mother's nursing home is closed, and I'm glad it is.

[dahamsta]

Schools and colleges closed from tomorrow, i.e. 6pm today.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/12/coronavirus-live-updates-who-declares-pandemic-as-italy-introduces-stricter-measures?page=with:block-5e6a1ff08f087df56e4c72fb#block-5e6a1ff08f087df56e4c72fb

[CraftyToePoke]

Was on the phone to my mother last night, (I am UK based & due a visit home next week) both my parents would be in the underlying health issue / age range risk category which along with my work, I run a bar / music venue meeting lots of people, had my mother kinda hinting at postponing my visit which I had phoned up to suggest anyway. I get it, people are panicking but am I risking bringing this thing into my home in Ireland ? Nope. Mad times lads.

[peadar1987]

All gatherings over 500 people to be cancelled. So Premier division matches off, First division still on?!

[backstothewall]

This is my story. I'm not looking for sympathy or attention, but it will help my mental health to anonymously shout this into the void of the internet, so you guys are it.

On Feb 25th a fella in my work took a phone call from home. His son had been on a skiing trip in Northern Italy over half term, and had been sent home from school to self isolate. The following day the isolation was all knocked on the head as none of them had any symptoms and although they had gone through Milan Airport the resort they were in wasn't thought to be in an affected area at that time.

Thought little more of it until last friday when we were talking about it and he mentioned the son has developed a cough. The kid is 17 so he's as fit as a fiddle.

Then yesterday my daughter started coughing. It's dreadful now. We've explained the situation to her GP who hasn't sent her to be tested on the basis that she has no fever, and has a history of developing croup during the cold months. They have to draw a line somewhere and it seems reasonable to me that they aren't pulling the emergency .

If she has it i'm fairly sure that I've carried it home from work, and that it will go through the house.

She is under self-isolation now, although she doesn't know it. Our entire company is working from home.

But she was with my parents yesterday for over an hour. They are in their 60's and in really good health for people at that age. My dad has a few issues with sciatica which causes him problems like needing to uses the lift in Lansdowne rather than those god forsaken steps, but I'll shake hands right now on that being my biggest issue at his age.

I would suffer with some anxiety related issues from time to time, but this is different.

I'm legitimately scared this time.

[Real ale Madrid]

This is my story. I'm not looking for sympathy or attention, but it will help my mental health to anonymously shout this into the void of the internet, so you guys are it.

On Feb 25th a fella in my work took a phone call from home. His son had been on a skiing trip in Northern Italy over half term, and had been sent home from school to self isolate. The following day the isolation was all knocked on the head as none of them had any symptoms and although they had gone through Milan Airport the resort they were in wasn't thought to be in an affected area at that time.

Thought little more of it until last friday when we were talking about it and he mentioned the son has developed a cough. The kid is 17 so he's as fit as a fiddle.

Then yesterday my daughter started coughing. It's dreadful now. We've explained the situation to her GP who hasn't sent her to be tested on the basis that she has no fever, and has a history of developing croup during the cold months. They have to draw a line somewhere and it seems reasonable to me that they aren't pulling the emergency .

If she has it i'm fairly sure that I've carried it home from work, and that it will go through the house.

She is under self-isolation now, although she doesn't know it. Our entire company is working from home.

But she was with my parents yesterday for over an hour. They are in their 60's and in really good health for people at that age. My dad has a few issues with sciatica which causes him problems like needing to uses the lift in Lansdowne rather than those god forsaken steps, but I'll shake hands right now on that being my biggest issue at his age.

I would suffer with some anxiety related issues from time to time, but this is different.

I'm legitimately scared this time.

Its normal to feel anxious backstothewall. 100% normal. Everyone is to some degree - anyone that says otherwise is either a liar or a p---k.

Don't give yourself a hard time over being scared of something. The person sitting next to me at work has a child with severe immune deficiency as well as a host of other physical disabilities and she has been a wreck now for the past 3 weeks.

Stay safe, follow all the procedure's and get your parents to stay at home. Mind your head man and talk to someone if you need to.

[Eminence Grise]

It’s no harm at all, BTTW, and sometimes the best thing we can do, to shout into the void – and, genuinely, this is a worrying time. It’s only natural to feel concern about your parents, your daughter and the rest of your family, but temper that with the knowledge that they all, from your post, seem to enjoy generally good health which puts them less at risk of a bad infection, and much less at risk of something more acute. It may seem only a small seed of comfort amidst all the uncertainty, but nurture it.

It always comes across as a platitude to ‘follow the advice’ – wash hands, keep distance, avoid unnecessary contact or journeys – but there is comfort in the routine it creates as well as medical sense. For me, the worst thing is a profound sense of helplessness, but consciously doing what’s recommended makes me feel like I have some small degree of personal agency and I’m 'doing my bit', whatever that is.

That said, I’m resigned to the fact that I will probably get it. Mrs Grise is, too. She’s a nurse and certain they’ll cancel her outpatients' department except for patients who need ongoing treatment, and staff will be sent to the ED or wards. But we’re staying calm by talking it through and planning how to manage things if that day arrives.

So, talk often and long with those you love and trust. Working from home can keep us physically safer, but it can also remove the social networks that help with mental wellbeing, and allow negativity in. Keep us updated, and let us know all is well – that goes for anyone in the same boat.

[backstothewall]

talk to someone if you need to.

I just did 🙂

[eekers]

It's probable we have already seen Mick last game managing Ireland with this moved to next year before Euro 2021 with Kenny in charge.

[dahamsta]

am I risking bringing this thing into my home in Ireland ?

Yes, you are. It's quite virulent, two touches is all that's needed: carrier touches your hand or you touch a door handle that was touched by them recently; then you touch your mouth, nose or eyes, and there's a good chance now you're a carrier. Same happens in your home, your family has it.

My wife works in health, albeit social health, but she's always had an interest in biology, epidemiology, etc. We have a 7 year old that's always gotten terrible chest infections, lots of visits to SouthDoc, lots of antibiotics (unfortunately), even a couple of visits to the emergency room. We started doubling our shops a few weeks ago, have a handy (but not obscene) stock of the necessities, and we won't be moving out of the house until at least the end of the month. If the lads need to run around, they can do it in the back garden. It just isn't worth the risk. I don't want him getting it, and TBH I don't want it. It's a nasty bugger of a thing, you'll find it quite hard to breathe, which is an awful feeling, and that's on top of headaches, a fever and probably more besides.

Similarly, my mother is in a nursing home that closed their doors earlier in the week. I'm glad, but I wouldn't have visited anyway. Again, it's just not worth the risk.

This isn't the annual flu. Nor is it Spanish Flu. But it remains a pandemic.

[backstothewall]

. We started doubling our shops a few weeks ago, have a handy (but not obscene) stock of the necessities

I did something similar. Never even mentioned it to the wife but I gradually started bringing home this or that thing we probably didn't need yet. Then we just did a standard big shop the day before yesterday when it became clear that we were about to cross the Rubicon. We've a pretty well stocked warchest at this stage. Enough dry stuff to do for a while, and enough fresh to keep us going until the madness subsides in a week or two.

I don't intend to go very far for a while even after the daughter is out of isolation. The wife works with kids with learning disabilities who often have compromised immune systems so her place is likely to close. She's a qualified social worker so I'm sure they will find work for her though.

This collective feeling in the country must be a bit similar to how it felt for people in 1845 when reports of blight started to circulate. I doubt we're going to lose 2M people, and there is nowhere worth emigrating to, but I mean the reports of a weird disease popping up in other parts of the country and wondering when/if its going to show up in this parish and how bad it's actually going to be.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yes, you are. It's quite virulent, two touches is all that's needed: carrier touches your hand or you touch a door handle that was touched by them recently; then you touch your mouth, nose or eyes, and there's a good chance now you're a carrier. Same happens in your home, your family has it.

My question was rhetorical.

& yeah, it is a nasty thing.

[osarusan]

Day 2 of social distancing...my kids have become the most annoying people on the planet.

[nigel-harps1954]

Day 2 of social distancing...my kids have become the most annoying people on the planet.

The missus cleaning and disinfecting the house more than is necessary is getting on my wick. There are hospitals that aren't cleaned as thoroughly. I can deal with the kids shouting and roaring for a while longer.

[Closed Account 2]

You don't want to get it if you can avoid it, even if you are "healthy". I had a bacterial lung infection a few years ago - it felt like a terrible flu, I got over it but I ended up with calcified adrenal glands, which although relatively minor is something that cannot be fixed. A lot of lung infections (like TB and to a lesser extent pneumonia) can give you long term issues that only become apparent later. Corona could be like this as it aggressively attacks your lungs.

[osarusan]

Pubs to close, thankfully.

Those scenes from Temple Bar really do show we have a fair percentage of pig-ignorant 'epic bantz' w@nkers in our midst.

Cheltenham going ahead was an absolute farce, as were the European games with crowds.

[D24Saint]

Pubs to close, thankfully.

Those scenes from Temple Bar really do show we have a fair percentage of pig-ignorant 'epic bantz' w@nkers in our midst.

Cheltenham going ahead was an absolute farce, as were the European games with crowds.

The big boys in temple bar with deep pockets to survive this have force the government’s hand. The pubs could have had a hundred max or as many they could safely handle to keep some cash coming in. I’d say many a good pub particularly in rural areas will shut their doors tonight for the last time.

[dahamsta]

I just don't get the people putting out completely made-up bullshirt on WhatsApp and Facebook. What goes through these people's minds? Do they think it's funny? Do they think they're helping?

[backstothewall]

And with that the backstothewall family are in self isolation for 14 days. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-51903319)

I know this is necessary, but it's dreadful. Thankfully Mrs Backstothewall was in the supermarket when the advice changed so she's on the way back with a trolley load of stuff to keep us going.

[the 12 th man]

The big boys in temple bar with deep pockets to survive this have force the government’s hand. The pubs could have had a hundred max or as many they could safely handle to keep some cash coming in. I’d say many a good pub particularly in rural areas will shut their doors tonight for the last time.

Without a doubt the strong will survive and a lot of the small family house type pubs will probably not bother reopening,get ready for a serious cull in high St Bookmaker shops as the likes of PP and Boyles announce their "temporary" closure.

[pineapple stu]

You would imagine in due course, a lot of the smaller pubs will re-open, albeit under different ownership.

Life is going to have to go back to normal sometime - surely?

Is it true the number of people on trolleys has shrunk markedly - what's caused that? Were the figures inflated originally, or have people just been kicked out in preparation for this?

Heard there yesterday that a family on the estate have been in close contact the past few days with someone who was hospitalised yesterday. They're out of the country at the moment, but when they come back I guess I have to assume that it's now on the estate. Which is a bit close for comfort! It's all moving remarkably quickly.

[D24Saint]

You would imagine in due course, a lot of the smaller pubs will re-open, albeit under different ownership.

Life is going to have to go back to normal sometime - surely?

Is it true the number of people on trolleys has shrunk markedly - what's caused that? Were the figures inflated originally, or have people just been kicked out in preparation for this?

Heard there yesterday that a family on the estate have been in close contact the past few days with someone who was hospitalised yesterday. They're out of the country at the moment, but when they come back I guess I have to assume that it's now on the estate. Which is a bit close for comfort! It's all moving remarkably quickly.

All the language is referring to this as a war , after the last war they had the marshal plan to rebuild Europe the EU will have to come up with a modern equivalent. The only thing we can surmise is that the longer this goes on the higher the impact it will have on the world economy therefore on peoples everyday lives.

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, that struck me as well. Though in this case - China has surely taken a good hit the past couple of months, albeit that it's mainly affected just one province. But China needs to sell stuff to Europe and the US to be strong. And the US policy seems to be to try ignore it and it'll go away - look at Trump standing with 15 other people nearby as he said that all gatherings of more than 10 people should be restricted. ****ing idiot.

So if China and the US have their own problems to deal with, who'll bail out Europe?

I suppose one reassurance is that at least Ireland can feed itself, which for example Britain can't do. But that's the sort of factor which triggers wars too.

[The Fly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpoJGYlW54

[backstothewall]

I've decided to keep a diary of how this goes. There's little else to do and it's lashing out in Co. Antrim this afternoon. This seems as good a place as any to record it. It's pretty dull stuff, but a lot of you will likely have this ahead of you at some point.

Isolation Diary. Day 1.

Well here we are. First full day of isolation. Paddys Day.

The advice changing yesterday afternoon means we are here for 2 weeks. Mrs Backtothewall was in the supermarket when the news came, so we're well stocked up. Our freezer has been playing up recently. I think I've fixed the problem (ice had formed in the pipe which it drains through when defrosting, so i've cleared that) but even so I grabbed the spare from my dads lockup last night and have it sitting ready to go in the garage.

Plans for how to get through this have been made. We've got a list of activities and mean plans done. I got out this morning and gave the grass its first cut of the year, but it's raining now so that's likely the end of being outdoors for the day.The kids are loving the screen time they are getting. I'm not sure how we'll get away from that yet.

The first surprise of the day was when the parents in law pulled up out of the blue. They wanted to come in but we simply couldn't allow them. MIL was seriously ill last year, while the FIL is on immuno-suppressants. It inevitably ended in tears all round, but we simply wouldn't forgive ourselves if they picked this up,

The big thing so far is the psychological impact. The not being able to leave is fine, it's the knowing that you aren't able to leave that's the tough bit. The day really does become broken up by meals. I've been working from home since last Thursday and limiting contact when i could, so for me it was more of a gradual adjustment than Mrs Backstothewall. I've found my body clock shifting. I'm waking up earler and going to bed earlier. I'm also eating better.

This afternoon I've discovered another friend has to isolate. She's a secondary school teacher and has developed symptoms consistent with CV19.

This sucks

[Eminence Grise]

I've often been critical of his style over substance approach, but I thought Varadkar's address on RTE tonight was top notch. Calm, clear and reassuring while not downplaying how bad things will get. He addressed concerns, talked to the right audiences, sounded like he was in control...

A couple of people said to me today how noticeable it was that SF had disappeared over the last week - it's almost as if they don't want to get into government right now.

[D24Saint]

I've often been critical of his style over substance approach, but I thought Varadkar's address on RTE tonight was top notch. Calm, clear and reassuring while not downplaying how bad things will get. He addressed concerns, talked to the right audiences, sounded like he was in control...

A couple of people said to me today how noticeable it was that SF had disappeared over the last week - it's almost as if they don't want to get into government right now.

I think the time for party political wrangling to be set aside has come for the foreseeable future anyway. As for the address itself I thought he did well , calm to the point and stuck to the facts. If he announced mortgage relief it would have been a job well done.

[The Fly]

I've often been critical of his style over substance approach, but I thought Varadkar's address on RTE tonight was top notch. Calm, clear and reassuring while not downplaying how bad things will get. He addressed concerns, talked to the right audiences, sounded like he was in control...


I agree.

It's obviously not a time for nationalist sentiment or anything, but at moments like this it really angers me that Irish people in the North are tied to London.

[osarusan]

I think the time for party political wrangling to be set aside has come for the foreseeable future anyway.
Absolutely, no points to be gained by criticising at this stage. Both FF and SF reps on Prime Time were keen to say how good a speech it was before angling in their own points.

Decent speech I thought, really trying to set the tone that this is a war, and the very fabric of society will change in the face of this challenge.

[osarusan]

Both myself and my wife are on forced leave from the UL campus, so both home with the kids and teaching online where possible, although in my case, the international students are just getting the hell out of dodge for the most part.

Email from the UL president the other day about how UL will likely serve as a field hospital in the coming weeks.

This is coming, and after tonight's address, maybe people are getting a sense of the scale of it.

[dahamsta]

Not a huge difference for my family so far, myself and the wife work from home quite a lot of the time anyway, but teaching the kids and having to mind them 24/7 is going to get tedious very fast.

Ad revenue from Foot.ie was never a whole lot, enough to cover a hosting package for the site (which I do for "free" anyway). Zilch the last few days. Everyone browses from work.

I don't really understand the complaints and bitching though. It's only been a few days for fecks sake. Sure, it's not great, but we just need to get on with it. We'll have plenty of time to get depressed about this, it's a bit early yet.

My biggest concern isn't getting sick, because odds are I'd get through it despite how awful it is. My biggest concern is the people that will be out there now working out how best to take advantage of this. And I'm not talking about your common-or-garden crook, I'm talking about the ones that already have plenty of money and power.

[The Fly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKVUarhtvE

[backstothewall]

Isolation Diary: Day 2.

The wife and I were supposed to be getting a night away to Portrush last night. Needless to say that's a trip we're never getting.

Today started with an unexpected surprise. Mrs Backstothewall was bathing our son this morning, and heard a loud noise behind her. A starling has somehow got into the roofspace, and from there into the hot press cupboard in the bathroom.

I had to clear the entire bathroom, open the window, then open the hotpress door before diving out the bathroom door closing it behind me. The upshot was that the bird escaped, the entire bathroom was cleared out by 9am, I had a day's annual leave booked and nothing to do, so it made a lot of sense to put a coat of paint on the place. At this rate the house will be sitting like we're getting ready to put the for sale sign up by the time this ends.

Mrs Backstothewall had a hard day. Her father has been told he is in line to be redeployed as a hospital porter. He is on immuno-suppressants, but is refusing to get in contact with occupational health to advise that his would be at increased risk of infection. She was a bit weepy at times and I'd be surprised if she wasn't. The man is taking a crazy risk with his own health.

So far the consensus in the WhatsApp group I'm in with the bunch of friends I've been getting ****ed with for the last 15+ years is that if our parents were actively trying to catch this thing they wouldn't have to adapt their behaviour an awful lot. The youngsters partying on Paddys Day story never materialised. They seems to have got the message. But the 55-70 age group are easily the most reckless as far as i can tell in this crisis. My own mother decided to head out to get her hair cut today. I've done everything i can to stop her but I'm trapped here and she simply won't be talked to.

But the bathroom is painted.

[passinginterest]

Can very much relate re the over 60 age group. Wife is at her wits end with parents insisting on traipsing around the shops and in seeing her sister and the grand kids. Wife and her brother and his kids are not seeing them, but defeats the purpose if they keep wandering about as normal and seeing the others. Her Dad would be very high risk too, major heart issues since his 30's. No talking to them, even though they were massively paranoid for weeks about it and keep giving out that I'm still getting the bus to work (even though the only person I see is my wife). It's crazy stuff. On the plus side, commute to work is a pleasure, everyone has at least a seat to themselves on the bus and I have my own office in work so hardly see a soul. As someone who always fancied life as a hermit, it's great.

[backstothewall]

Isolation Diary: Day 3.

Today was a good day. No avian invasions, and I was back to work which gave me something to be getting on with. Mrs Backstothewall was able to get in touch with someone from occupational health in her work who advises that our isolation period actually began when we started isolating our daughter. As long as nobody else starts developing symptoms and the country isn't locked down we will be out of here this day next week.

I've managed to organise Mothers Day presents online. My mum and dad are struggling with not being able to see their grandkids. I think Sunday will be a hard day for my mum so hopefully the few bits and pieces i've been able to organise will help with that.

One of the upsides to the isolation is that we've been able to relax the handwashing regime. If any of us have picked this up we're all going to get it no matter what we do, so there's little point continuing with it while we're all cooped up together.

I'm doing a bit of work this evening with a view to claiming the time back during daylight hours tomorrow. There's a wall in the garden that is next in line for a coat of paint so I'd like to do that rather than working.

We're going to go out for a drive on Saturday. We'll have to stay in the car unless we can find somewhere completely deserted to get out. But we'll take a picnic and we all just need the change in scenery.

The eldest daughters school are starting to get things in place. There will be some proper work for her to do next week hopefully.

I'm not going to lie. This is tough.

[osarusan]

Further restrictions to come into effect from tonight.


What do people think - are we coping well enough so far, or not doing enough?

Govt talks about following the S. Korea modeal but one thing we are way behind on is testing - they tested like crazy right from the start, and identified carriers much much earlier than we have.

Hopefully these further restrictions will firstly, restrict the impact of the 'unaware positive' carriers of the virus, and secondly, while movements are restricted, more carriers will become aware they have it and self-isolate.

[Mr A]

This is very encouraging: https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1242486845797044224

That's not to say it's not going to get very grim, but we are responding well to date. Also I saw information yesterday that our testing rate per head of population is up there with Germany and South Korea. We may not be perfect, but we are doing well.

[backstothewall]

Isolation Diary: Day God Knows.

Jaysus but this is grim.

We never got for a drive on Saturday. The eldest kid wasn't fussed and it hardly seemed worth dragging her out against her will. The wall in the back garden did get painted though. Move on to the downstairs toilet now. There is little else to do.

We get out on Thursday and it can't come soon enough, but it seems like we'll be emerging back into a very different world. You get cut off form the world very quickly when you're isolating. It's easy to keep up with the big events in Dublin and London, but you have no idea what's going on at the end of the road.

I hear there's a shortage of booze though. Joy.

[pineapple stu]

Further restrictions to come into effect from tonight.


What do people think - are we coping well enough so far, or not doing enough?

Govt talks about following the S. Korea modeal but one thing we are way behind on is testing - they tested like crazy right from the start, and identified carriers much much earlier than we have.

Hopefully these further restrictions will firstly, restrict the impact of the 'unaware positive' carriers of the virus, and secondly, while movements are restricted, more carriers will become aware they have it and self-isolate.

I think we're doing ok, but the question remains as to what the end point of all this is.

We can't keep pootering along at 2/300 cases a day - it'll take decades to get everyone infected.

If we reduce it to nil here, it'll just come back because (a) how can you be sure you've caught even the asymptomatic carriers and (b) what happens to foreign travel?

Are we stuck in isolation until a vaccine is found?

And what happens to wet markets and bush meat when all this is over? Cos if China keeps its wet markets or if African bush meat continues to be ate, then something similar is going to appear before the end of the decade and we'll be back at square one.

[CraftyToePoke]

Isolation Diary: Day God Knows.

Jaysus but this is grim.

We never got for a drive on Saturday. The eldest kid wasn't fussed and it hardly seemed worth dragging her out against her will. The wall in the back garden did get painted though. Move on to the downstairs toilet now. There is little else to do.

We get out on Thursday and it can't come soon enough, but it seems like we'll be emerging back into a very different world. You get cut off form the world very quickly when you're isolating. It's easy to keep up with the big events in Dublin and London, but you have no idea what's going on at the end of the road.

I hear there's a shortage of booze though. Joy.

I'm just glad to see you post again to be honest, iffy time to drop off radar there ...

[tricky_colour]

I've often been critical of his style over substance approach, but I thought Varadkar's address on RTE tonight was top notch. Calm, clear and reassuring while not downplaying how bad things will get. He addressed concerns, talked to the right audiences, sounded like he was in control...

A couple of people said to me today how noticeable it was that SF had disappeared over the last week - it's almost as if they don't want to get into government right now.

I can understand it is bit of a poisoned chalice to take on, keep you head down and let the others take the blame, then with hindsight explain how you would have down better.

[tricky_colour]

Isolation Diary: Day God Knows.

Jaysus but this is grim.

We never got for a drive on Saturday. The eldest kid wasn't fussed and it hardly seemed worth dragging her out against her will. The wall in the back garden did get painted though. Move on to the downstairs toilet now. There is little else to do.

We get out on Thursday and it can't come soon enough, but it seems like we'll be emerging back into a very different world. You get cut off form the world very quickly when you're isolating. It's easy to keep up with the big events in Dublin and London, but you have no idea what's going on at the end of the road.

I hear there's a shortage of booze though. Joy.

I think like in here in the UK they are only really testing folk who are already reporting to be pretty ill, it is a bit
late then of course as far as the spread of the virus goes, they have likely already done their spreading.

The testing needs to be on those who appear healthy as you are gonna avoid anyone coughing anyway.

However that would mean daily testing of everyone, which whilst impractical would be a good solution.

[backstothewall]

I'm just glad to see you post again to be honest, iffy time to drop off radar there ...

Ahh. Sorry about that. Can see how that might have had people wondering.

All up and about again this morning with no issues.

[tetsujin1979]

Only seen this wikipedia article this afternoon: 2020 Corona virus pandemic in Ireland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_the_Republic_of_Irela nd)
There's one for every country affected, e.g. Italy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Italy), Spain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Spain), United Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom), etc

[Mr A]

Just found the info I referred to above on testing levels in Ireland: https://twitter.com/Care2much18/status/1242091023729340421

[dahamsta]

What do people think - are we coping well enough so far, or not doing enough?

All good here so far, and agree with the ramped-up procedures. My only concern is that the idiots will make it worse for the rest of us, resulting in closures of woods and beaches, or silly queueing procedures being needed at supermarkets because people simply can't keep out of other people's space.

Went to a woods the other day and they were all parked on top of each other, despite there being other entrances. The woods itself was grand, and everyone passed at opposite side of the tracks as if we'd always been doing it. But similarly, in Lidl yesterday, they were all parked on top of each other, despite vast empty tracts of spaces. I will never understand the Irish obsession with parking close to the door, even if the sun is cracking the stones.

Tweeted at Leo earlier :) asking him to suspend NCT testing, like the Brits, crazy that they expect people to visit twice when we're supposed to be distancing, just because they didn't set up procedures for handling problems like this.


Are we stuck in isolation until a vaccine is found?

When the numbers start going down, you crack the door and allow people out a bit more, some categories back to work, etc, and you watch the numbers. If they go up, you close it a little again. Gradually, it should result in most of us getting back to normal, but of course the at-risk categories will have it tough. It's a slow process, but we'll get there.