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EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #IT’S A NO: Scotland has rejected independence. We’re awaiting the final result following counting overnight, but it’s looking like a 55 to 45 per cent margin. Turnout is being estimated at a massive 86 per cent.
2. #CONCEDING: First Minister Alex Salmond has said he expects all of Scotland to accept the result, but that people will now expect Westminster to come good on its promises.
3. #GUN ATTACK: There’s been a mass shooting in the US state of Florida. A 51-year-old man killed six of his grandchildren and his adult daughter before turning the gun on himself.
4. #PREFAB SPROUT?: Sinn Féin councillors in Dublin have been advised by their strategists to back a contentious plan to house people in prefabs, the Irish Independent reports. It could be a ‘temporary solution’ the councillors were told.
5. #REBELS: US President Barack Obama has welcomed the backing of Congress for his $500 million plan to aid moderate rebel groups in Syria, the BBC reports.
6. #UNLUCKY: RTÉ journalist Philip Boucher Hayes had his recording equipment stolen, after he was mugged while covering the Scottish referendum. He had to pay £200 to get it back.
7. #BACK IN THE PARK The position of US ambassador to Ireland has been filled, having been vacant for 22 months. The Senate last night approved the appointment of President Obama’s nominee for the role, Kevin O’Malley.
8. #LOCKDOWN: A nationwide lockdown is under way in Sierra Leone to try and halt the spread of Ebola, CNN reports. No-one is being allowed to leave their home for the next three days.
9. #THE OUTLOOK: So how’s the weather looking? A foggy morning, with some hazy sunshine — but then heavy, thundery downpours later. Top temperatures of 21 degrees.
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Hopefully people will listen to the advice and stay away. Unless people are going to do the 14 day quarantine they should not be travelling.
@Ci: Well said. A vaccine will be rolled out in the new year. Let’s not have anymore unnecessary deaths. It’s one Christmas. Next year we will appreciate spending time with our loved ones all the more.
@John Dublin: I haven’t been back in Ireland for almost 2 years. Not a chance I’d have travelled this year and put my family at risk. Roll on the vaccines
@Ci: people need to come home to family, they haven’t seen them all year, and their mental health and maybe their life could depend on it!
@Freda Hanratty: thumbs down. People don’t need to come home for 1 xmas. If the truly loved their family they would stay away
@Ci: get a test before you leave. If it’s clear come home.
@Ci: hopefully the Italian rugby supporters didn’t come here when we failed to cancel their flights and let them get a refund- advice is a waste of time- if we don’t insist on a 3 day Covid clearance test for all inbound travelers we will be back where we started- simple but our politicians don’t have the backbone to do it. They have no problem locking down Irish residents and closing all our small businesses though!
@Freda Hanratty: I haven’t been back in almost 2 years. I wouldn’t risk anybody else’s life
@Freda Hanratty: no they don’t- they can come in June when we have a vaccine
@Joe: that’s exactly what NOT to do. No wonder cases are rising with flippant attitudes like that. 14 day quarantine is needed for anyone travelling
@John Dublin: I don’t have to travel in from abroad, but given the age of my parents, they may not be around next year and I’m sure that’s true of many others. I will be crossing county borders to see them regardless of restrictions. They last thing they want to do is spend Christmas alone
@Ci: Your having a laugh, 14 day quarantining, don’t think so.
@Macca Attack: Yes they do and family need to see them. That is an appalling remark to make. Nobody is going to.put any member of their at risk. If they are fit and healthy they are entitled to travel. If you don’t want family to visit thats your perogative don’t try and guilt trip others. Its insulting.
@John Lyons: Thankfully its not up to you who’s family comes home to visit.
@Macca Attack: obviously you are not separated from your family
@Freda Hanratty: so that they can infect their families and the wider community? What good is mental health if you are dead or you cause the death of someone else? You don’t need to be selfish and reckless to have good mental health.
@Franny Ando: you’re right – if it was up to me there’d be nobody coming home from red countries as long as we have enforced lockdown here
I think these guys are thriving on the power and control that they think they have.
@Darren Lambe: Amen to that!!!
@Darren Lambe: no interrogation from the journalists at the press conference of this ridiculous number
@Anna Anna: yeah I could win the lotto this week.
@Darren Lambe: wait….are you saying these experts run the country? No way!!
@Anna Anna: Of course not. It seems Claire Byrne and her ilk are only at their happiest when their production team are wheeling in the Sam McConkeys and Tomas Ryan’s of this world.
@Robert Clifford: don’t forget the almost ubiquitous Gab Scally!
@Anna Anna: interrogation? You are equating journalists with the Gestapo.
Choosing to stay in Canada this Christmas, as difficult as it will be this year…Not risking it! Have my 94 year old grandad father living at home with my family and haven’t been home in a year and a half.
It’s heartbreaking but my family’s health is way more of a priority right now. Most of friends here in Vancouver choosing to stay put for similar reasons, with the odd one or two going home, regardless of what Leo says.
These figures seem to be pulled out of the fresh air…
@Sabrina Coogan O’Hara: fair play to you for taking a difficult decision
@Sabrina Coogan O’Hara: agreed I was meant to be home couple times this yr was hoping for Christmas but it became pretty apparent it wasn’t a great idea a month ago. Grandmother is 91 my family have been unbelievably mindful of her. I don’t see the point in coming home to quarantine in Canada again putting my partner out to her parents for the sake of one Christmas spending 3-4 weeks in quarantine. The world will look different next yr. I see the efforts and sacrifices made at home. Thousands of people coming home at one time feels too big of a risk and I’m very much hope I’m wrong on that feeling. Personally agree with the govt on this one for once
@Sabrina Coogan O’Hara: Well done Sabrina Canada a perfect example when people came home for Canada’s on 12th October for thanks giving ….figures rocketed back up …we all hope you get home next year
@Niall Carry: @Niall Carry: I agree! We planned a trip home in May, had to cancel and then were thinking by Christmas we would be fine to travel, but unfortunately we just have to wait this one out! I would never put my family or anyone else at risk by travelling home for the sake of a couple of weeks.. I don’t think I could fully enjoy it and with quarantine, how are we supposed to spend quality time with our loved ones! Lots of people in the same boat here. Christmas won’t be the same anywhere in the world this year but let’s hope next one is a lot different
@Sabrina Coogan O’Hara: yeah I’m putting my own wants and needs to the side to help the country. Even if this ends up being all over the top reaction I’m okay with it I’d rather have tried than experience what the potential disaster can be for health services if you don’t try which we Havnt experienced yet. Look at Naples in Italy last week hospitals full patients treated in cars outside. Goes to show how fragile and under funded western health services are overall.
And of course funerals are to blame for the increasing numbers now!!! Tony start. Ring real and honest and admit it’s the schools! Blaming the dead and their grieving loved ones is sickening.
@Jonnie Marre: Contact tracing proves this. Unless you can prove otherwise?
@Jonnie Marre: Blaming the dead??
@sean o’dhubhghaill: follow the news! As I said he is blaming funerals for the rise in numbers.
@John Dublin: you’d believe anything obviously!
@Jonnie Marre: The irony of your comment.
@Jonnie Marre: Where you’re evidence? You do realise cases were rising before the schools opened in September
@Jonnie Marre: will u cop on, the Funeral in the Church is not the problem it’s the numbers meeting up afterwards it’s people getting together in large groups whether thats after a funeral or any gathering & there must be evidence of people contacting Covid got through testing that has given this information
Scaremongering at its finest. Where do they think these ppl are travelling from? Most will likely be travelling home from areas with lower covid rates than we have here. I don’t have a problem with that. What happened to the traffic light system?
@Ian Byrne: take a look at most of Europe the States & Canada all in Red zones & you think it’s ok to Come here ,Maybe u want us to be back in Lockdown in January
@Ian Byrne: the UK and US have been the main destination for Irish emigrants since the Irish started to emigrate.
@Ian Byrne: most are coming from the UK – a paragon of Covid-free virtue
@Sheila McNulty: Australia very low. Plenty of Irish there and in places like Germany. Some states in USA and Canada e.g. California compare quite well. Absolutely massive countries I don’t think should be blanket restrictions imposed for. I take below point on UK but even that is subjective. Personally, I don’t think aiming for >50 per 100,00 is necessary for a virus with such low mortality rates but that is just my opinion. Also I did ask what happenend to the traffic light system.
Nphet said tourists in summer had little impact on figures, but now doomsday lol.
@aidanshaw: tourists did stay in family homes
@aidanshaw: maybe because tourist
numbers were down 95 percent?
@aidanshaw: Perhaps that’s because there were very few tourists coming to Ireland during the summer.
@John Dublin: 300,00 through dublin alone in the month of June… You cant compare a whole season like summer numbers being down compared to a single week or two that people will enter ireland for xmass,.
@John Lyons: 300,000 passed just through dublin airport alone in june. How manny are nphet expecting.
Do what you think is right. If you feel its safe to travel and visit family then do so under caution. Happy Christmas everyone
Holohan scaremongering again
If they want to stop people coming home for Christmas, they should probably release the rte guide Christmas special on line, people might never ever return again!
This comments section will be lovely…
@The Shape: note the phrase ‘could’ in the headline. A lot of things ‘may’ or ‘could’ happen
@Mike Litterus: it’s a model not a prediction. Therefore “could” is the correct word to use
@The Shape: Does the mean you should have said “this comment section could be lovely….”?
@Mike Litterus: it’s not a case of could – only someone with half a functioning brain would think that if we let thousands of UK residents in here at Christmas that it will not cause a Covid explosion . It is not a probability but a certainty if we don’t do something to stop it
@Sarah Cullen: I just don’t know anymore.
@The Shape: Given we’ve only had about 68k cases in total so far, it’s pretty safe to say that a few thousand of people traveling home isn’t going to lead to “hundreds of thousands” of cases in January
All year any amount of foreign visitors are welcome and not a cause for concern, now returning Irish are a problem! Something really wrong here!!
In the 14 days to 13 of November there were 16 travel related cases from 6442 cases. That’s 0.25% of cases related to travel.
Don’t mind the nonsense from these absolute Charlatans.
@Christy: coz no one was phukking travelling ffs!
@David Clements: Nearly 263,000 passed through Dublin airport in October.
@Christy: it was over 2 million the previous October. And 2 million in December. So yeah at just around 10% I think “no one travelled” is fairly accurate
@Christy: Nextstrain collects and publishes information on virus cases RNA – about 60% of the current outbreak (as reported a few weeks ago) can be traced to 5 individuals who important a specific strain found initially among farm workers in Spain
This variant 20A.EU1 was first detected here on the 23rd July in Ireland and all subsequent cases of the variant has been found to be related to one of five cases imported directly or indirectly from Spain.
The figure I have seen is 60% of cases in Ireland – if correct that is 60% of the 40,000 cases since the 23rd July – i.e 24,000 cases that can be related to 5 imported cases. .
.I have no idea of passenger volumes directly or indirectly from Spain but 5 imported cases leading to 24,000 cases here. Imagine if we had open policy and quarantine free travel from Spain and 25 people instead of 5 people had imported this strain/variant from Spain and it had the same spread rate then that would be over 100,000 cases from 25 travellers – so please try and do some mathematics and understand the spread risk.
We already know of a case where someone came home to Sligo and infected 14 members of the family. We know this because the person allowed this information to be disclosed – but it is another example of how one travel related case can spread. In fact all the 68,000 Irish cases are travel related either directly or indirectly.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.25.20219063v1.full.pdf
This is not an Irish phenomenon as the above article covers the various parts opf the UK and many other European countries. This strain may be responsible for much of the surge in Europe, just as a previous European strain is responsible for the cases in the USA and the rest of the world, replacing the initial virus strain from China.
When one makes predictions they are usually made on the basis of “no action” but as we take action the initial predictions do not come true. Many seem to think that the initial prediction was invalid, but actually it cannot even be tested.
I am not an expert in modelling but I can read and understand figures. I do appreciate that travel, at it stands is not a huge issue, it is what would happen if we had 100,000 come home to Ireland for Christmas and not isolate but rather socialise with family and friends … what would happen then?
@Christy: I don’t believe that figure but even if true it would be because hardly anyone is traveling here! Do you seriously think that if thousands come here at Christmas that it won’t cause a massive spike? I’m happy to let it rip but I don’t want this lockdown BS again in the new year
@David Clements: 263,000 is a long way from no one you need to get your abacus looked at I think the conosticator might be buggered.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: finally someone who makes sense! Well said
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Now imagine if those 5 cases had to take a compulsory test prior to or on arrival in Ireland, what would the transmission rate be then? A lot lower I’d bet!
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Utter scare mongering again. Yes absolutely 100% of C19 is travel related, be it from Spain to Dublin, Dublin to Clare, Ennis to Shannon, even within a household.
You say only 5 cases of this strain we’re imported, we failed utterly to to test and trace these at our airports, that’s because of absolute failure by our public health and government to implement testing at our ports.
Aviation is begging for rapid testing on all arrivals and departures from red countries(pretty much everywhere right now), NPHET and Government insist on a PCR as the only viable test yet it is probably the most impractical given the delay in results and the prohibitive cost.
Oh and then there’s the elephant in the room of Northern Ireland been wide open.
@Christy: read your own words “passed” through.
Why does the Irish government not listen to talk experts like Dr Jack Lambert?
@mar: because NPHET have a tonne of other experts who think differently. Everyone has a view, even GPs in Cavan, but you have to go with expert opinion.
@GrumpyAulFella: experts? Lambert is the expert, not Glynn or Tony in fairness.
@mar: jack lambert is a bit of a maverick and comes up with possible alternatives but when he is pushed he agrees with NPHET
@mar: Dr. Lambert said we should shield the vulnerable, which is a fine idea, but he offered no advice how that could be effectively achieved.
The UK toyed with the idea of cocooning last March, they delayed their lockdown and instead announced that people younger <70 would live life as normal while the elderly cocooned.
Then Italy happened, they saw hospitals collapse and younger patients die for want of medical care. Same happened in Peru (30% of deaths were under 60 years). Video of hospitals running out of Oxygen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8tYdiARLI4
The reason cocooning alone does not work is due to many elderly living in multi-generational homes and/or elderly needing help with daily living from friends and family and social contact. Also, some grandparents help with childcare. Many elderly cannot or do not isolate effectively. This was especially true in the UK in the poor areas of the UK, where elderly more often lived with grandchildren and their own adult children.
However, instead of only cocooning we did both, cocooning and lockdowns when nessisary, this reduced total infections by about 90% or more (so only 2% of people caught the virus so far, which is really low). That saved many more lives than cocooning alone could have achieved.
https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/newsfeatures/scopi-covid-19-antibody-research-study-results/
@mar: How do you protect 30% of the population? Lockdowns have worked in Aus and NZ. But you must quarantine all new arrivals for 14 days, to make it worthwhile.
Meanwhile visitors and tourists continue to arrive into the country unchecked and can travel anywhere they like…yet they are not advised to stay away…
@Martin Smith:
Wrong. This also includes Non Irish who want to spend Christmas in Ireland with their families. Ireland is closed only essential shops are allowed to stay open.
Why not close the airports/ports then?
@my name: probably because they’d all drive South from Belfast Airport and across our open border – which we cannot close – at which point 0 passenger locator forms will be completed. Good luck with track and trace then… Keeping the airports/ports open is the only way we can have any sort of tracking in place. What we need is better isolation enforcement and follow up contact.
@my name: exactly- if we have to put up with 2 lockdowns, then non-residents can stay away for 6 months
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: no they wouldn’t! A certain proportion of selfish cret1n5 would but most reasonable people wouldn’t bother
I’m sick and tired of all this scaremongering.
Do they realise crossing the road is a risk
@Margaret Kane: not as bad as trampolines
These types of numbers are always ALWAYS based on a zero restrictions scenario. If tens of thousands came home for Christmas AS NORMAL and met up with dozens of people AS NORMAL then yes we could easily see how perhaps say 1,000 imported cases could exponentially rocket to hundreds of thousands if the R rate was 3 or 4 and we were at level 1 or 2. But we know, that of the 4 or 5 variables in that equation, none will actually happen to the extreme required for this covidpocalypse to actually happen. Glynn is doing his job. A joyless thankless cold and emotionless analysis of the most joyful, warm and emotional time of the year. And doing it in full gaze of 5 million experts. Not easy
What about the thousands that have been coming through our airports since last march. We were told all year that travel accounted for a very small percentage of covid cases. Over 300,000 people came through Dublin airport in June. Now were being told a few thousand people travelling home for Christmas will cause hundreds of thousands of cases these lads have lost the run of themselves sombody needs to take the sherry off them and tell them to stick to facts people are getting sick of the scaremongering.
@Seanboy: try getting some facts! What is ‘a few’ thousand because we had almost 800,000 in December last year. Even if quarter come that’s 200,000 which is more than a few!
@John Lyons: NEPHET are cherry picking facts to suit the line of the day we all know that travel is a major factor in the spread of and reintroduction of the virus to countries, yet they only advise you don’t travel. Why won’t they make the tough decision and close the airports and ports to all non essential travel.
The government of our country is the only body who has within its remit to ban travel in its entirety for a set amount of time. We are an island who became infected by travel and this infection spread in the community through gatherings of one type or another. There has been no lessons taken on board by those in charge since the first lockdown. It is still only advise not to travel with a farcical testing system at airports which are not mandatory and costly. Close our borders like our society. Do not expect people to heed advice or to take expensive non compulsory tests at the airports
@Sinead O Donnell: how people can still make this argument after 9 months is staggering. We share a border with another country who cant agree on what day it is let alone decide to close their border.
@Dave Harris: whatever about what day it is, one side clearly believes the year is 1690 and the other 1916. Neither shower fit to address the challenges of 2020… and we’re fooked as a result. Add in BoJo to the equation along with our own home grown incompetence and we’re lucky not to be in the same boat as Italy, France, Sweden and Belgium…
@Sinead O Donnell: are you going to man the borders of South Armagh?
I’m staying where I am , first time I won’t see my grandchildren in almost 15 years.
Living over in the States love to come home but that’s not realistic hopefully next year.
Stay away please…
Disgraceful censorship by the Journal on this, shame on you.
Hundreds of thousands
@Noelle Robb: Yip, keeping the fear mongering going!!! Millions and billions!!!!
@Noelle Robb: read again: the man said “hundreds OR thousands”…..
@greg merrin: hundreds OR thousands…
roads jammed up, thousands commuting to schools every day . . What is the point in stopping people coming home for Christmas?
Fear mongering article. Journalism is dead eh
You can set a barrier or rule or some sort of restrictions like negative tests from authorized organization some thing like that
But not to come home this Christmas to see their families? So what reason keep airports/ferry open? Tourism?
This is just ridiculous!!! Ffs
Fun and games in jan 2021
@John Smith: there are never fun and games in January. A perfect month for a lockdown
The truth is , it’s already happening ! Flights to/from Belfast and Britian are loaded up with folk visiting the Republic at this very moment and more come daily. This is a fact. If we can’t control that now we have no chance of controlling anybody returning closer to Christmas in higher volumes.
Absolutely right. Do not travel. I live in Canada. Province of Ontario is at about 1,500 new cases per day and a news report came out earlier this week that if they don’t impose harsher restrictions they’ll be up to 6,500 daily cases by mid-Dec. It would be CRAZY for Irish expats here to be getting on planes. Literally could ruin the country.
It’s sad. It’s the first time in my life I won’t be able to spend Christmas with my family, but it’s a necessary sacrifice right now.
What shocks me is the amount of other Irish expats bitching about the govt’s recommendation on groups like Irish and New in Toronto. “How dare they, and they let people fly in all year?”
“Immigrant workers were allowed in”, etc etc.
No logic or context being applied.
Anyone coming home should have to do two weeks quarantine in a hotel at their own expense. Happens all over the world.
We’ve been told since March that the airports are open for Irish citizens to return home and allowing tourists in for anywhere and everywhere. Now all of a sudden Tony and Leo have decided that our fellow citizens are a COVID19 risk if they travel home for Xmas but seasonal workers are ok to come in ? Whats wrong with this picture ?
Return of thousands of responsable Irish people could result in happier ganny’s and granda’s, better moral,less suicides and not many more cases.
Return of thousands of Irish responsable people could result in happier granda’s and grandma’s less suicides and a big boost to peoples moral a few more may get sick but if where careful not too many.
A lot i tried say about this but journel keeps stopping me, returning thousands of Irish people will make a lot of happy granda’s and grandma’s better moral for people and not many more sick due to responsable people.
have your say