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LAST UPDATE | 9 Jan
A STATUS ORANGE low temperature and ice warning has come into effect for 15 counties this evening ahead of more “extremely cold” weather.
The weather warning for Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Tipperary and Westmeath will remain in place until 8am tomorrow morning.
A Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning is also in place for the whole country until 12pm tomorrow.
Met Éireann is warning that it will be extremely cold in those areas with widespread severe frost and ice with lying snow in some areas and patches of freezing fog. Potential impacts include dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, travel disruption and delays and animal welfare issues.
Weather stations in Athenry and Mullingar recorded temperatures of -7 degrees last night, with many other parts of the country also experiencing subzero conditions.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met again this morning to discuss the ongoing response.
Very cold with widespread frost & ice or black ice❄️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 9, 2025
Most places will be dry early in the night, apart from a few wintry showers in the northwest🌨️
Cloud will increase across the southwest overnight & rain will develop in Munster, turning to sleet or snow on high ground☁️🌧️🌨️ pic.twitter.com/As95pnNKZl
In Northern Ireland, a Status Yellow snow and ice weather warning for Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry is in effect until 10am tomorrow.
Tonight is set to remain very cold with widespread frost, ice and some black ice. The national forecaster said most places will be dry early in the night, apart from a few wintry showers in the northwest.
Cloud will increase across the southwest overnight and rain will develop in Munster, turning to sleet or snow on high ground, while moderate to fresh easterly winds will develop in the southwest.
Otherwise winds will be light so patches of freezing fog will develop, the forecaster said. Lowest temperatures of -7 to -2 degrees.
Met Éireann meteorologist Brandon Creagh told RTÉ’s Drivetime programme this evening that the country can expect to see the cold snap start to ease up from tomorrow, but people should still be careful over the weekend as the thaw will be gradual.
“We do have a warm front slowly making its way towards the southwest, and that’s going to gradually bring temperatures up across today, tomorrow and into Saturday.” Creagh said.
“Saturday is when we’ll see a proper thaw across the country with the snow melting, but for tonight into tomorrow, as that snow melts in the places that still have a good deal of snow and ice, that could possibly freeze again tomorrow night, so we could get some ice again tomorrow night.
“But then as we head into Saturday, we get the warm front pushing up across the country, a high pressure system developing to our southeast, which is going to bring more warm air from the south as we head into the weekend.”
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland this morning, meteorologist Matthew Martin confirmed that Mullingar experienced freezing temperatures of nearly minus eight degrees last night, the lowest in the country. He added that the lowest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was minus 19.1 degrees in Sligo in 1881.
The lowest of the 20th or 21st century was -18.8 degrees at Lullymore, Co Kildare in 1979.
The National Emergency Coordination Group urged road users to treat every road as treacherous in the context of widespread black ice, to only make essential journeys, to drive slowly and allow extra time for travel.
Cork County Council has reported “significant challenges” in north and north-west Cork due to compacted snow and ice.
Both the Defence Forces and external contractors have been dispatched in Cork to try to help efforts to deal with the weather impacts.
Keith Leonard, National Director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, said the weather is going to be “bitterly cold right out until Friday afternoon” and conditions will remain “very difficult” across the country.
He said an Orange warning means that people should be prepared and take account of the local conditions that they find themselves in.
This video of the road conditions on the N21 Castleisland to Abbeyfeale road shows the heavy snow falling and the poor driving conditions. #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/Ui4v7jbEAk
— Kerry County Council - Comhairle Contae Chiarraí (@countykerry) January 9, 2025
Keith Leonard of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management said that the end of the extreme cold is in sight, but the public should still be vigilant when walking and driving, as surfaces can look “deceptively safe”.
“We are continuing to coordinate a cross-government response to ensure the most appropriate supports are happening at local level, and we remain particularly focused on getting those who are still without power or water reconnected as quickly as possible.,” he said.
There were fewer than 200 homes, farms and businesses without power as of lunchtime. That’s down from 59,000 on Sunday. The ESB says the remaining customers affected will have their power restored some time today.
Meanwhile, Uisce Éireann has said the “vast majority” of the 40,000 people whose supply was disrupted at the weekend now have their water back.
However, it said that as the extremely cold weather thaws, it could lead to an increase in bursts and leaks in the coming days.
For Liam Galvin, Fine Gael Councillor for Abbeyfield, Co Limerick, conditions haven’t improved much over the last couple of days.
“The snow has gotten so hard, it’s just like concrete now. So the snow ploughs effectively aren’t doing their job,” he told RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live.
“There are people that are still isolated … Even with the roads that have been ploughed, we still can’t access some private houses.
Meanwhile, homeless services have ramped up operations to try to help homeless people during the cold snap, which can be a “life and death situation”.
Additional reporting by Lauren Boland.
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If you advertised how to actually wear a mask it might be no harm. Load of folk wearing them below tho oul nostrils.
@Vincent Bickerstaffe: No effort at all to protect the majority from the inability and unwillingness of a minority to wear masks properly. They are literally ki_lling people and no one in the public sector is willing to do anything about it. Self policing is no policing.
@LaoisWeather: Oh, please explain.
@LaoisWeather: Masks make plenty of difference if worn correctly.
@Sean O’Doherty: I think he’s one of those people who thinks that COVID spreads by gas.
@Neil Neart: ‘Literally killing people…’ Maybe you might consider calling in the ‘Thought Police’ before those wild thoughts of yours escape into the real world…
@Sean O’Doherty: goes something like this, I googled face mask effectiveness and found loads of info on how poor they were……
A€€ho4€S will always be just that
@LaoisWeather: why do surgeons wear them then?
@Vincent Bickerstaffe: tesco have a specific recorded message telling shoppers ‘your mask needs to cover both your nose and mouth and fit snugly’. Dunnes have a similar message but in sign format I think but this is what ads on the tele are for.
@LaoisWeather: well, I’m delighted to continue wearing the masks.. No cold, flu or tummy bug in the last 18 months.
@Cat Reid: Surgeons wear medical grade masks not pices of cloth
@alan hickey: studies have shown that when worn properly a piece of cloth can do almost as good of a job and depending on what type of cloth can exceed medical grade masks as you call them.
@alan hickey: unless you’ve been living under a rock since the pandemic started I think most people with any cop on wear medical-grade masks.
@LaoisWeather: that’s correct, Dr Google told us that.
@LaoisWeather: Silly you, you forgot to inform us which medical or virology high level degree courses you graduated from allow you to confidently make the statement that masks do not work. You must be tired this evening with all that hospital work saving lives but please tell us about your expertise in these matters…..
@LaoisWeather: I am sure it was just a mistake that you did not tell us what your expert qualifications are that allow you to make such a statement, or was it?
@Paul Mcnevin: Not really. The surgical masks worn by surgeons are probably effective but the hse says that cloth masks are only 10% effective and the american heart and lung confederation says they’re only 3% effective.
@LaoisWeather: Gloating about something so serious, and not even being vaguely correct. Very sad.
@Neil Neart: exactly, proper enforcement like we have in Spain and I went for my first restaurant meal 20.5 2020. I’ve been able to go out ever since with varying restrictions as things progress.
@Vincent Bickerstaffe: pretty self explanatory…. It’s a mask.!
@Ann Neylan: “well, I’m delighted to continue wearing the masks” I m with you in this, not sick since almost 2 years, but … I m getting older … hmmm . weird isn’t it ? ;-)
@Vincent Bickerstaffe: It is all over the place, on buses in shops.
Made zero sense to reopen niteclubs. ICU units are going to be overrun for christmas.
@Seán Ó Briain: Made zero sense to open schools until covid had died down in the community. With all those outbreaks kids were bound to have brought it home to infect families even if vaxd. Could have been much less covid in the community the past month or two had they let things settle with the stellar vaccination rollout. Parents then bring it from home to the workplace….. Etc. Cases were on a downward trend from Augusts high until September.
@Paul Hedderman: No. sacrificing our children’s education was not the right thing to do at all
@Seán Ó Briain: Makes zero sense to run and hide from the virus. It’s not going away anytime soon. Time to start living with it
@Seán Ó Briain: Makes Zero sense to open a very small sector to the fully vaccinated only, which hasn’t opened since the virus started and had no contribution to cases thus far??
I think lockdown advocates like you are worse than anti vaxers.
ICU units are overrun here every Christmas; shows how much you know about the health service in Ireland
@Tony Gordon: two months or so of online learning isnt a monumental sacrifice compared to reducing covid in the community, saving lives and reducing the current growing burden on the health system….. Too late now anyway, missed the boat on that one. Another govt howler imo. What happened to we’re all in this together attitude Tony? Couple of months of online school not worth it to have reduced alot of the recent illness and deaths? Could have been in the low hundreds daily by now.
@Paul Hedderman: what about the gathering at weddings, confirmation and communion parties
@Roy Dowling: or dying with it or getting potentially career ending long covid disability from it…libertarian clap trap from the “business as usual” crowd.
@David Lee: In fairness you are correct to say ICU units are usually overrun anyway. Most of us know enough about our health service to know this. So the question becomes…. why pile on more to it if it can be avoided?
@Paul Hedderman: so close schools but leave pubs and restaurants,retail,border with the north,airports and everything else open but schools are the problem
@Gavin Conran: It can’t be avoided, unless there’s mass closures & unemployment among hospitality & entertainment sectors. Which also isn’t feasible for people mentally, Socially, financially, etc
And then my question becomes, If people aren’t happy with them open now with such a high vaccination coverage, when will they ever be happy
@Margaret Deacon: weddings are grand, the vast majority are vaccinated….. Never been to a confirmation or communion party. I’d imagine they’re safer than loads of kids in a small classroom 5 days a week but should be postponed until covid in the community is low.
@Seán Ó Briain: you either live with it or u don’t. at this stage it’s as simple as that and I mean live with it properly. covid was never and will never disappear.
@Warren Mcdermott: No Warren, past tense! Not close them now. they shouldnt have let schools back to the classroom until covid in the community was low. Missed opportunity now….. Most kids arent vaxd! There was loads of school outbreaks since they opened which has had a knock on and kept covid high in the community. There was so many kids out of school and so many were disrupted anyway. There was so much confusion for parents and teachers as to the procedures and what to do instead of kids being at home and learning for a few months online….. Every adult in pubs and restaurants are vaxd unless hotels. Retail the vast majority is vaxd. Cant do anything with north, around 1%-2% of cases are travel related. We would be in a better place now if they had delayed returning to the classroom.
@Paul Hedderman: Paul we hav already had the schools closed for to long,you had them closed march till June when convid first hit then closed again and if they had of kept them closed when you suggested then you would talking a year off school and the online hasn’t worked for alot of parents and kids and alot of kids are already behind and will struggle to catch up and that’s if they don’t close them again
@mmz: So what do you suppose we do. Shut down everything again? Hasn’t worked yet has it but might as well keep trying shall we. Definition of madenss is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Lockdowns don’t work.
@Warren Mcdermott: Think you’re missing the point. Funny, covid doesn’t really care about kids education, just that they aren’t vaxd and it can spread through them, even easier with delta in a classroom they spend 5 days a week in, poor teachers. More outbreaks in schools leads to more cases in homes and community transmission. Instead of continuing that downward trend in August we’ve gone upward. Opening up with a few hundred daily cases is alot different than opening up with around 2000 daily cases. Increased cases lead to deaths. Great winter ahead which could have possibly avoided or atleast largely lessened by delaying back to classroom.
@Seán Ó Briain: You could say same about pubs restaurants where you also must show a vaccination cert so no point in scapegoating nightclubs. Sure shut the lotta down all again, it’ll be graaand.
@Paul Hedderman: from 5 years of age in Spain children wear their masks all day and no outb,no teachers of sick. Enough said
@Seán Ó Briain: no sense nor reason it’s a disastrous decision,more deaths and lockdowns on the way.
@Seán Ó Briain: Both Professor Jack Lambert and Luke O’Neill said yesterday and today on several news outlets that all restrictions should be removed ( bar masks). That Oct. 22nd should continue as planned. Do we pick and choose the “experts” we want to listen too. These people are highly qualified and were being held up to us, by NPHET and Government, all through covid as the ones we should listen too. Too much inconsistency from government with them all trying to cover their own backs for fear of a public backlash.
@Tony Gordon: They did not mean close schools forever. A couple of months of online schooling would not destroy any child’s education.
It has been done for years in other countries.
@Roy Dowling: Actually they do, its the reopening and people going wild is what is the problem.
A piece on the apparently sudden and unexpected rise of coronavirus cases in October and neither the head of NPHET or the Journal manage to mention the cold hard fact that coronavirus cases rise every single October in this part of the world. Every October. If you simply Google “when does flu season start” it’s the answer that comes out. October. Every single year.
So it’s nothing to do with our recent change in behaviour, or the kids, or the unvaccinated or vaccine certs in pubs or Covid at all, it’s a biological phenomenon tied into reducing sunshine and our vitamin D falling below a minimum threshold (coupled with us switching on the heating, drying out our mucosal membranes where our first line of defence IgA and IgG live, then gathering all damp, in hot, wet, poorly ventilated buses and offices and sitting rooms). That’s all it is. Nothing more complex than that.
That they can’t bring themselves to highlight the things we learned in school is all you need to know about the info you’re receiving. They can’t talk about vitamin D as then they’ll have to explain why they’re not dropping the VAT on health shops or, dare to dream, posting them out to everyone like they did completely useless iodine tablets in the 90′s. They cost nothing. But to do that means they have to admit that yes, dozens of studies reveal nutraceuticals like vitamin C, D and zinc reduce your chance of suffering Covid (ask me for some) and we can’t have talk of treatments when there are vaccines to sell to children.
That they the politicians and our media don’t insist neutraceutical care becomes a simple, cheap daily requirement in care homes is a perfectly avoidable tragedy and WILL cost lives.
Shame on them.
@Conor Brady: Probably the best comment I’ve read in a long time and could have not put it better myself. Spot on.
@Conor Brady: spot on.
@Conor Brady: enjoying your comments more by the day. Quite clearly you know what you’re talking about and is saddening (as well as being outright sceptical/morally wrong) that many other people with science/epidemiology/immunology expertise who have an opposing view to the staust quo of let’s vax the hell outa people are being suppressed and villified.
@John Egan: knows what he’s talking about? He just referred to the flu as a coronavirus! He’s also *literally* trying to sell you vitamins! Quick – somebody tell the doctors treating the Covid patients in the ICU that all they need is vitamins!
@Christopher Conlan: What do you believe is pumped into COVID-19 patients when they are put on IVs after arriving in A+E….. It’s a “Hartmans solution” which contains loads of nutrition/ vitamins. Ask consultants who are treating patients who end up in ICU…..are they are depleted in Vitamin D.?…. Answer = YES.
@C_O’S: Hi, a doctor who spend the last year in Covid HDU…Literally nothing you just said is true.
Get vaccinated people.
@SJF: I’m a secret service agent myself…. oh sorry, I thought we were playing “things I wanted to be when I grew up”
Here in the UK a leading epidemiologist has advised that 75%, of all covid deaths, are occurring in people who have received both jabs. Do not think that COVID vaccinations are the holy grail of getting out of this mess.
@Mike Dunne: funny how that’s taken from Facebook, easy to see how you ended up anti-vaxx
It’s been debunked multiple times as the report actually states that the unvaccinated are much more likely to die from covid.
But keep getting your info from Facebook, every village needs someone like you.
@John Black: John, nothing has changed in the past 20 months. This disease, vaccines or not, still severely impacts the elderly & the vulnerable. Yes, if those cohorts were unvaccinated, and only those cohorts, they’d be much more likely to die than if they were vaccinated. You mock where people get their data while at the same time you ignore the recent, official data from the HSPC/HSE here which mirrors exactly what Mick said is happening in the UK. From the last updated figures, 79% of those dying in September were fully vaccinated (78/102). Go look for yourself. Last I checked, the total covid deaths in September was updated to 136, but the vaccine status of the new 34 deaths wasn’t. The death/ICU figures you’re basing your opinions on are flawed, since they go back to April/June.
@John Black: No, he’s spot on. You’ve been tricked. The HSE has been presenting conflated data on this to make things sounds worse for the unvaccinated than they actually are in this regard. Stay with me now:
From the 1st of April 2021 to the 9th of October, there have been 369 deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland (that’s around 1-2 deaths per 1000 positive “cases”). The vaccination status of these deaths were 169/369 (46%) not vaccinated versus 155/369 (42%) fully vaccinated.
http://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/surveillance/vaccinationstatusweeklyreports/Death%20and%20Vaccination%20Report.pdf
Sounds like a vote for vaccination, doesn’t it? But when you consider less than 10% of the country was vaccinated coming into April, it’s sort of obvious the unvaccinated would dominate the stats like that, isn’t it?
Instead, let’s look at the vaccination status of deaths BY MONTH. This is trickier as this sort of data they do not like to provide as it sells less vaccines.
Covid death figures tweeted out by the HSE on the 17th September 2021 (check it out, still there) tell us there were was 251 Covid deaths from 1st April to 11th September. The vaccine status of these deaths were 149/251 (59%) not vaccinated versus 61/2511 (24%) fully vaccinated.
This means, since the 11th of September (251 deaths) and the 9th of October (369 deaths), there have been 118 deaths from Covid but only 20/118 were unvaccinated (17%) while 94/118 (80%) were fully vaccinated.
That’s 80% of people who have died of Covid in Ireland in the last four weeks have been FULLY VACCINATED, just like Mike says.
@Mike Dunne: Let’s examine a large data sample (eg ALL deaths in UK during first six months of 2021). When looking at percent of deaths caused by Covid (which compensates for differences in age & vulnerability by vaccine status) we see much larger implied vaccine protection as 37% of all unvaccinated deaths were due to Covid vs only 0.8% of Dose 2 + 21 days. Suggest you look at credible sources and not narcissists on Facebook or FoolTube.
@Mike Dunne: Let’s examine a large data sample (eg ALL deaths in UK during first six months of 2021). When looking at percent of deaths caused by Covid (which compensates for differences in age & vulnerability by vaccine status) we see much larger implied vaccine protection as 37% of all unvaccinated deaths were due to Covid vs only 0.8% of Dose 2 + 21 days. Suggest you look at credible sources and not narcissists on Facebook or FoolTube.
@Stephen Kearon: Ahh Facebook & Fooltube. Let he who is without sin!
For the first two months of this year Steve, nobody was vaccinated in the UK. By the end of June less than 50% of the UK was done. So yes, the unvaccinated will dominate the figures. Does your data allow for that very obvious conflation? What does it say for last month in the UK as I’ve shown above, a month by month analysis is far more telling…
Make sure you share the results for the second half of the year though and we’ll see where the 10% fit in then.
You know, I’m starting to suspect that the reason they want everyone vaccinated is purely to eliminate the test group. That’s what I would do if I was Pfeizer and pulling the strings via cash donations (not saying Pharma pull the strings in the HSE or anything…https://www.businesspost.ie/analysis-opinion/how-doctors-and-hospitals-cash-in-from-big-pharma-edb1b5a0)
@Conor Brady: Well that’s exactly what Pfizer & Moderna done with the placebo group from the trials, so nothing should surprise us. https://principia-scientific.com/moderna-and-pfizer-intentionally-lost-their-clinical-trial-control-groups/
@Mike Dunne: that’s a lie. Fake news.
@Mike Dunne: Never ceases to amaze when this statistic is bandied about “X percentage of deaths are fully-vaxxed people”. Anti-vax people don’t seem to have any concept of ‘per capita’ understanding.
If I told you that Nigeria must be wealthier than Ireland because their GDP is higher.. Would you not challenge that on a per capita basis?
If 75% of deaths are vaxxed people, then 25% of deaths are not. Those 25% of deaths are drawn from an absolutely miniscule proportion of the population that are unvaccinated. Therefore, obviously you are at much much higher risk by being unvaccinated. And conversely, if there were no vaccines at all, there would obviously be much much more deaths in that proportion that are currently vaccinated.. (which includes virtually all elderly/vulnerable people).
@Paul Tao: 20% of the population unvaccinated is not “absolutely minuscule “ though really is it?
Also his conclusion stating 80% of the deaths are from the vaccinated, which in turn is 80% of the population so (assuming his analysis is correct): adjusted to take account of 8:1 vaxxed means the same proportion of covid deaths are from vaccinated as unvaccinated.
Weird
@Paul Tao: That’s true Paul, but that doesn’t take away from the fact Mike’s point is absolutely spot on – the fully vaccinated make up the majority of Covid deaths. It’s true a disproportionately large amount of non-vaxxed are dying (needlessly, as much hospitalisation could be avoided if they treated positive cases) but that figure is shrinking monthly once Covid sadly runs through the at-risk in that subgroup. Once the unvaccinated have built innate immunity (which we know is 13 times more robust to subsequent infection compared to the double vaccinated) the figures next year will look significantly worse for the vaccinated, a fact I hope the unvaccinated have the class not to bandy round the comments section daily.
@Conor Brady: if you had bothered to read the report that figure has been taken from you would read where it says you’re significantly more likely to die if you are not vaccinated…
If you’re going to quote figures, at least look at them all…
I swear all anti-vaxxers have such confirmation bias it’s ridiculous.
So in fact, he’s not spot on.
@John Black: Aaaaaand we’re back to square one with John.
JC, I can’t believe that got 10 likes.
I know that’s what the report says John. Last time now, Mike said “75% cases ARE occurring in the vaccinated”. So you’d have to accept that means the majority, yes?
I showed, using actual maths that this is almost exactly the same as the figures here. Once again, as it seems you skipped over, you are basing your figures on HSE data that incorporates people all the way back to April 1st, when less than 10% of us were vaccinated, so yes, unvaccinated people would dominate. The more accurate way, and to tie in with what the original poster said, would be what is happening NOW, or over the last month. Mike is talking about NOW John. NOW. We don’t use today’s vaccination rates and population data from April 1st to work that out (unless you want to skew the data). So, as above:
Since the 11th of September (251 deaths) and the 9th of October (369 deaths), there have been 118 deaths from Covid but only 20/118 were unvaccinated (17%) while 94/118 (80%) were fully vaccinated.
Right now, the fully vaccinated ARE making up the majority of deaths, just like Mike says.
I’d say “now, apologise to Mike” but I doubt you’re even still there, but your damage is done, that’s for sure. Nearly as many likes as the original poster. It’s sad.
In summary – your / HSE data spans back to April 1st when nobody was vaccinated but in your head you’re applying today’s vaccination rates to the whole kit and kaboodle.
To work out what’s happening NOW (what Mike is talking about) we look back over the last month (and use today’s vaccination rates).
You’re wrong buddy you just can’t bring yourself to wonder why the HSE do not provide monthly data.
If the questions was – OVERALL, including months when nobody was vaccinated up to today when most are, how does it look? – you would see it’s 169 unvaccinated, 155 fully vaccinated and yes you’d be right. But that figure means nothing and with the fully vaccinated now dominating proceedings one even the HSE won’t be able to trot out in a couple of months when hopefully they begin shifting blame to yet another sub group.
@Conor Brady: no I didn’t use HSE data, I referenced the exact same report that the original poster did, showing how when you cherry pick one figure from an entire report, it’s confirmation bias, especially given that the conclusion of the report is totally at odds with the conclusion drawn by him
@Conor Brady: if 100% of people were vaccinated it would be only vaccinated people dying
Like do you not understand how statistics work?
I am posting fact based information that comes from studies, you are cherry picking a figure and then drawing totally the wrong conclusion
The fact is, vaccinated people are much less likely to die, to get infected and to transmit it to another person.
@Conor Brady: the HSE do provide monthly data but I’ve not once referenced it at all…
If you used credible sources and knew how to read and interpret data, we wouldn’t be having this conversation because you’d be on my side.
@Mike Dunne: Nobody said they were. The numbers you quote are incorrect. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/oct/19/facebook-posts/claim-covid-19-uk-ignores-data-showing-death-more-/
Why not advise everyone to take vitamins D and C plus zinc in supplement form now until March to build up a barrier against this virus and the common cold/flus…..Prevention is better than the cure. I remember before heading to school each morning back in the 70s, a glass of ‘invite’ a orange drink and /or little haliborange chews full of vitamin C. No overcrowding in A+Es back then.
@C_O’S: Wonder how long the anti vitamin brigade would take to surface
@C_O’S: OMG. Let’s say a prayer also.
@C_O’S: Haliborange that brought back memories. I seriously don’t know what people’s aversion to vitamins are. I’m 68 thankfully fit and healthy never had flu ( even though I was told here yesterday by one of the “experts” that I had:) and only the odd head cold. From as long as I can remember I always took vit C the older I got I added Zinc, Vit D and a B supplement. I have added Omega 3 oil supplement for the old bones and so far it has kept me in good stead. I don’t know if that’s why I’m in good health, fingers crossed, but it didn’t do any harm. Got my yearly bloods done everything 100% blood pressure of a teenager. These things can only help to me they are an added bonus. Others obviously thought so too because since covid the cost has risen about 300%!!
@Rory: If that’s what helps you…..better then an igno-ant sneer.
I thought the whole idea of mass vaccination meant we could reopen the country. If we can’t reopen now with 91% vaccinated when exactly will we be able to reopen the country? Why didn’t they spent the last 18 months building up our health system so it won’t be overwhelmed?
@Cat Moloney: Even in the fact of spiralling cases in highly vaxxed (and even fully vaxxed regions like Gibraltar and navy ships etc) there folk on here saying the vaccines prevent the spread so it must be the bloody antivaxxers! Even this recent study literally entitled “Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States”
(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481107/#!po=2.77778) will they budge most on this point. They cannot accept that vaccines do not stop the spread, so they move on to deaths (but now we know last month 80% of folk that died were fully vaccinated) so they move to ICU capacity but as you say, if it’s about ICU now, why close the surge capacity last Autumn?!! Did you not see this coming lads?!!!
@Cat Moloney: am curious as to what is not yet open. Seems to me that most things are open. There are a few limits on table numbers I believe but still open for business.
Maybe one is confusing “opening up” with the removal of measures designed to save lives which include mask wearing and social distancing, I am sure that when we get the case numbers lower the vaccine passport will also be a thing of the past but while numbers are high this measure will help stop transmission by the people who chose not to be vaccinated,
With 3 or 4 people a day dying from covid it is important to reduce this number,
While the health service may be under some strain we have never got a point of ICU beds or ventilators not being available so the best health service in the world and 1,000,000 ICU beds would not have saved anyone’s life – the measures remain in place because there is too much covid in circulation and 3 or 4 people a day are dying which is more than 10 times the average annual fly death rate in Ireland.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Underneath a comment with a huge study stating very specifically transmission is nothing to do with vaccine status you say vaccine certs will stop transmission from the unvaccinated!
And not to belittle the 3-4 figure but the flu does those figures every year in Ireland (more than 1200 in 2018).
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-vsar/vitalstatisticsannualreport2018/deaths2018/
No masks. No certs. No restrictions.
But at least we treat flu patients and try prevent them from going to hospital. Imagine what the figures would look like if we just sent them home to see how bad it might get…
@Conor Brady: actually the studies that have been released show that transmission is significantly lower among vaccinated people, so you’re totally incorrect…
Use the hand sanitizer provided at the entrance to shops and public buildings. Most people have stopped using it. Then they wonder why Covid-19 is spreading.
@Teresa O’Halloran: ive noticed a lot of places have stopped providing it too.
@Teresa O’Halloran: A lot,like myself, use our own.
@Teresa O’Halloran: A lot, ,like myself, use our own.
Have a €9 meal, sorted
As mentioned elsewhere people are letting slip adherence to guidelines. Ikea last weekend was a nightmare, noses on display everywhere you looked. One person took off her mask to have a coughing fit and another strolled around with their mask under their chin. Let alone others barging you out of the way etc. Got out of there asap.
@Trevor Wallace: or dying with it or getting potentially career ending long covid disability from it…libertarian clap trap from the “business as usual” crowd.
It would help people understand better if they let people know of the people infected how many have been vaccinated and how many are not. Are they not telling us because there are a lot of vaccinated people catching the virus and afraid people will start questioning if the vaccine is working as it should
@Michael Fleming: studies have shown the vaccine does work, unvaccinated are much more likely to get infected and to transmit it to other
The studies and data is only a Google search away if you’re that interested
@Michael Fleming: two thirds of those in ICU come from the unvacinated (a mere 8% of the adult population). Anyone with basic maths skills can easily see how effective the vaccines are.
@John Black: How you can say “the unvaccinated are much more likely to get infected” with cases clearly spiralling in highly vaxxed countries is beyond me but here’s an absolutely colossal study from 3 weeks ago literally entitled “Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481107/#!po=2.77778
The vaccines were never designed to stop spread. They live in the blood. Covid lives in the mucous layers of your nose (hence nasal swabs and not blood tests). The vaccinated have the same viral load as the unvaccinated and are shown to spread it equally well for the first 7 days after which they do reduce symptoms (by which point any sick unvaxxed will likely be tested by then and in bed but sadly, as still today offered nothing by way of actual treatment, will fill hospital beds).
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
The. Rise. In. Cases. Is. Nothing. To. Do. With. Vaccination.
@Michael Fleming: what i want to know is how many people are catching it in hospitals. UHL is chronically overcrowded so im truly struggling to believe they could be managing covid infection and spread efficiently. With 90 odd people toe to toe on trollies how is it possible to prevent infection
@Conor Brady: I’m afraid Conor you and others can repeat this and all of your previous points till the cows come home but a large swath of the people either don’t get it or refuse to consider other explanations.
It has been the same at every peak in infections since the arrival of Covid, in that a scramble is made to find a target to point the finger at. When that particular spike drops all is forgotten until the next and a new target of blame.
I suspect unfortunately we are facing a difficult winter in which the next great hope will be pinned on emerging therapeutics of which many are on trial presently. Yet as you say there is absolutely no official guidance on very basic but effective measures people can be adopting themselves to boost and enhance their own defence systems alongside vaccines.
@Conor Brady: I can say it because all evidence supports it.
Vaccines lower transmission.
Please please start doing some proper reading, for your own sake.
@John Black: But “all” the evidence doesn’t point that way John, does it? This isn’t even for you, I know you’re not reading anything, it’s for the 3 people that liked your comment. If the study I link to above that is literally labelled vaccines have NOTHING to do with transmission and you’re going to ignore the spiralling cases in highly vaxxed countries then let’s just focus on this one point – Gibraltar. 100% vaxxed since May 5th. Check out those cases. Look good? No, they look worse than last year. Ask the HSE to explain that one to you
@Conor Brady: yes all the evidence does…
I’ve read every one of your comments and they’re just a mix of misinformation and misinterpreted data.
That study has been widely criticised for not accounting for a plethora of things.
Any studies that just measure transmission, show that vaccinated people are much much less likely to transmit the virus.
Gibraltars 100% is misleading, because many of those live in Spain but got jabbed in Gibraltar which dragged up their percentage even hough there are people there that aren’t vaccinated, and it being a tourist spot too wouldn’t help, but again, your inability to interpret data hurts you again.
anti-vaxers stay the F at home
@Cat Reid: so do you think every single person who has not taken a voluntary vaccine has covid…that they are the main reason for driving up the figures…you are aware if you’re vaccinated you can still get covjd & pass it on…But acknowledging that would stop you waving your fist about the place shouting down with anti-vaxers!!!!
Double vaccinated myself & open to a booster but please God stop marginalising people who have decided not to take a voluntary vaccine. I know people who have not taken the vaccine but still wash their hands, socially distance & wearing mask.
@Hear me now: yawn
@Cat Reid: relax there Karen.
@Gavin Linden: pull your mask over your nose Gavin
@Hear me now: I also noticed that no one is mentioning the people who recovered from Covid. They are considered “unvaccinated” despite having built up immunity after only six months.
Anyone who goes along with this at this stage needs their heads examined. If we can’t open fully with 92% vaccine uptake then we won’t ever be able to open.
Nothing seems to make sense.
We have an extremely high percentage of people vaccinated. We are also one of the last Country’s in Europe to lift restrictions – yet cases and ICU admissions are rising.
Have we been sold a pup with the vaccines ?
It’s the nut jobs who won’t get vaccinated that are clogging up the hospitals. This is a fact. You get vaccinated you don’t go to the hospital. Kids under 12 rarely get seriously ill
@Billybutcher: A fact is it?
“You get vaccinated you don’t go to hospital”, ok so how come over 65% of those occupying Covid wards in hospital are fully vaccinated?
Professer Nolans stastics were wrong up till now , where should we believe him nkw
This comment is in 2 parts:
Approximately 92% of the eligible population have been vaccinated, leaving 8% unvaccinated.
It is also the case that 65% of those in hospital are unvaaccinated. Currently (20/10/21), there are 464 patients in hospital with Covid. Of these, 86 are in ICU. This means that 163 of those in hospital with covid are vaccinated. (And also, by the same logic, 30 of those in ICU are vaccinated)
If everyone in Ireland were vaccinated, this 163 (unvaccinated) figure should be 92% of the total in hospital. (Also the 30 people in ICU figure should be 92% of the total in ICU).
If we extrapolate, then if all eligible people in Ireland were vaccinated, you would expect a total of 177 people in hospital (i.e. 163÷92×100) and, of these, 32 would be in ICU (I.e. 30÷92×100).
From Joe Rogan regarding sponsors of US news coverage
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CVOoU8MACVP/?utm_medium=copy_link
So, in summary, purely on a numbers basis, if everyone eligible in Ireland were vaccinated, instead of having 464 patients in hospital (86 of whom are in ICU), we would have have 177 people in hospital (32 of whom would be in ICU).
177 vs 464 in hospital. 32 vs 86 in ICU. The numbers speak for themselves – if you are not vaccinated, please consider getting the jab.
Very simple reason: slow to act on anything and everything. Just look at what’s happening around the ‘easing of the restrictions’ again….
“a reduction in risk mitigation”? FFS lets call it what it is, people are deluding themselves into thinking its over and have simply stopped giving a curse about anyone other than themselves.
Can we just make a law that whoever isn’t vaccinated pays a hefty fine….end of
@Brendan Tapley: No.
I am going to restrict my movement in public again. I have to as other people don’t seem to care about others anymore.
I do not want to catch a virus for me could be deadly.
So they are forcing me to go back into a position I was in 6 months ago.
Thank you all for locking me down again.
I appreciate you are so much more important than me and so many others.
Back to basics… Covid is very contagious! Vaccination does nit stop the spread nor does it stop the mutation of the virus.!
Ooening up based on the munbers vacinated is misleading and misses the point!.
have your say