Ireland to move to Level 5 for January

Would you not expect those who are Covid positive and contagious, but still not to the point to trigger a positive antigen test to be a problem there?

No I'm with the Harvard epidemiologist on this who says that the people that would be missed are those with viral RNA concentrations that are ~99.99999% reduced from peak infectivity and are no longer contagious.
 
No I'm with the Harvard epidemiologist on this who says that the people that would be missed are those with viral RNA concentrations that are ~99.99999% reduced from peak infectivity and are no longer contagious.

You mention 'no longer contagious', what about those who have not yet reached the levels of infection required to trigger an antigen test but are contagious?

Regardless, Harvard also talk about a 20% false negative rate for PCR testing, and antigen testing is less accurate again.

Then, who's going to carry out the test? Remember the UK's 'test to enable' trial that showed the sensitivity of rapid testing fell below 60% in people with symptoms when carried out by self-trained staff. Sensitivity was shown to be 49% for non-symptomatic people versus PCR tests.
 
NPHET are hinting they may suggest relaxing restrictions for those fully vaccinated. It's being referred to as a "vaccine bonus".
People in nursing homes may be allowed visitors.
Others vaccinated my be allowed indoor maskless visitors from one other household.
 
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Relaxing of restrictions on 5th April (e.g. construction) is becoming increasingly unlikely.

I do hope they relax the rules on a round of golf.
I rarely play myself but if any outdoor, non-spectator exercise for the older person lends itself to social distancing it's this one.
Frankly I fear the government will face a losing battle to keep public goodwill once the fine weather comes, particularly as they've performed so poorly on the vaccine roll-out and continue to blame manufacturers rather than their EU overlords.
 
I do hope they relax the rules on a round of golf.
I rarely play myself but if any outdoor, non-spectator exercise for the older person lends itself to social distancing it's this one.
Frankly I fear the government will face a losing battle to keep public goodwill once the fine weather comes, particularly as they've performed so poorly on the vaccine roll-out and continue to blame manufacturers rather than their EU overlords.

I agree on this. I think it would be a smart move to give some low-risk hope to people given the building frautration at vaccine momentum. The strict rules are fraying at the edges anyway so relaxing on small outdoor groups in public spaces (golf, tennis, non contact training) might at least buy a bit more "goodwill" time to get more vaccine roll out.

And that could be done with an emphasis that indoor gatherings need to be kept out of bounds for a month or two more
 
Once the mandatory quarantine is in place I expect a “circuit breaker”. I’d say most people would favour the latter but only if the former is in place.
 
I do hope they relax the rules on a round of golf.
I rarely play myself but if any outdoor, non-spectator exercise for the older person lends itself to social distancing it's this one.
Frankly I fear the government will face a losing battle to keep public goodwill once the fine weather comes,
I agree with this.
particularly as they've performed so poorly on the vaccine roll-out and continue to blame manufacturers rather than their EU overlords.
EU Overlords, really?
That sort of emotive language kind of invalidates your point and makes you sound stupid. Where the blame lies between the EU and AZ is still unclear but neither side is looking good. At the moment the EU looks naive and AZ look like liars.
 
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I agree with this.

EU Overlords, really?
That sort of emotive language kind of invalidates your point and makes you sound stupid. Where the blame lies between the EU and AZ is still unclear but neither side is looking good. At the moment the EU looks naive and AZ look like liars.

AstraZeneca look perfectly tickety-boo to those countries which negotiated professionally with them and secured binding contracts.
The EU left their procurement in the hands of a failed German defence minister.
The only people bleating now are those who rather stupidly entrusted her with the job.
 
AstraZeneca look perfectly tickety-boo to those countries which negotiated professionally with them and secured binding contracts.
The EU left their procurement in the hands of a failed German defence minister.
The only people bleating now are those who rather stupidly entrusted her with the job.
See above ref emotive language.
 
AstraZeneca look perfectly tickety-boo to those countries which negotiated professionally with them and secured binding contracts.
The EU left their procurement in the hands of a failed German defence minister.
The only people bleating now are those who rather stupidly entrusted her with the job.
Sandra Gallina was the lead negotiator and she's Italian, she also answers all questions by MEPs in relation to the vaccine procurement who is this "failed German defense minister " ?
 
Sandra Gallina was the lead negotiator and she's Italian, she also answers all questions by MEPs in relation to the vaccine procurement who is this "failed German defense minister " ?

Ursula Von Der Leyen is the failed German Defence Minister and she over personal charge of the vaccine procurement programme from Health Minister Stella Kyriakides from Cyprus - I know, I've never heard of her either.
You can read all about it here.
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-eu-has-botched-its-vaccination-programme
It's why that arch-EU fanboy Guy Verhofstadt has distanced himself from the German and attacked the EU's contract negotiations.
He knows which way the wind is blowing.
 
Ursula Von Der Leyen is the failed German Defence Minister and she took personal charge of the vaccine procurement programme
You can read all about it here.
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-eu-has-botched-its-vaccination-programme
It's why that arch-EU fanboy Guy Verhofstadt has distanced himself from the German and attacked the EU's contract negotiations.
He knows which way the wind is blowing.
Ahh the Spectator must be true so ......I mean they wouldn't have a biased view on the EU at all.
 
Ahh the Spectator must be true so ......I mean they wouldn't have a biased view on the EU at all.

But are there any facts in the article which you think are untrue ?
It's co-authored by the UK’s former immunisation director so I presume he knows what he's talking about.
If you disagree perhaps you could provide alternative information rather than sneer at the source.
 
But are there any facts in the article which you think are untrue ?
It's very light on facts.
Here's a quote; The EMA says AstraZeneca hasn’t submitted its application yet; it doesn’t seem to occur to anyone to pick up the phone and ask. EU institutions still see their role as blocking what could be dangerous innovations. No one has stopped to wonder if sometimes — such as in a pandemic, for example — it might be better to encourage technology. But that’s bureaucracy: it sticks to the script long after it stops making sense.

The authors have made a series of assumptions and accusations which they have made absolutely no effort to back up. It's the sort of thing that would cause bemused head shaking if overheard from some verbose drunkard in a pub.
There is no attempt to deal with facts or accurate timelines, just swipes at politicians and staff based on their nationality. I'm not a regular reader of the Spectator and if that's the standard of what passes for journalism I'm comfortable with missing their, em, "insights".
 
But are there any facts in the article which you think are untrue ?
It's co-authored by the UK’s former immunisation director so I presume he knows what he's talking about.
If you disagree perhaps you could provide alternative information rather than sneer at the source.
I'll sneer at what ever I want to, the Spectator is a jingoistic rag. I have other news outlets to use.
 
It's very light on facts.
Here's a quote; The EMA says AstraZeneca hasn’t submitted its application yet; it doesn’t seem to occur to anyone to pick up the phone and ask. EU institutions still see their role as blocking what could be dangerous innovations. No one has stopped to wonder if sometimes — such as in a pandemic, for example — it might be better to encourage technology. But that’s bureaucracy: it sticks to the script long after it stops making sense.

The authors have made a series of assumptions and accusations which they have made absolutely no effort to back up. It's the sort of thing that would cause bemused head shaking if overheard from some verbose drunkard in a pub.
There is no attempt to deal with facts or accurate timelines, just swipes at politicians and staff based on their nationality. I'm not a regular reader of the Spectator and if that's the standard of what passes for journalism I'm comfortable with missing their, em, "insights".

I must have read a different article.
Mine was full of facts on vaccines and the timeline of the procurement of them.
Perhaps you missed the fact that it was dated January 9th ...
 
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