|
Post by sullyschoice on Apr 13, 2020 22:10:22 GMT
|
|
|
Post by sullyschoice on Apr 13, 2020 22:10:55 GMT
The link above should pass a few months
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 14, 2020 8:40:22 GMT
Chief medical officer Tony Holohan says until a vaccine is mass-produced, there will still be social distancing.
“Once we identify an effective vaccine, or a number of effective vaccines, the manufacturing of those and distribution of those - all of that is going to take time," he said.
“It is going to take time.
“And for that period of time, we are going to be dealing with restrictions of one kind or another.
“The work that we are doing, literally at this moment, in these couple of weeks between now and the 5th of May, is to try to identify what in fact those measures might be.”
Health minister Simon Harris said a briefing yesterday that life could not quickly go back to normal.
“There isn’t going to be a magic point at the start of May where life as we knew it before the coronavirus can resume. I think, being truthful, social distancing is going to remain a very big part of life — not just in Ireland but the world over — until we get to a vaccine or an effective treatment for the coronavirus,” he said.
Mr Harris cited modelling which projected that Ireland would have had 120,000 new cases of the virus in just one day next Sunday if the Government had failed to implement severe restrictions on movement.
Meanwhile, an online dashboard that tracks the global number of confirmed coronavirus cases, maintained by Johns Hopkins University, showed the number of cases passing 2,000,000 in the early hours of Tuesday.
The site was later adjusted to show 1.9 million cases worldwide, with the reasons for the change not immediately clear.
Many parts of the world have had heavy restrictions on freedom of movement to combat Covid-19, and officials around the world are worried that halting quarantine and social-distancing measures could easily undo the hard-earned progress.
However, there were signs countries were looking in that direction.
Spain permitted some workers to return to their jobs, while a hard-hit region of Italy loosened its lockdown restrictions.
- additional reporting
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 14, 2020 8:52:21 GMT
I presume SKY and RTE have "no games no money" clauses built into their deals with the GAA.
The GAA will probably attempt a straight knockout championship.
It would be simple enough in hurling as there is only 9 counties plus Laois to deal with.
In football they could put div 1 and div 2 into a bowl ...16 teams. Div 3 and 4 could do likewise for a b championship.
It would still be a big undertaking to run it off in both codes in front of tiny crowds or maybe behind closed doors.
All players would have to be tested and results back jn a day or two before each game. Same with refs etc.
The 2021 championship will be in a similar situation unless the vaccine is there which is unlikely. Not all players may wsnt to take the vaccine either. Where does that leave things.
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Apr 14, 2020 10:29:48 GMT
Unfortunately the less optimistic predictions are now confirmed, we will be lucky if we get to attend a game in 2021, if it will take 'em the guts of 18 months to find a cure for this cursed virus. And the world could be a different place, for starters I think most people will be financially broke but saving life is the priority so I think we can wait - gosh what a perspective, what a predicament, who'd ever have though it?
The world may lose 2 years overall, maybe more economically - by the way they are talking it could be worse than the recession - you'd hate to be the bearer of bad news and hopefully they are wrong!
Here's a timely line from Ballythefireside neighbour Brendan Kennelly, a poet who many including myself would have classed as being a biteen abstract at times, and how wrong one can be - this verse is only as abstract as this cursed virus!
Though we live in a world that dreams of ending that always seems about to give in something that will not acknowledge conclusion insists that we forever begin.
Let's hope we oblige the good poet's prophecy, hope his foresight is better than his Kerry Minor performance in a particular game, I'm terrible, ah he'd only enjoy it of course, sure as PatS says the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about and he'd know!
Kennelly would be a bigger rascal than any of us, one of my regrets is that we never had a pint drinking competition, then history could compare us two greats on 3 of Kerry's finest arts - Pigskin, Poetry and Porter. As it stands I never lost a Minor final while he never scored a goal at 10 years of age at that level; As for poetry well, hhhmm, ah I'll concede to the great professor here, for now anyway, though I had an away win against the head of genetics at his alma mater when said scientist challenged my Kerry Ingredient theory on breeding footballers, he all but suggested that the high incidence of this trait was more likely the wan postman; That leaves Porter so it's level pegging between Ballylongford's Crooked Cross and Ballydonoghue's Lisselton Cross as we head to the pub, hopefully 'twon't be a draw as we know what might be the next fine art, and if ya don't know then talk to the Trinity scientist's widow, maybe our postman now obligingly stands in for him? And Lord save us but he'd certainly be no loss to is profession and gang looking for the cure to Coronavirus.
And didn't a cheeky pup once accuse the great late Moss Keane of cheating in this Pinting game, as if - his gripe was that while the rest of us had to drink it, 'that Kane fella only has to swallow it.' Ah he wasn't wrong, Moss could 'store' the best part of a pint in the throat, as he'd 'release it' down then hatch he'd put down his glass and order for stocks to be replenished. Then again, taking half the English team over the line on your back can be thirsty work - on a par with what our Trinity scientist accused postman Pat of, you might say?
|
|
|
Post by Galway breeze on Apr 14, 2020 10:43:29 GMT
|
|
|
Post by kerrygold on Apr 14, 2020 11:33:39 GMT
I presume SKY and RTE have "no games no money" clauses built into their deals with the GAA. The GAA will probably attempt a straight knockout championship. It would be simple enough in hurling as there is only 9 counties plus Laois to deal with. In football they could put div 1 and div 2 into a bowl ...16 teams. Div 3 and 4 could do likewise for a b championship. It would still be a big undertaking to run it off in both codes in front of tiny crowds or maybe behind closed doors. All players would have to be tested and results back jn a day or two before each game. Same with refs etc. The 2021 championship will be in a similar situation unless the vaccine is there which is unlikely. Not all players may wsnt to take the vaccine either. Where does that leave things. Straight four rounds open draw, all 32 names into the hat, 16, 8, 4 & final. 6-8 weeks in the autumn if were lucky. New open draw after each round.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 14, 2020 15:11:52 GMT
IrishExaminerOpen Menu
HOME»SPORT»CORONAVIRUS Clause means no refunds likely for GAA season ticket holders
By John Fogarty GAA Correspondent
Follow @johnfogartyirl Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 06:15 AM GAA season ticket holders are not expected to receive refunds if the coronavirus pandemic forces the abandonment of the Allianz Leagues and/or Championship.
The terms and conditions to the loyalty scheme specifically mentions pandemic. They state: “In the event of the GAA season, Allianz National League or Championship being postponed, due to circumstances outside of the control of the GAA (Natural Disaster, Pandemic, etc) there will be no refunds available for GAA season tickets.”
Learn more The GAA are fully intent on completing the Championship this year, although the fate of the remaining games in the Allianz Leagues look uncertain.
Adult season tickets, priced at €120, entitle subscribers to admission to all their chosen county team’s league games, their opening Championship game and the All-Ireland club finals. The Club Plus option, which includes entry to all club games in the county as specified by that county board, costs €200 and the €300 Ulster Club Plus initiative incorporates county club as well as Dr McKenna Cup, Ulster club, U17, and U20 fixtures.
After the opening Championship game, “pay and play” kicks in. The holder is automatically charged in advance of every subsequent match that your county plays in the GAA Senior Championships irrespective of whether he or she attending the game. Providing a season ticket holder attends at least 60% of the county team’s league and Championship fixtures, they are entitled to purchase an All-Ireland final ticket should their side reach it.
The Irish Examiner reported last month that counties were due to receive season ticket monies from Croke Park earlier than scheduled to help with any cashflow difficulties. It is believed counties receive over 35% of the proceeds of each regular season ticket.
The loyalty scheme is extremely popular in hurling for Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Wexford as well as Dublin and Mayo in football. Dublin’s Club Plus option, the Parnell Pass, is heavily subscribed and combined with the regular season ticket is believed to take in over €500,000 per annum.
Meanwhile, GAAGo subscribers are also facing similar difficulties as the small print for the streaming subscription states payment for premium content is not refundable.
The terms and conditions also mention: “GAAGO Media shall have no liability to you under these terms if we are prevented from or delayed in performing our obligations under these terms, or from providing the GAAGO services or any of the content by acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond our reasonable control, including, without limitation, strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes, failure of a utility service or transport or telecommunications network, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm or default of suppliers or sub-contractors.”
The annual GAAGo Pass costs €140 and annual GAAGo Britain Pass, which excludes Sky Sports games due to rights, is €70. The Sunday Game is included in both packages.
No subscriptions are currently available on the GAAGo website, while several items such as RTÉ’s League Sunday are currently available on the website for free.
Meanwhile, the GAA’s management committee are expected to heed the advice of the Central Competitions Control Committee and reduce their number of Championship games should this Friday’s Special Congress empower them to make changes to the Championship.
It has been speculated the GAA are still holding out hope that they can stage the Liam MacCarthy Cup while retaining the provincial round-robin championships. However, only the first and second-placed teams will emerge from the provinces into All-Ireland semi-finals. That would cut the competition by just four games and two weekends.
As has been previously reported, the Sam Maguire Cup could revert to the pre-2018 model with teams guaranteed at least two games with the four-round qualifier system without the Super 8 quarter-final phase or the second tier Tailteann Cup. Removing the Super 8 would shrink the senior football championship by eight matches and two weekends.
The GAA are also reported to be considering a longer club period before the start of the provincial inter-county championships with club championships possibly being completed in a two-month period. Wholly dependent on the coronavirus restrictions being lifted, it is also expected crowds will initially not be permitted at the resumption of action.
|
|
|
Post by sullyschoice on Apr 14, 2020 20:34:32 GMT
It could only happen if restrictions on social distancing were relaxed but you still had a restriction on large gatherings like crowds at matches. I cant see it happening any time soon though.
|
|
peanuts
Fanatical Member
Posts: 1,857
|
Post by peanuts on Apr 14, 2020 22:43:37 GMT
In fairness all he said was that its likely to be considered and he's probably right in that.
|
|
|
Post by Galway breeze on Apr 17, 2020 9:45:24 GMT
Major discussion at congress tonight, surly it will be acknowledged that the organisation must comply with the Government and HSE’s guidance going forward even if this means cancelling all activities for 2020.
|
|
|
Post by sullyschoice on Apr 17, 2020 10:38:51 GMT
They cant do anything else
|
|
|
Post by onlykerry on Apr 17, 2020 10:52:36 GMT
Major discussion at congress tonight, surly it will be acknowledged that the organisation must comply with the Government and HSE’s guidance going forward even if this means cancelling all activities for 2020. Government policy and the hopes of the GAA hierarchy are only one part of the equation - any decision will need player buy in also and in this regard the comments of Clare huring captain John Conlon are very revealing "I don't think there will be a GAA championship this year," he told 2fm's Game On. "Until there’s a vaccine and the safety of everyone and their families can be guaranteed. "We have players whose grandparents live with them. My mother has had cancer twice and hasn’t left the house the last number of weeks. I hate to think that if I was able to play I wouldn’t be able to see them for a number of weeks. What if anything we end up with this year will only emerge gradually - I would disagree with his later comments that an altered championship would be tainted - nobody regards pre-2000 competitions as tainted or indeed nobody discounts championship victories from the first couple of decades of the GAA because 6 or 8 or 12 counties participated.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 17, 2020 11:49:45 GMT
|
|
|
Post by dc84 on Apr 17, 2020 14:09:44 GMT
Major discussion at congress tonight, surly it will be acknowledged that the organisation must comply with the Government and HSE’s guidance going forward even if this means cancelling all activities for 2020. Government policy and the hopes of the GAA hierarchy are only one part of the equation - any decision will need player buy in also and in this regard the comments of Clare huring captain John Conlon are very revealing "I don't think there will be a GAA championship this year," he told 2fm's Game On. "Until there’s a vaccine and the safety of everyone and their families can be guaranteed. "We have players whose grandparents live with them. My mother has had cancer twice and hasn’t left the house the last number of weeks. I hate to think that if I was able to play I wouldn’t be able to see them for a number of weeks. What if anything we end up with this year will only emerge gradually - I would disagree with his later comments that an altered championship would be tainted - nobody regards pre-2000 competitions as tainted or indeed nobody discounts championship victories from the first couple of decades of the GAA because 6 or 8 or 12 counties participated. Read that aswell be very unfair on players to be put in that position just draw a line under the year pretend it never happened and start again in 2021 (hopefully) or play two championships next year and no league !
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2020 23:10:02 GMT
Agree with this. It is an amateur sport. The players have responsibilities outside the GAA which matter more than any championship this year.
|
|
|
Post by kerrygold on Apr 18, 2020 9:45:39 GMT
Government policy and the hopes of the GAA hierarchy are only one part of the equation - any decision will need player buy in also and in this regard the comments of Clare huring captain John Conlon are very revealing "I don't think there will be a GAA championship this year," he told 2fm's Game On. "Until there’s a vaccine and the safety of everyone and their families can be guaranteed. "We have players whose grandparents live with them. My mother has had cancer twice and hasn’t left the house the last number of weeks. I hate to think that if I was able to play I wouldn’t be able to see them for a number of weeks. What if anything we end up with this year will only emerge gradually - I would disagree with his later comments that an altered championship would be tainted - nobody regards pre-2000 competitions as tainted or indeed nobody discounts championship victories from the first couple of decades of the GAA because 6 or 8 or 12 counties participated. Read that aswell be very unfair on players to be put in that position just draw a line under the year pretend it never happened and start again in 2021 (hopefully) or play two championships next year and no league ! If you cant play championship autumn 2020 it is unlikely NFL 2021 could be played.
|
|
|
Post by rollingstone on Apr 18, 2020 12:32:21 GMT
If we''re waiting on a safe vaccine then we'll all be waiting a very long time. They have been trying to make a safe vaccine for other corona viruses for years without success. The world's self appointed expert on COVID19 and all things vaccines, Bill Gates, was on the BBC only last Sunday talking about accelerated vaccine development and skipping of parts of the safety tests whilst indemnifying the manufacturers for any liability. You couldn't make it up. These were his own words but no doubt I'll be shouted down as a paranoid "anti-vaxxer."
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 18, 2020 13:14:51 GMT
I read up on the Spanish flu in 1918 and how they got to grips with it. They didnt. It died out after a few years when a stage was reached that it killed those who it could kill and the rest had built up anti bodies to it. It was a much bigger killer especially of young men.
The population back then was only a billion or so.
So not much of an alternative to the vaccine option it seems to me and that option might take years. I have been canvassing the views of people i know about whether they would take the vaccine. Over 65s are very pro vaccine.
Quite a number of younger people say they would take their chances with getting the virus and developing anti bodies as long as they wouldnt infect a vulnerable person in the process.
I dont expect any GAA action in 2020.
The authorities will be working towards reopening sectors of the economy in a manageable safe way that wont trigger another wave of infections.
Tony Holohan was very guarded on the Late Late show last night when asked about when things might return to normal.
They can cope with the current level of spread but the genie could be out of the bottle in a few weeks if things returned to relative normality quickly.
|
|
mandad
Senior Member
Posts: 448
|
Post by mandad on Apr 18, 2020 14:39:21 GMT
Sport, in general, is a cohesive force that actively supports the social order in society. For some, it is almost a second religion. But is it worth the risk of spreading this killer virus – not even close. In general, games bring crowds of people together, but the aim of Health Authorities is to keep people apart. That paradox in crowd management is practically impossible to resolve. All extra infections today lock in a larger toll of future infections – that’s the point. There’s no escaping the maths.
Then again, if you play behind closed doors you risk getting displaced activity where you end up with everyone congregating somewhere else. You may actually perversely create an increased risk, especially in an indoor environment.
Athletes by nature are mentally tough individuals. In sport, where there is no standard retiring age, all players’ careers will eventually come to a close, whether this is through age, injury, exhaustion or something else of their own choosing. Many lads (and ladies) who told themselves after last season, I’ll just play one more year, one more good year, and then I’ll get out. Few if any could have ever envisaged that their careers would end in a way that now confronts them. Every club and every county has them and not many will enter retirement with ease or willingness. The abruptness of relinquishing childhood habits creates difficulties that many find daunting. Uncertain of what is to come, reflective over what could have been.
Yes, it is also unfortunate that so many young athletes will be deprived of their opportunity to play out their season in their age group - in many cases their last season. What a lot of people are finding the hardest to deal with is the uncertainty of it all. But we also need to distinguish in our own minds the difference between misery and peril.
On the lighter side, a few counties are about to have their longest ever run in the Championship!
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 18, 2020 15:12:19 GMT
Irish Times Logo User Menu LATEST NEWS
There is no evidence that blood tests to detect Covid-19 antibodies can show whether a person has immunity or is no longer at risk of becoming re-infected, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In a briefing, WHO epidemiologists warned despite hopes governments across the world had placed on antibody tests in an effort to re-open economies, there was no proof yet that having had a coronavirus infection will confer immunity for a significant period of time.
Scientists in many countries including Ireland are developing or testing new pinprick blood tests to measure for raised levels of antibodies generated by the body in fighting the virus – so far none have been validated for use.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Dr Maria van Kerchief said: “There are a lot of countries that are suggesting using rapid diagnostic serological tests to be able to capture what they think will be a measure of immunity. Right now, we have no evidence the use of a serological test can show that an individual has immunity or is protected from reinfection.”
These antibody tests would be able to measure “seroprevalence” levels – but that indication of antibodies in somebody did not mean they were immune.
She said it was “a good thing” so many tests were being developed. “We need to ensure that they are validated so that we know what they say they attempt to measure they are actually measuring.”
Related Have you lost someone to Covid-19? Share their story Hardware stores may open during pandemic, says Government PPE ‘rationing’ in nursing homes ‘not appropriate’, body says
Head of WHO’s emergencies programme Dr Mike Ryan said even if antibodies were effective there was little sign that large numbers of people had developed them, and were beginning to offer so-called “herd immunity” to the broader population.
“A lot of preliminary information coming to us right now would suggest quite a low percentage of population have seroconversion (to produce antibodies),” he added.
There was expectation that the majority in society may have developed antibodies, but the general evidence is pointing against that, “so it may not solve the problem of governments”.
In addition, some of the tests have issues with sensitivity, Dr Ryan added. They may give a false negative result.
More than 560,000 of the 2.1 million coronavirus cases across the world are marked as recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US. However, infectious disease specialists say the case total is likely to be much higher as people go undetected and countries struggle with testing.
In the US antibody tests have begun to be rolled out in spite of lack of reliability and validation. US president Donald Trump has recommended states use the tests as they start relaxing some of the physical distancing measures imposed to combat the pandemic, which has infected more than 671,000 people in the US.
Dr Ryan said antibody tests also raised ethical questions. “There are serious ethical issues around the use of such an approach and we need to address it very carefully, we also need to look at the length of protection that antibodies might give,” he said.
“You might have someone who believes they are seropositive (have been infected) and protected in a situation where they may be exposed and in fact they are susceptible to the disease.”
As a consequence, Dr Ryan said the tests had to be used as part of a coherent public health policy.
News Digests Stay on top of the latest news
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 19, 2020 10:35:38 GMT
Moral maze makes coronavirus exit strategy hard to plot Ireland faces difficult questions and choices as we contemplate our vitally important next steps, writes Niamh Horan
Niamh Horan April 19 2020 01:30 AM As the weeks go on, a moral dilemma in the coronavirus pandemic is emerging. Do we save lives — and continue to force everyone indoors — or save jobs, livelihoods and the economy? Officials in charge of Ireland’s exit strategy stand between the devil and the deep blue sea. Other countries are having the discussion before future waves hit. Shouldn’t we do the same?
‘We risk lives each day’
The International Monetary Fund predicts that this will be the worst economic crash since the 1930s. Unemployment stands at 500,000 — and is predicted to rise. Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan sent a chill through the country when he warned that we face restrictions for up to 18 months until a Covid-19 vaccine is mass-produced. So do we strike a balance between saving lives at all costs and avoiding an economic depression that will cost lives in countless other ways?
“That is the really, really big question for society,” says Gar Holohan, businessman and chairman of the Aura group, which has over 400 employees.
The thought of re-opening the economy at the risk of lives might sound unthinkable, but Mr Holohan says this approach to public health is taken every day: “It is like if I said ‘I have an invention that will revolutionise transport, but it will kill a certain number of people a year’. This is about accepting there are risks and there are consequences and setting down a plan as to how we manage them.
“Proportionately, we need to strike the right balance, protect the most vulnerable and not throw them to the wolves.”
The sentiment is echoed in a memo circulated by Oaktree Capital, the global investment management firm operating in Ireland. In it, billionaire investor Howard Marks writes: “How do we make the trade-off? There is no algorithm for deciding whether to favour life for a few (or for thousands) versus economic improvement for millions.
“On the one hand, choosing the economy seems hard-hearted. On the other, we permit or even encourage many number of deaths such as driving.”
And overall Marks says: “The benefits from automobiles outweigh the costs. Individuals knowingly assume the risks.”
‘Not for the squeamish’
Lecturer at Technological University Dublin Conor Skehan says risk is calculated all the time when it comes to the cost of life: “But the reality is that it normally occurs behind closed doors. Doing it explicitly in front of the whole country as Taoiseach is where it gets painful. You are deciding how safe is safe enough?
How many deaths are acceptable?
“People are unaware of the fact that these big decisions are made about so many areas of our day-to-day life all the time. How much steel goes into a building, for example? How many rivets to put in for a plane?”
In the insurance industry, he says, companies calculate “dollar cost per life saved”, and politicians do that, too. “Relatively speaking, education costs almost nothing, but saves a lot of lives. Vaccines cost almost nothing but save a lot of lives. Whereas environmental stuff can cost a fortune and make very little difference but it makes us feel better about ourselves, you know? These are not conversations for the squeamish.”
Read More Coronavirus Ireland: Planning underway to reopen schools as Harris raises 'once a week' scenario Simon Harris: 'I can't see people in packed pubs again as long as this virus is with us' European lockdown is eased but few dare to venture out Antibody tests do not guarantee immunity It is naive to think choosing to lock down the economy doesn’t brings a cost to life. Pain may be endured behind closed doors, or spread over years, but it is there.
We have already heard warnings that people suffering heart attacks and strokes are leaving it too late to seek medical help, cancer patients have had treatment postponed and thousands of women have to forgo their IVF treatment until society reopens, possibly missing the vital window to become mothers.
In the Mater, private hospital consultant Michael O’Keefe expressed fears that some patients may go blind and others could die as a result of the State’s temporary takeover of the facilities.
We know too that the poor and vulnerable are hardest hit in a downturn. Disability services are impacted and domestic violence rises. Addiction also takes hold. Some areas of Dublin have already seen a resurgence in drug dealing in the most disadvantaged areas that took so long to regenerate.
In homes where there is alcohol dependency, Austin Prior, a psychotherapist and board member of Dublin’s Rutland treatment centre, says: “I have heard from families where consumption has gone through the roof, the problem has been exacerbated. Under lockdown, it’s gone through the Richter scale.”
The bonds that bind
Social isolation shouldn’t be ignored. There are many stories of cocooned elderly people pleading with family members to flout rules, travel cross country and spend time with them. Adult children are irate when elderly parents quietly slip outdoors.
But perhaps they know a greater truth. There is trauma in separation. Psychoanalyst Anna Freud, in her book War and Children, famously found that during World War II, children were “less upset by bombing than by evacuation to the country as a protection against it”. Those who were sent away from their families to live in safe havens suffered more severe long-term trauma than the ones who stayed behind in the bombed city. Physical injury is not the worst fate that one can endure.
Waiting lists
One of the country’s leading insurance experts, Dermot Goode, says there will be “significant knock-on health-related effects” from continued lockdowns. “If we are back to normal by September, around 60,000 people will have had procedures delayed and the waiting list gets exponentially longer after that.”
Elsewhere, he says: “We are hearing anecdotally that people are going to die needlessly because they are not getting the proactive medical treatment they need. Anyone who normally gets health screenings done, that’s all parked.”
And on mental health, Mr Goode adds: “One private hospital has already told me the number of inquiries they are getting is way up. As this crisis becomes more prolonged, they say the demand for their services will be out of the door.”
Ireland’s suicide rate rose 15pc at the height of the last recession. Those most affected are middle-aged. One man who knows all too well about the pain of a financial crash is well-known publican Martin Keane. “I lost friends and acquaintances in the last recession,” he says. “Very successful businessmen and the pressure became too much. Alcohol took over with others. Another got stuck into the drugs. Nine years later, some are still suffering.”
Regardless, Mr Keane says: “I don’t think business people should make the call. If it is to be that we have the worst recession or depression we have seen then we will have to do what we have always done but the decisions should be left to the medical experts.”
Even scientists are not so sure if further lockdowns are for the greater good. Stanford epidemiologist John PA Ioannidis has warned that, with a case fatality rate of 0.05pc for Covid-19, lower than seasonal influenza, we are taking decisions that could be a “fiasco in the making”. Writing in Statnews, he said: “Locking down the world with potentially tremendous social and financial consequences may be totally irrational. It’s like an elephant being attacked by a house cat. Frustrated and trying to avoid the cat, the elephant accidentally jumps off a cliff and dies.”
Consultant cardiac surgeon Jullien Gaer also posed an important philosophical question: “What kind of society and economy do we want to leave to our children and grandchildren?”
What about the young?
Economists predict that the bill to cover the fallout will be between €20bn and €40bn — a cost that will be handed down to the next generation. Harry McCann, a second-year student at UCC and founder of Trendster, says: “Young people have been missed in this debate. A lot of my friends worry this is going to send us into a depression and it’s all going to fall back on us. Is 18 months of lockdowns something we should be considering? Can we continue to pay for it in the long run?” The Government has spent €4bn in wages and benefits in just 12 weeks.
Mr McCann says: “The conversation centres around the idea that ‘if you are not considering the death toll you are heartless’. But young people will suffer in different ways, too. I agree that it’s important to save as many lives as possible but we are not considering anything else. There is no space for it to be discussed.”
He believes the older generation could carry on cocooning, while young people go out to work. “Eventually we have to give the people who have the most likely chance of survival a chance to continue on in the world. We can’t continue like this, it’s not realistic.”
Read More :
|
|
|
Post by kerrygold on Apr 19, 2020 14:08:58 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Apr 19, 2020 18:07:44 GMT
The reliable guidance from medical research is that while a vaccine could be available in 6 months, it will most likely be nearer 12 before it would be fully operational, like the flue jab is? Worryingly is that there may never be a vaccine discovered for it, 'discovered' being the operative word, i.e. it would be a discovery of a solution to a problem and there are no guarantees as such. The only way ANYONE will know that such exists is if and when it is discovered, and that much I do know, though having said that I am not a medic, ah everyone is throwing their tuppenny bit!
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 19, 2020 18:57:57 GMT
about the schools, unless he means that one fifth of a class turn up each day of the week, i cant see how it will be a runner.
|
|
pillar
Senior Member
Posts: 509
|
Post by pillar on Apr 20, 2020 10:24:58 GMT
Think we may have to start accepting there may be no ball this year.Grand to say well play behind closed doors but what happens if a member of a team gets it and they then all have to go into quarantine.Think 2020 will have to take one for the team and aim to have everything back for 2021!!!
|
|
|
Post by Galway breeze on Apr 20, 2020 11:19:50 GMT
Pillar you are most likely right, no play in 2020. IMO this will be a great time for the Gaa organisation to reflect on how they will lose so much finances in one year of no competitions. Gaa has been driving a money machine to become a professional sport. Pouring money into technology and county teams and clubs trying to follow suit is hurting the future of the organisation. 60 million is a massive blow, the Gaa must take a few steps back to protect the sport locally rather then feeding the drivers of professionalism.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Apr 21, 2020 16:46:49 GMT
Irish Times Logo User Menu
Fiach Kelly Deputy Political Editor Updated: 39 minutes ago All mass gathering of over 5000 people will be banned until September 1st under plans set to be announced by the Government due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Government sources said local authorities will be told not to grant licences for large events in this period due to the coronavirus crisis.
It is understood the decision was taken by Ministers at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning. The decision means that major sports fixtures, concerts and other events will have to be rearranged.
In a statement the Government said it would give further health advice before current restrictions end on May 5th.
“However, there are a number of largescale future events which require licensing and the involvement of the HSE and Garda Síochána, and public consultation in that licensing process which fall to be determined in advance of that by local authorities.”
“While the issue of restrictions on future mass gatherings is a decision to be taken by the NPHET, in the case of these particular events, and taking account of the impacts on the integrity of the licensing process in the short-term due to restrictions on stakeholder involvement, local authorities have been advised by Government that event promoters should be informed that events requiring licences in excess of 5,000 will not be considered for the period up to the end of August.”
Speaking over the weekend in response to a question on whether Electric Picnic would go ahead this year, Minister for Health Simon Harris said it was unlikely we will have such mass gatherings any time soon.
Related Relatives and staff: Are you concerned about Covid-19 in care homes? SNAs to back students with disabilities using phones or laptops Oil hits two-decade lows on low demand, storage woes
“We are going to have to very shortly make a decision on these mass gatherings. I think its unlikely that we are going to see mass gatherings come back any time soon. I think we are going to have to keep up our social distancing even if we can lessen some of the restrictions in place as well”.
Mass gatherings were first restricted in the State on March 12th when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced indoor gatherings of more than 100 people should be cancelled and outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled. Since then far stricter measures have been introduced across the State. All mass gatherings have been restricted since the March 24th.
Meanwhile it was announced on Tuesday that nine more people with coronavirus have died in hospital in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of fatalities to 216.
The deaths of 77 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 were reported on Monday by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
Some 67 of the deaths were in the east, four in the north-west, four in the west and two in the south. A total of 54 of the patients were reported as having underlying health conditions. The median age was 84 years.
There have now been 687 Covid-19 related deaths in the Republic.
In addition the Department of Health is reporting another 77 “probable or suspected” Covid-19-related deaths in addition to the 687 laboratory-confirmed fatalities so far recorded.
All 77 probable/suspected deaths occurred in long-term residential facilities, including 61 in nursing homes, a spokeswoman has confirmed.
The classification has been made arising from the clinical assessment of patient who have died by doctors, she said.
More information on suspected Covid-19 deaths is likely to emerge when the results of a mortality census of long-term residential facilities are completed later this week, she added.
This means there have been a total of 764 laboratory-confirmed and probable/suspected death related to the virus in Ireland. The National Public Health Emergency Team is due to provide an update on these figures later this evening.
|
|
|
Post by royalkerryfan on Apr 21, 2020 20:33:22 GMT
A quick note to say I hope all the contributors on here whom add real value to this site are keeping well and that your families are well too.
It's really devastating the prospect of no sport this summer.
I know generations before went through their own trials and tribulations and it stood to them, hopefully we come out of this a better society.
Still though I'm really in the doldrums over not seeing Kerry this summer.
|
|
|
Post by jackiel on Apr 21, 2020 21:34:33 GMT
It has been pretty much inevitable that we'd have no games this Summer but hearing today's announcement makes it real. At this point I think the GAA should just announce that 2020 championships are null and void, allow the players to just go and live their lives for a while and hopefully hit the ground running in 2021. On that point why is it automatically assumed that Dublin retain Sam , if no contest surely there's no winner.
|
|