At a press conference on Sunday evening President Donald Trump announced that the Food and Drink Administration (FDA) has given its approval for the use of high antibody plasma from recovered Covid19 patients to treat those currently diagnosed. That followed a Presidential tweet on Saturday in which Trump accused the “deep state or whoever at […]
Thousands attend protest against lockdown restrictions #gript
Thousands of people from across the country have attended a rally in Dublin city centre where speakers called for an end to the lockdown and said that citizens should have freedom of choice in relation to the covid-19 restrictions. They also said that the government needed to provide transparency in relation to evidence-based decision making. […]
What is ‘Excess Deaths’? The Excess Deaths statistic estimates the total mortality impact of a disease on a society. Excess Deaths tells us how many people died in excess of the number we would normally have expected over the same time period. It’s like the ‘real’ metrics that remove the effect of inflation from the observed economic […]
The government has now introduced a return to many Covid-19 restrictions. But what do the numbers actually show about how deadly Coronavirus has been for Ireland? On July 3rd, the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) acknowledged that Coronavirus fatalities in Ireland were overestimated by 60%. A Central Statistics Office report published on the same day proved […]
They’ve all gone mad, haven’t they? Just think: there’s an alternative universe out there somewhere in which Fianna Fáil members had sense and told Micheál Martin that going into coalition was a dumb idea. In that universe, Dara Calleary is presently leader of Fianna Fáil, and leader of the opposition, watching his poll numbers grow […]
Offaly TD Carol Nolan has said that NPHET is to recommend not extending the lockdown in Offaly and Laois after August 22. However, in response to a question from a constituent, she said that “Kildare may well remain in lockdown.” The recommendation still has to be signed off by the Government which is expected to announce […]
On Tuesday, the Irish government, at the recommendation of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), announced a series of new measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 and to minimize its impact on vulnerable groups. Few would dispute that Covid-19 poses a serious threat to our health and well-being, and that an intelligent and […]
Doctors have warned of a “looming mental health crisis” and a “”tsunami of referrals” as new data shows that the number of adults in Britain with depression has doubled during the Covid-19 lockdown. Almost 20% of people said they had experienced depression in the month of June – doubling the number (9.7%) who gave that […]
History never repeats…I tell myself before I go to sleep (in lockdown) This week has been quite a hectic one. After two weeks of softening us all up with talk of “when, not if” and “buy face masks”, the government announced on Tuesday night that there was again community transmission of the Wuflu and […]
Anger and frustration have been widely expressed on social media at the government’s decision to revert to holding matches behind closed doors. Thousands of families who had returned to matches and training, with a maximum number of 200 people in attendance, have now been told that they need to adhere to a 15 people limit on outdoor gatherings. […]
Five months ago as the coronavirus pandemic kicked into swing I wrote that the narrative around flattening the curve or getting to zero versus herd immunity provided no clarity on where Ireland was going with its response. Five months later we are none the wiser. The government introduces new measures, a knee-jerk reaction, to an […]