Originally, this piece was headlined “lockdown until May, says Taoiseach”. But that actually might be too optimistic, because additional sources appeared while it was being written. And, according to the Irish Times, one of their sources at the FF Parliamentary Party meeting told them that the country was effectively in a state of “indefinite lockdown”. […]
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, as reported on this forum, argued that quarantining travellers upon arrival in Ireland would be ‘disproportionate’, because people already living here who test positive for Covid-19 do not have to quarantine. He also argued that it would go against the European Union’s strict rules on allowing freedom of movement and open borders […]
An article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), one of the world’s leading medical journals, by the journal’s executive editor, Kamran Abassi, has claimed that “Science is being suppressed for political and financial gain”. “Covid-19 has unleashed state corruption on a grand scale, and it is harmful to public health,” he added. The article criticised […]
“Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart.” WT Yeats said this in Easter, 1916, and I first heard it said during Michael Noonan’s Budget 2014 speech. At the time, the context of their use seemed appropriate, though after a few years of mere cutbacks, bailouts and uncertainty, the context of their […]
The Rural Independent Group has strongly criticised the government’s inaction at addressing the staffing crisis in health. This follows the release of new information in a parliamentary reply, to the group’s Leader, Deputy Mattie Mc Grath, which confirmed a mere 0.4 per cent of healthcare workers who applied to “Be On Call For Ireland”, have […]
Politicians around the world must be held to account for mishandling the Covid-19 pandemic, argues the executive editor of the BMJ, Dr Kamran Abbasi. At the very least, mishandling Covid-19 might be classified as ‘social murder’. When politicians and experts say that they are willing to allow tens of thousands of premature deaths, for the sake […]
The High Court has ruled that insurance giant FBD must compensate four pub owners for disruption to their businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The landmark decision may affect claims being made by almost 1,000 Irish pubs and restaurants. The four test actions were taken by three Dublin bars Aberken, trading as Sinnotts Bar; Hyper Trust […]
A study of more than 1,400 mothers and newborns has shown that antibodies can protect against the coronavirus in almost 90% of cases. Dr. Dustin Flannery, a neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, found that protective antibodies were transferred across the placenta in 72 out of 83 infected or previously infected pregnant women. The study, published […]
Michael McNamara has hit out at RTÉ for “driving anxiety” and has claimed that NPHET is not taking full account of mental health considerations when considering lockdowns. Some of the mainstream media coverage of the Covid-19 crisis is adding to the high levels of stress and anxiety amongst the population he said. He also claimed […]
I wonder, you know, whether this is constitutional: “A spokesman for Mr Donnelly said gardaí now had the power to call to people’s homes to ensure they were quarantining but they could (not) enter the person’s home. Antoinette Cunningham, the general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said on Thursday evening […]
On Friday last, January 29, the Comhairle Dáil Ceantair (CDC) for Fianna Fáil in East Meath, held a special meeting at which it decided to suspend the Public Relations Officer, John Kierans for stating that he had put a motion down for the next ordinary meeting of the CDC regarding the Covid panic. According to […]
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has called for an Emergency Response Unit to be set up in support of Nursing Homes in crisis. Today it was revealed that 369 deaths associated with Covid-19 had taken place in nursing homes in January, with 193 outbreaks currently in the care homes. “We’ve seen a warning from the […]