Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Itchy]

Yes none of us know whether the approach adopted by almost every country in Europe and China is right versus the approach taken by one country with an idiot in charge which is based on loads of old people dieing and the rest of the population catching it and magically developing immunity.

The UK actually do have quite a clear strategic plan tho. What is the ROI plan? Lockdown with 1/5th of the island on a different page and then what?Ireland as an island will suffer very badly from the disjointed approach, there will be repeated flare ups.

My thoughts exactly.

The UK also still have the option to escalate at pace.

—-

I've pretty much signed out of Twitter now. Too many people from NI border towns giving off that their neighbours kids are off school and theirs are not. These people aren't actually sure why they want their kids off school, or how they'll pay for this "privilege" or how they'll entertain and stimulate their children. They're just ranting. Something about viruses don't obey borders. Ranting f**king ranting.

And yet as ignorant as they might be they are still smarter than you .

[Itchy]

Herd immunity = sacrifice your parents and grand parents and hope for the best. If you buy into that you have lost your humanity.

[thewobbler]

Yes none of us know whether the approach adopted by almost every country in Europe and China is right versus the approach taken by one country with an idiot in charge which is based on loads of old people dieing and the rest of the population catching it and magically developing immunity.

The UK actually do have quite a clear strategic plan tho. What is the ROI plan? Lockdown with 1/5th of the island on a different page and then what?Ireland as an island will suffer very badly from the disjointed approach, there will be repeated flare ups.

My thoughts exactly.

The UK also still have the option to escalate at pace.

—-

I've pretty much signed out of Twitter now. Too many people from NI border towns giving off that their neighbours kids are off school and theirs are not. These people aren't actually sure why they want their kids off school, or how they'll pay for this "privilege" or how they'll entertain and stimulate their children. They're just ranting. Something about viruses don't obey borders. Ranting f**king ranting.

And yet as ignorant as they might be they are still smarter than you .

"Ignorant"?

Itchy, listen fella.

Your thoughts on how governments should respond to corona are opinions and predictions.  They aren't facts. Even if you repeat them again and again and again and again, they still don't become facts. Even if you paint them in 100 foot letters on a wall, they still don't become facts.

It is a grey subject. There is no right answer. It is conjecture.

I have no problem with you choosing to be ultra cautious. That is your right.

But have some tolerance for those of us who wish to remain open minded about the situation.

[Itchy]

Yes none of us know whether the approach adopted by almost every country in Europe and China is right versus the approach taken by one country with an idiot in charge which is based on loads of old people dieing and the rest of the population catching it and magically developing immunity.

The UK actually do have quite a clear strategic plan tho. What is the ROI plan? Lockdown with 1/5th of the island on a different page and then what?Ireland as an island will suffer very badly from the disjointed approach, there will be repeated flare ups.

My thoughts exactly.

The UK also still have the option to escalate at pace.

—-

I've pretty much signed out of Twitter now. Too many people from NI border towns giving off that their neighbours kids are off school and theirs are not. These people aren't actually sure why they want their kids off school, or how they'll pay for this "privilege" or how they'll entertain and stimulate their children. They're just ranting. Something about viruses don't obey borders. Ranting f**king ranting.

And yet as ignorant as they might be they are still smarter than you .

"Ignorant"?

Itchy, listen fella.

Your thoughts on how governments should respond to corona are opinions and predictions.  They aren't facts. Even if you repeat them again and again and again and again, they still don't become facts. Even if you paint them in 100 foot letters on a wall, they still don't become facts.

It is a grey subject. There is no right answer. It is conjecture.

I have no problem with you choosing to be ultra cautious. That is your right.

But have some tolerance for those of us who wish to remain open minded about the situation.

Yes ignorant as per the reasons to close school if I take your description of these border people to be fact.

And no I wont be tolerant of people who are recklessly ignoring the advise of the WHO and putting the lives of my parents and everyone else's parents at risk on this island.

[thewobbler]

Tell me Itchy about the changes you've made to your own life in the past month.

I suspect you're a f**king mouthpiece rather than a leader here.

[Itchy]

I wish this virus had a bias for stupid f**kers and not old people. Anyways I'm going to leave it there, in a week or two we will see how open minded you are when people you know start to drop.

[thewobbler]

I wish this virus had a bias for stupid f**kers and not old people. Anyways I'm going to leave it there, in a week or two we will see how open minded you are when people you know start to drop.

And at that point you might admit that because you changed little to nothing about your own personal habits, or those of your family, that your neglect of personal responsibility was at least as contributory as government delays.

No actually, you won't. You have that personality trait where you will always find someone else to blame.

[screenexile]

Whatever about what Michelle O'Neill did yesterday John O'Dowd has blown it out of the water. . . what in God's name is he hoping to achieve with a statement like that when we need politicians working together??

So badly advised I mean even the wording of the statement jesus!

[Saffrongael]

Whatever about what Michelle O'Neill did yesterday John O'Dowd has blown it out of the water. . . what in God's name is he hoping to achieve with a statement like that when we need politicians working together??

So badly advised I mean even the wording of the statement jesus!

I actually thought it was a parody account when I saw the tweet

[Itchy]

I wish this virus had a bias for stupid f**kers and not old people. Anyways I'm going to leave it there, in a week or two we will see how open minded you are when people you know start to drop.

And at that point you might admit that because you changed little to nothing about your own personal habits, or those of your family, that your neglect of personal responsibility was at least as contributory as government delays.

No actually, you won't. You have that personality trait where you will always find someone else to blame.

You are complete moron, everyone here can see that. You have been making little of this crisis since it started. You are endangering your family, your friends and your fellow country man. Maybe you are in denial, maybe you are just to big of a coward to face the reality of whats coming. In summation your attitude is pathetic and selfish - horrible traits in any human being.

In the hope it might help someone who is genuinely interested (you clearly are not) I will tell you all what I have been doing since this came to our shores and the relevant advise was released by the WHO through the government.

- I am washing my hands much more frequently than before, 30 seconds at least with warm water and soaps. My wife and kids the same.
- Only one of us goes to the shops (no kids). Normally it is me. I try to not use my hands to open doors. I am very conscious of not touching my face or rubbing my eyes. When I leave the shop I use sanitiser before I get into the car. When I get home I wipe down the packaging of what I have bought - similar to the practice we use in medical device industry.
- We are not socialising, not going to pubs or restaurants. We go for walks by ourselves. I just brought the dog for a walk hence missing your last message.
- I am frequently calling my elderly parents at home, checking in on them. I am telling them to stay home and give the pub a miss. I tell them what I do when I go to the shop
- No play dates for kids but we can play football outside and keep them busy. Kids will not die but they will spread this disease

At Work

I am part of the plant emergency response team. There are 1000 people in the plant. We are in constant discussions with IBEC and Corporate for the latest information

- We have asked as many people as possible to work from home.
- We are practicing social distancing, avoid being closer than 2 meters from the next person.
- We have rearranged work stations where possible to keep a 2m distance.
- We have turned off machines and lines where 2m distance is not possible.
- We have removed 50% of chairs from the canteen
- We have held small group meetings with the employees and they are all bought in and I am very proud of the way they continue to turn up and make critical medical devices for vulnerable people while adhering to a strict regime of social distancing.
- We have cancelled meetings, critical ones must be less than 15 minutes
- We have staggered shifts so one finishes 30 mins before the next one starts, avoiding crowds of people meeting
- We are asking people who have been to the list of infected countries to stay at home for 2 weeks paid. We have done same with people who were in cheltenham.

At the GAA club I am committee member

- We stopped training and games early this week
- We have stopped our lotto, only doing online from this Saturday
- We have shared all best practice posters through our social media and email outlets
- We have set up a group which will help elderly in the parish get things from the shops etc


I am no hero, I consider this  to be the absolute basics of humanity - to look out for your fellow man. Unfortunately I look around and so many people are thinking I am young, I will be alright. They probably will. But they will spread this disease and kill so many people. If you don't believe me please take time to watch this video of Baz Interviewing Dr Paddy Mallon. Just look our for your fellow Irish man, you dont have to make that many sacrifices and you will get by fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CsAeuFAPy4

[general_lee]

Maybe we need a few deaths to get people to get their heads out of their holes

[dec]

Whatever about what Michelle O'Neill did yesterday John O'Dowd has blown it out of the water. . . what in God's name is he hoping to achieve with a statement like that when we need politicians working together??

So badly advised I mean even the wording of the statement jesus!

Is a shire of bastards different from a shower of bastards?

[Itchy]

Whatever about what Michelle O'Neill did yesterday John O'Dowd has blown it out of the water. . . what in God's name is he hoping to achieve with a statement like that when we need politicians working together??

So badly advised I mean even the wording of the statement jesus!

Is a shire of bastards different from a shower of bastards?

Predictive text? Strange choice of word.

[ardtole]

I have to agree with itchy on this one. I'm from co down but living in navan at present, and the people in the south seem to have got the message. There is a significant change in attitudes from most of the population.

From talking to friends and family at home I dont think the same message is getting through, and maybe that is due to the different approaches from the two governments.

I watched Claire Byrne last Monday evening and personally it was a real eye opener for me. Simon Coveney was on and I genuinely feel he looked "shook", it was as if he knew what was coming down the road, but was limited to what he could say.

Growing up in the north through the troubles I think we have a tendency to be able to get on with things in general,  it takes quite a bit to alarm us. I was in New York on Sept 11 and wasn't overly worried.

But there is something about this virus that really concerns me, maybe it's because I've a young family, or my parents are in the most at risk category but I've being taking all the cautions that Itchy mentioned.

I dont think there is any harm in being overly cautious and if this blows over in 2 weeks with minimal fuss, il be only too happy to say I was wrong, and I'd be only too happy to have to do that.

[BennyCake]

Ardtole, I agree. People will take it more seriously in the south because of the govt action. That can only be a good thing.