GAA Response to Coronavirus

[smort]

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season.

Except that COVID-19 is much more infectious and has a much greater mortality rate than seasonal flu. This info has been available for weeks, keep up.

So your argument is about rates. At what mortality rates are you happy to see GAA games  and activities take place during the flu season?

Humanity has lived with the flu for a couple of thousand years and seems to have come to terms with the risk it poses.

COVID-19 is six months old, and we have no grasp of its medium to long term impact. Until we have a solution, or get our heads around a world where this virus exists, the only sensible thing to do is to attempt to mitigate its impact by all means possible. If that means no football for a year or two, then so be it.

This. I don't see how there can be football until we have a vaccine. And five points, clubs up and down the country are still active with training videos/challenges, quizzes, fundraisers, video calls, litter picking, food drops, old recordings of matches/events...the GAA is the at the heart of most communities and a lot of clubs are continuing with that via different means

[five points]

This. I don't see how there can be football until we have a vaccine. And five points, clubs up and down the country are still active with training videos/challenges, quizzes, fundraisers, video calls, litter picking, food drops, old recordings of matches/events...the GAA is the at the heart of most communities and a lot of clubs are continuing with that via different means

You won't sustain a club for too long on remote quizzes, food drops and litter picking. Especially when competing sports get going again.

[five points]

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season.

Except that COVID-19 is much more infectious and has a much greater mortality rate than seasonal flu. This info has been available for weeks, keep up.

So your argument is about rates. At what mortality rates are you happy to see GAA games  and activities take place during the flu season?

Humanity has lived with the flu for a couple of thousand years and seems to have come to terms with the risk it poses.

COVID-19 is six months old, and we have no grasp of its medium to long term impact. Until we have a solution, or get our heads around a world where this virus exists, the only sensible thing to do is to attempt to mitigate its impact by all means possible. If that means no football for a year or two, then so be it.

That's fair enough, once we also remember there is a social and human cost to suspending games for a year or two.

[HiMucker]

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season.

Except that COVID-19 is much more infectious and has a much greater mortality rate than seasonal flu. This info has been available for weeks, keep up.

So your argument is about rates. At what mortality rates are you happy to see GAA games  and activities take place during the flu season?

This flu comparison stuff is really doing my head in. It is completely disingenuous. Though I know it happens to plenty of people especially elderly and vulnerable, I don't know of anyone that has been hospitalized or died of flu in my lifetime. I live in a place that has compared reasonably well in comparison to other places in Ireland and the UK during this pandemic, and in a very short space of time I know several people who have died, even more that have been hospitalized and plenty more who have been very very sick. Some of these people, including those who died, and hospitalized, were fit healthy adults ranging from in their 30s to 50s. It is nothing like the flu. It actually scares me how many people need to see this on their doorstep before they believe the severity of the whole thing.

[five points]

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season.

Except that COVID-19 is much more infectious and has a much greater mortality rate than seasonal flu. This info has been available for weeks, keep up.

So your argument is about rates. At what mortality rates are you happy to see GAA games  and activities take place during the flu season?

This flu comparison stuff is really doing my head in. It is completely disingenuous. Though I know it happens to plenty of people especially elderly and vulnerable, I don't know of anyone that has been hospitalized or died of flu in my lifetime. I live in a place that has compared reasonably well in comparison to other places in Ireland and the UK during this pandemic, and in a very short space of time I know several people who have died, even more that have been hospitalized and plenty more who have been very very sick. Some of these people, including those who died, and hospitalized, were fit healthy adults ranging from in their 30s to 50s. It is nothing like the flu. It actually scares me how many people need to see this on their doorstep before they believe the severity of the whole thing.

No such comparison was made though. A question was asked.

Btw, I guarantee you know of people who have previously been hospitalized or died of flu. It is one of the biggest killers every year.

[Taylor]

This. I don't see how there can be football until we have a vaccine. And five points, clubs up and down the country are still active with training videos/challenges, quizzes, fundraisers, video calls, litter picking, food drops, old recordings of matches/events...the GAA is the at the heart of most communities and a lot of clubs are continuing with that via different means

You won't sustain a club for too long on remote quizzes, food drops and litter picking. Especially when competing sports get going again.

Let me get this straight - are you happy to get the GAA up and running again so that we dont lose ground on other sports regardless of mortality rates among the GAA community?

[five points]

This. I don't see how there can be football until we have a vaccine. And five points, clubs up and down the country are still active with training videos/challenges, quizzes, fundraisers, video calls, litter picking, food drops, old recordings of matches/events...the GAA is the at the heart of most communities and a lot of clubs are continuing with that via different means

You won't sustain a club for too long on remote quizzes, food drops and litter picking. Especially when competing sports get going again.

Let me get this straight - are you happy to get the GAA up and running again so that we dont lose ground on other sports regardless of mortality rates among the GAA community?

My playing days are over. And my county and club are both highly unlikely to land silverware this year or next, regardless of when or if we restart. So I have no dog in this fight.

It will be up to GAA top brass to decide  But if a vaccine isn't found for several years, (and medics keep warning me its unlikely), and we remain shut in the meantime, there mightn't be much left to restart.

[HiMucker]

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season.

Except that COVID-19 is much more infectious and has a much greater mortality rate than seasonal flu. This info has been available for weeks, keep up.

So your argument is about rates. At what mortality rates are you happy to see GAA games  and activities take place during the flu season?

This flu comparison stuff is really doing my head in. It is completely disingenuous. Though I know it happens to plenty of people especially elderly and vulnerable, I don't know of anyone that has been hospitalized or died of flu in my lifetime. I live in a place that has compared reasonably well in comparison to other places in Ireland and the UK during this pandemic, and in a very short space of time I know several people who have died, even more that have been hospitalized and plenty more who have been very very sick. Some of these people, including those who died, and hospitalized, were fit healthy adults ranging from in their 30s to 50s. It is nothing like the flu. It actually scares me how many people need to see this on their doorstep before they believe the severity of the whole thing.

No such comparison was made though. A question was asked.

Btw, I guarantee you know of people who have previously been hospitalized or died of flu. It is one of the biggest killers every year.

"If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season" Really your not making any comparisons to flu?
Given that some governments made a complete balls of the thing comparing it to flu in early stages, you would think one would be careful even mentioning it on this subject. It has very little relevance apart from the similar method of transmission.

On your second point. You may be right, but a single person doesn't  spring to mind. Though Im certain, there wasn't a heap of them in the last 8 years never mind the last 8 weeks.

[five points]

"If this was true, entire countries would shut down annually for the duration of the flu season" Really your not making any comparisons to flu?
Given that some governments made a complete balls of the thing comparing it to flu in early stages, you would think one would be careful even mentioning it on this subject. It has very little relevance apart from the similar method of transmission.

I'll mention it wherever I like thanks. Mentions and comparisons are two separate things.

On your second point. You may be right, but a single person doesn't  spring to mind. Though Im certain, there wasn't a heap of them in the last 8 years never mind the last 8 weeks.

If you know of anyone who has died in a nursing home or hospital during the months January to March in any given year, there is a good chance that they died of flu. It is the number one contributor to hospital overcrowding every year at that time of year.

[Smurfy123]

Five points is right. We have paralysed society and the GAA for long enough. Time to open up. This flu has its dangers like almost every flu but some stuff blown away up.
No vaccine no GAA? Catch yourself on.

[Rossfan]

Does the flu injection not work in 5Pointland?

[five points]

Does the flu injection not work in 5Pointland?

Hilarious. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/number-of-flu-deaths-hits-22-but-outbreak-may-have-peaked-1.4129014

[sid waddell]

The lockdown has never been about protecting young, healthy people from the virus. Where has that idea come from? Why are people arguing against this straw man?

It's about stopping young, healthy people (and everyone else) being a conduit for virus to not so young and not so healthy people.

Inherent in the argument that young, healthy people don't die, and should therefore be allowed to play away, is the notion that old and sick people should die so that this can happen. That's reprehensible.

Not one single person is saying that.

Of course no one is saying that. It's utterly disgusting. But whether they realise it or not, that's where these suggestions lead.

What people are saying is that we have very defined sections of the community that are at a much much higher risk from this awful disease, yet at the moment we are in total lockdown for everyone (barring essential workers etc...). There will come a time, be it for work, football whatever, where this will no longer be possible/acceptable. IMO the best way forward would be to shield/lockdown/cocoon whatever you want to call it, those who are vulnerable and let everyone else get on with it. So your young healthy footballer or worker or whatever will not be passing it on to someone vulnerable as they will still be isolating.

This is great and all, but it just won't work in the real world. The 'shielding' strategy will never be airtight enough that you can afford to have a huge proportion of the population running around unchecked. The best way to keep death tolls down is to keep infections down across the entire population. Unless you don't really care about death tolls, because it's mostly just old and fat people dying and they don't matter.

Bolded bits are spot on.

[Cluborcountywhynotboth]

To all the experts on here repeating verbatim that we can't do anything till we have a vaccine.....a virologist was on the tv today (so I'd suggest a little more qualified that most on here), and stated that the world has never created a vaccine for any of the coronavirus strands (sars etc..), in fact in history the only vaccine for a virus similar to this was the vaccine for smallpox. Even the much compared Spanish flu was never cured. So if you seriously think that we won't be returning to things like football before a vaccine is found then you are very much wrong. As minister Harris said weeks and weeks ago, we have to find a way to live with the virus.

[imtommygunn]

Yeah but it really shouldn't come back before social distancing goes away...