GAA Response to Coronavirus

[Itchy]

Missed a bit here......

Firstly - the Roscommon "incident". The GAA guidelines on Return to Play were complied with from my reading/knowledge of the event. These guidelines have been approved by government. Like the Donegal/Mayo game the previous week this is a non-story. People don't seem to understand that there's an exemption for elite sports which intercounty GAA (rightly) qualifies as. The Guidelines are very detailed and cover practically all things you can think of. A shame Garda time was wasted on this.

Secondly - a lockdown. Unfortunately we have let things get totally out of control. After suffering the pain of the first lockdown we unfortunately went back to virtually normal which was ridiculous and had produced the inevitable result. Bottom line is we have to do it again and this time come out of it smarter and different. We will have to accept some certain controls on our lives until a vaccine is available. Delaying the second lockdown is only extending how long it will be. This is sadly just the truth. I think we can suppress the virus and keep it at a low level if we're willing to take some pain. I just think too many people just don't care though....I'm alright Jack...

The WHO are not advocating lockdowns. I think we all support people doing the right things and enforcing that. In my opinion enforcement was the biggest issue. Cops basically have done nothing and continue to pretty much do nothing only pointless check points which any eejit could take his way through. Where were the pubs closures, fines etc. Lockdown is not sustainable. There is a strong chance we wont get a vaccine to the most vulnerable people until mid 21, the rest of us 6 to 12 months later. Are we going to stay in perpetual lock down? It cant be done. There needs to be more innovation brought to this. People are listening to Tony Holohan like he is some god, scratch the surface with that fella and you will find he's not the man most people think he is. He has a blinkered single issue perspective. Government need to take that on board and look at everything else too. For once I am glad the government is holding him back. Lock down is grand if you are a teacher or civil servant, certain of getting your wage. Not so great for the majority of people who work in private sector and not so great when all the money we lose and have to borrow will all have to be paid back through your taxes for a long long time.

[LCohen]

Missed a bit here......

Firstly - the Roscommon "incident". The GAA guidelines on Return to Play were complied with from my reading/knowledge of the event. These guidelines have been approved by government. Like the Donegal/Mayo game the previous week this is a non-story. People don't seem to understand that there's an exemption for elite sports which intercounty GAA (rightly) qualifies as. The Guidelines are very detailed and cover practically all things you can think of. A shame Garda time was wasted on this.

Secondly - a lockdown. Unfortunately we have let things get totally out of control. After suffering the pain of the first lockdown we unfortunately went back to virtually normal which was ridiculous and had produced the inevitable result. Bottom line is we have to do it again and this time come out of it smarter and different. We will have to accept some certain controls on our lives until a vaccine is available. Delaying the second lockdown is only extending how long it will be. This is sadly just the truth. I think we can suppress the virus and keep it at a low level if we're willing to take some pain. I just think too many people just don't care though....I'm alright Jack...

Seanie - you could be right on Boyle. Personally I don't know. There is clearly an exemption for elite sport to train and play. AFAIK there isn't a general exemption for the wider restrictions that elite sport can tap into. I could be wrong. All I can say that when I previously asked on this thread the link provided did not seem to cover the Boyle event

Agree on your wider comments

[LCohen]

Missed a bit here......

Firstly - the Roscommon "incident". The GAA guidelines on Return to Play were complied with from my reading/knowledge of the event. These guidelines have been approved by government. Like the Donegal/Mayo game the previous week this is a non-story. People don't seem to understand that there's an exemption for elite sports which intercounty GAA (rightly) qualifies as. The Guidelines are very detailed and cover practically all things you can think of. A shame Garda time was wasted on this.

Secondly - a lockdown. Unfortunately we have let things get totally out of control. After suffering the pain of the first lockdown we unfortunately went back to virtually normal which was ridiculous and had produced the inevitable result. Bottom line is we have to do it again and this time come out of it smarter and different. We will have to accept some certain controls on our lives until a vaccine is available. Delaying the second lockdown is only extending how long it will be. This is sadly just the truth. I think we can suppress the virus and keep it at a low level if we're willing to take some pain. I just think too many people just don't care though....I'm alright Jack...

The WHO are not advocating lockdowns. I think we all support people doing the right things and enforcing that. In my opinion enforcement was the biggest issue. Cops basically have done nothing and continue to pretty much do nothing only pointless check points which any eejit could take his way through. Where were the pubs closures, fines etc. Lockdown is not sustainable. There is a strong chance we wont get a vaccine to the most vulnerable people until mid 21, the rest of us 6 to 12 months later. Are we going to stay in perpetual lock down? It cant be done. There needs to be more innovation brought to this. People are listening to Tony Holohan like he is some god, scratch the surface with that fella and you will find he's not the man most people think he is. He has a blinkered single issue perspective. Government need to take that on board and look at everything else too. For once I am glad the government is holding him back. Lock down is grand if you are a teacher or civil servant, certain of getting your wage. Not so great for the majority of people who work in private sector and not so great when all the money we lose and have to borrow will all have to be paid back through your taxes for a long long time.

To be clear WHO want countries to take the correct steps and to do so early so that lockdowns do not become necessary. This is absolutely not the same as saying that WHO are against Lockdowns when they become necessary

[sid waddell]

Missed a bit here......

Firstly - the Roscommon "incident". The GAA guidelines on Return to Play were complied with from my reading/knowledge of the event. These guidelines have been approved by government. Like the Donegal/Mayo game the previous week this is a non-story. People don't seem to understand that there's an exemption for elite sports which intercounty GAA (rightly) qualifies as. The Guidelines are very detailed and cover practically all things you can think of. A shame Garda time was wasted on this.

Secondly - a lockdown. Unfortunately we have let things get totally out of control. After suffering the pain of the first lockdown we unfortunately went back to virtually normal which was ridiculous and had produced the inevitable result. Bottom line is we have to do it again and this time come out of it smarter and different. We will have to accept some certain controls on our lives until a vaccine is available. Delaying the second lockdown is only extending how long it will be. This is sadly just the truth. I think we can suppress the virus and keep it at a low level if we're willing to take some pain. I just think too many people just don't care though....I'm alright Jack...

The WHO are not advocating lockdowns. I think we all support people doing the right things and enforcing that. In my opinion enforcement was the biggest issue. Cops basically have done nothing and continue to pretty much do nothing only pointless check points which any eejit could take his way through. Where were the pubs closures, fines etc. Lockdown is not sustainable. There is a strong chance we wont get a vaccine to the most vulnerable people until mid 21, the rest of us 6 to 12 months later. Are we going to stay in perpetual lock down? It cant be done. There needs to be more innovation brought to this. People are listening to Tony Holohan like he is some god, scratch the surface with that fella and you will find he's not the man most people think he is. He has a blinkered single issue perspective. Government need to take that on board and look at everything else too. For once I am glad the government is holding him back. Lock down is grand if you are a teacher or civil servant, certain of getting your wage. Not so great for the majority of people who work in private sector and not so great when all the money we lose and have to borrow will all have to be paid back through your taxes for a long long time.

To be clear WHO want countries to take the correct steps and to do so early so that lockdowns do not become necessary. This is absolutely not the same as saying that WHO are against Lockdowns when they become necessary

Indeed and this seemed very obvious to me

The reaction to what Mr. Nabarro said has been most instructive in showing us who is considering the Covid crisis in good faith and who is twisting anything they can to advance a horrible political ideology

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/liam-o-neill-believes-gaa-must-keep-option-open-to-cancel-intercounty-season-1.4378972

Former GAA president Liam O'Neill has said he believes that there would be support for the association were it to have to call off the intercounty season, which is due to start at the weekend.
He doesn't necessarily advocate that as a position but mindful of the deteriorating public health environment, says that it may become necessary.
"We empowered management to take these decisions and they have made good decisions all the way through," said O'Neill. "I would though caution them that if it comes to it that the intercounty championship has to be called off before it gets started – if things go badly in the next couple of weeks; in that context I think people will understand.
"I think there's some comfort in that. If the hard decisions have to be taken it will be for the best and accepted as such. If everything goes without much of a hitch that will be brilliant too, but realistically the situation is again difficult."
O'Neill, who was president between 2012 and '15, strongly argued during the first wave of coronavirus earlier in the year that the best thing would be to forget about 2020 and concentrate on making sure that next year proceeds smoothly.
He had no issue with the roadmap unveiled in the early summer, which set out a calendar of fixtures for both club and county but believes that caution is now needed.
"I made no comment on the decision of Coiste Bainistí because I was part of the authorising process that gave them the responsibility to make those decisions and I accept them fully but I'd love them to consider the possibility – do we really need this or have to do it? Maybe have that discussion about whether we may be walking ourselves into trouble.
"A pandemic is such a serious event. I know people haven't died in the sort of numbers we feared earlier in the year but nobody knows where this is going.
"There are also questions still lingering over the safety of our intercounty players. It's okay so far but activity has been mostly within our counties. Now to finish the league programme counties are going to have to be criss-crossing the country."
The former president also accepts that evolving medical and scientific advice led to the return of the games and helped to defuse concerns about social distancing on the pitch but he also referred to the abrupt termination of club activities a week ago amid indications that some post-county final celebrations were helping to spread Covid-19.
"My view all along was that if it's safe, go ahead and I have to say it was nice to see the few games we had this year.
"The club progressed but we suspected all along that it mightn't finish and to a certain extent it hasn't. You had most of the finals played and no one really minds what's left now because the narrative is that the club games went ahead, which they did but they haven't finished and may not until next year even though many of the outstanding finals have no bearing on intercounty teams."
There have been two significant issues on which the GAA has had to make hard choices. Initially there was no organisational enthusiasm for playing matches behind closed doors but that changed – maybe with the experience of other sports widely available.
Secondly there was always the prospect that teams might have to withdraw because of incidents of coronavirus within county panels, as happened to Fermanagh in the past weeks, with uncertainty now hanging over the county's Division 2 match against Clare, scheduled for Ennis.
O'Neill points out that teams have already been omitted from league and championship because of the public health situation.
"We already have excluded some counties: the overseas units like London, Lancashire, Warwickshire and of course New York. That's a pity because competitions aren't the same without them."
He is concerned that a matter of just weeks before the run-in to Christmas, the GAA shouldn't put itself under immense pressure to deliver something that, while it's being looked forward to, is not essential.
"Does it really matter now? I'd love someone to stand back and ask that. Does the intercounty championship really matter? We thought at the start of the all this that it would be terrible to go the rest of the year without an intercounty game but we've kind of survived without it.
"I would have preferred if we'd not put that pressure on ourselves. I'm not saying that the intercounty championship isn't important for many people but the whole effort we're making is to try and do what we normally do but in unbelievably difficult circumstances.


"I fully accept that the officials in Croke Park have to make those decisions, as does everyone tuning into remote meetings to agree these things. If things change and the country's not as safe as it was and we had to take the decision to pull the plug I don't think there'd be any hostility to that from the GAA public. I think people understand how serious things are."
On a lighter note, he's not convinced that the GAA can as easily go down the road of other sports in recording the sounds of supporters to add atmosphere to broadcasts from virtually empty stadiums.
"Nobody will be able to produce digital tracks to do justice to shouts of, 'Laois, Laois'!"

[Cavan19]

That Roscommon thing is a complete non story.

[FermGael]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/fermanagh-s-aidan-breen-on-the-physical-and-mental-strain-of-covid-19-1.4378645

Fermanagh's Aidan Breen on the physical and mental strain of Covid-19

'I went out for a walk one day and you would have swore I ran a marathon'

For every mealtime Rita Breen prepares a tray for her son, the Fermanagh footballer Aidan, leaves it on the landing outside his bedroom, knocks the door lightly, and walks away.

As someone who works providing home help for the elderly in the community, she along with husband Jamesie have to isolate themselves in the Tempo countryside as Aidan recovers from the Covid-19 infection that made its way through the Fermanagh panel since a collective training session on October 2nd.
Inside the bedroom, Aidan Breen has not found any of this easy. And yet, if Fermanagh's appeal for a postponement of this Sunday's league meeting in Ennis against Clare is turned down by the Competitions Control Committee, he will be deemed fit to play for his county in a must-win game, Fermanagh teetering on the brink of relegation.
"I went for a test on Sunday morning [October 3rd] for two reasons," he explains.
"There was a bit of a cluster with the few boys in the team and then in Tempo there was a bit of an outbreak. There was one in a local shop and I had been in the shop on the Saturday.
"I suppose the fact I am living with my parents, two people who would be high risk, I said I was going to just go to get tested.
"I felt the test was precautionary because I didn't feel I was in close contact. Luckily, the result came back on the Monday morning early, around 7am."
At the time, he was about to head through the door for his work as an electrician. He wasn't feeling the slightest symptom. He contacted his parents and other family and they all instantly began isolating.
He hasn't found the transition that easy.
"You could be sort of paranoid about it. You hear the rumour mill, stories going around, that my parents had it and they weren't well. There are people actually texting me about it and a couple of phonecalls to the house," he said.
"There were more rumours that another lad over the road had it, a player, and he was hospitalised. Again it wasn't true but a lot of that stuff is going on and you are sitting at home. Your head is away with it."
The physical symptoms soon arrived.
"I had no energy, I had a sore head. I felt very breathless. I went out for a walk one day and you would have swore I ran a marathon. I was caught for breath and had to pull the pin. My legs were like jelly."
He felt much better during a light run last weekend, but it is one thing jogging the back roads, another thing playing an intercounty match.
With 17 members of their panel isolating, both the Fermanagh squad, their county board, manager Ryan McMenamin and the GAA are all in exceptionally tricky territory.
"We are not going to get a chance to see what way we are. If I feel all right, do I say, 'Here, I am ready to go' and then I am done after five minutes?" asks Breen.
"That day I went for the run on the Wednesday, it was playing on my mind. With all this time on your hands, you are inclined to go into Google and type in long-term effects of Covid. You see all these people who have a reduced lung capacity and you have to turn your phone off. You would depress yourself, nearly.
"I imagine there are a lot of people saying we want it postponed because of the position we are in. Which is fair enough, we are in the position we deserve to be.
"The thing that worries me is that if the GAA do not show a bit of flexibility for the teams that are struggling, there are going to be cases covered up and there are teams who might not be honest.
"Close contacts are a big thing. They will continue to play away and the virus will get out of control. I think the GAA have to be flexible, we have 17 players in isolation and this is just our own example. It's not us feeling a bit sorry for ourselves."

[Angelo]

The Ard Comhairle should have run the All Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU9q8J4xShs in parallel with the club championships because Covid is seasonal and it will kill loads of people in December. There is no "better" until we get a vaccine. March was not a once-off.

Otherwise they should have chosen one between club and county.

Covid is not very seasonal.

It is.
Check out the Covid World Club Championships

When does South America peak? In our summer
When did UK numbers collapse? In the summer

This is Covid in a nutshell.

100% guesswork and theories that science can't solve.

We're going to gain our answers retrospectively on Covid.

The North is now a case study, it's rampant up here, the horse has bolted so closing the gate now will have little effect.

The next 5/6 weeks is going to give us the answers science has been contradicting itself about.

You are not a fan of science are you?

Doesn't seem to be earning it's keep against Covid.

How so?

What do we know about it? Are we immune from it? How long are we immune from it? How potent is it actually? How transmissible is it? How reliable is testing? How much a % of cases are asymptomatic? Do asymptomatic people have immunity?

We have no definitive answers to any of this. Nothing to give us assurance. If they can't solve the fundamentals, would you trust a vaccine rushed into production?

[LCohen]

The Ard Comhairle should have run the All Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU9q8J4xShs in parallel with the club championships because Covid is seasonal and it will kill loads of people in December. There is no "better" until we get a vaccine. March was not a once-off.

Otherwise they should have chosen one between club and county.

Covid is not very seasonal.

It is.
Check out the Covid World Club Championships

When does South America peak? In our summer
When did UK numbers collapse? In the summer

This is Covid in a nutshell.

100% guesswork and theories that science can't solve.

We're going to gain our answers retrospectively on Covid.

The North is now a case study, it's rampant up here, the horse has bolted so closing the gate now will have little effect.

The next 5/6 weeks is going to give us the answers science has been contradicting itself about.

You are not a fan of science are you?

Doesn't seem to be earning it's keep against Covid.

How so?

What do we know about it? Are we immune from it? How long are we immune from it? How potent is it actually? How transmissible is it? How reliable is testing? How much a % of cases are asymptomatic? Do asymptomatic people have immunity?

We have no definitive answers to any of this. Nothing to give us assurance. If they can't solve the fundamentals, would you trust a vaccine rushed into production?

In your non scientific world is there a difference between "can't" and "have not yet"?

Also if science can't answer all questions does that make all science shit??

I am only asking as I have no insight into the science free world

[Angelo]

The Ard Comhairle should have run the All Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU9q8J4xShs in parallel with the club championships because Covid is seasonal and it will kill loads of people in December. There is no "better" until we get a vaccine. March was not a once-off.

Otherwise they should have chosen one between club and county.

Covid is not very seasonal.

It is.
Check out the Covid World Club Championships

When does South America peak? In our summer
When did UK numbers collapse? In the summer

This is Covid in a nutshell.

100% guesswork and theories that science can't solve.

We're going to gain our answers retrospectively on Covid.

The North is now a case study, it's rampant up here, the horse has bolted so closing the gate now will have little effect.

The next 5/6 weeks is going to give us the answers science has been contradicting itself about.

You are not a fan of science are you?

Doesn't seem to be earning it's keep against Covid.

How so?

What do we know about it? Are we immune from it? How long are we immune from it? How potent is it actually? How transmissible is it? How reliable is testing? How much a % of cases are asymptomatic? Do asymptomatic people have immunity?

We have no definitive answers to any of this. Nothing to give us assurance. If they can't solve the fundamentals, would you trust a vaccine rushed into production?

In your non scientific world is there a difference between "can't" and "have not yet"?

Also if science can't answer all questions does that make all science shit??

I am only asking as I have no insight into the science free world

Well there is a pandemic and time is off the essence and it seems like science has been scratching its noggin about the most basic questions for the past 10 months.

So I'm pretty much taking the view that it's more likely that the virus will have burned itself out before science comes up with the answers.

Look at the Spanish flu, went on for about 2 years +, science couldn't come up with the answers and it eventually burned itself out.

I don't have faith in science to solve it, I just think it will be a case of us having to live with it for whatever length of time it takes until it fizzles out naturally.

[LCohen]

Angelo that doesn't answer the question. You are behaving like a spoiled child. Science doesn't offer a guaranteed positive outcomes or to get their quickly. But it tries. More power to the body scientific in that pursuit. You seem to be advocating not trying. You are free to pay that nonsense but it is extremely important that anybody reading it recognises it for the horse shit that it is.

I think you are probably wrong in where you think Spanish flu cane from and where it went. We can both agree that Spanish flu is not a pattern anybody wants to repeat.

This burning or fizzling out maybe isn't the thing you want it to be

[Angelo]

Angelo that doesn't answer the question. You are behaving like a spoiled child. Science doesn't offer a guaranteed positive outcomes or to get their quickly. But it tries. More power to the body scientific in that pursuit. You seem to be advocating not trying. You are free to pay that nonsense but it is extremely important that anybody reading it recognises it for the horse shit that it is.

I think you are probably wrong in where you think Spanish flu cane from and where it went. We can both agree that Spanish flu is not a pattern anybody wants to repeat.

This burning or fizzling out maybe isn't the thing you want it to be

I think I'm just being realistic about the matter, we can't stay hiding under the bed for the rest of our lives about something science is showing that it is struggling to solve.

I think we need to learn to live with the virus as I don't have faith in science to fix the problem in the short to medium term.

We will find some answers out ourselves from the data in the next 2/3 months. The second wave is surging across Europe, we will find out to what impact and I think that will dictate how we approach matters going forward.

For all the ridicule the Swedes got - maybe they actually had the right approach?

[Eire90]

sweden has a different culture

[J70]

Angelo that doesn't answer the question. You are behaving like a spoiled child. Science doesn't offer a guaranteed positive outcomes or to get their quickly. But it tries. More power to the body scientific in that pursuit. You seem to be advocating not trying. You are free to pay that nonsense but it is extremely important that anybody reading it recognises it for the horse shit that it is.

I think you are probably wrong in where you think Spanish flu cane from and where it went. We can both agree that Spanish flu is not a pattern anybody wants to repeat.

This burning or fizzling out maybe isn't the thing you want it to be

I think I'm just being realistic about the matter, we can't stay hiding under the bed for the rest of our lives about something science is showing that it is struggling to solve.

I think we need to learn to live with the virus as I don't have faith in science to fix the problem in the short to medium term.

We will find some answers out ourselves from the data in the next 2/3 months. The second wave is surging across Europe, we will find out to what impact and I think that will dictate how we approach matters going forward.

For all the ridicule the Swedes got - maybe they actually had the right approach?

What does living with the virus mean?

We're living with it in NYC by wearing masks, social distancing, online school, doing without the cinema and sports events and Broadway shows and limiting occupancy in restaurants and pubs. With the exception of certain groups who are openly flouting the restrictions and, as a result, suffering surging rates of infection, its working to keep infection rates down in most of the city.

[LCohen]

Angelo that doesn't answer the question. You are behaving like a spoiled child. Science doesn't offer a guaranteed positive outcomes or to get their quickly. But it tries. More power to the body scientific in that pursuit. You seem to be advocating not trying. You are free to pay that nonsense but it is extremely important that anybody reading it recognises it for the horse shit that it is.

I think you are probably wrong in where you think Spanish flu cane from and where it went. We can both agree that Spanish flu is not a pattern anybody wants to repeat.

This burning or fizzling out maybe isn't the thing you want it to be

I think I'm just being realistic about the matter, we can't stay hiding under the bed for the rest of our lives about something science is showing that it is struggling to solve.

I think we need to learn to live with the virus as I don't have faith in science to fix the problem in the short to medium term.

We will find some answers out ourselves from the data in the next 2/3 months. The second wave is surging across Europe, we will find out to what impact and I think that will dictate how we approach matters going forward.

For all the ridicule the Swedes got - maybe they actually had the right approach?

Sweden had significant reduction in social activity. The difference being they were asked to do it rather than being told. Did enough do what they were asked? Who knows but the current Swedish data is frightening. I heard on the radio that their per capita death rates were now 1000% that of Norway. Haven't checked that out yet.

Nobody is saying hide forever. They are not setting some arbitrary timeline on how long science has to come up with something