China Coronavirus

[Armagh18]

Nothing but waffle. Never ever going to be voting for Sinn Fein again.

haven't the talent north of the border

f**k all alternatives though. SDLP are far worse and Alliance are just posh Unionists. Aontu look decent from what I can see.

What exactly are you looking for? In terms of talent the sdlp are way ahead at the moment with Matthew o'toole, Claire hanna, Nicola Mallon and even colm Eastwood is pretty good. Aontu are nutcases.

A United Ireland. Can't stand Eastwood running about full of his own importance.

[seafoid]

Mike Ryan of the WHO basically saying it's unrealistic to expect Covid to be over by the end of the year.

[Angelo]

Mike Ryan of the WHO basically saying it's unrealistic to expect Covid to be over by the end of the year.

The vaccine might turn out to be the biggest Ponzi scheme of the 21st century.

[Milltown Row2]

Mike Ryan of the WHO basically saying it's unrealistic to expect Covid to be over by the end of the year.

Which year?

[Gmac]

Mike Ryan of the WHO basically saying it's unrealistic to expect Covid to be over by the end of the year.

when covid ends that means this guy goes back to being a nobody , fauci the same these people who were no names before covid have turned into celebrities and spend half their time on tv or being talked about on social media and that should be looked at as a slight conflict of interests.The smarter we get the dumber we are getting in lots of ways too.

[Milltown Row2]

It's very simple, if we see less people going into hospital or ICU then we will be ready to get back to normal, living with Covid, if you have the vaccine it'll will stop you getting ill, reducing pressure on NHS, if Cnuts don't get vaccinated then this cycle will continue.

If we get both jabs and people are still ending up in hospital or ICU then we've been sold a pup, are there figures for current hospitalised patients that have been given the vaccine 2/3 weeks ago?

[imtommygunn]

The numbers going into hospital are down massively. They are on single figures a day and have been consistently dropping. The thing is I am not sure where they need to be to make any movement?

I get not making the same mistake again etc but the government(s) need to be careful to not paint themselves into a corner either. The reasoning of a holiday coming up should not be used to continue lockdown. There is one holiday after another after another coming up so where do you draw the line? Also the message being stay at home should not be a reason for not doing things like youth sports etc. If lockdown is relaxed a bit and people stay within those boundaries then there shouldn't be an issue. If people don't then a) they would have been anyway and b) they should be taken to task.

The mistakes at Christmas we're very different from relaxing things a bit. We basically had a week off up north. Cafes, restaurants etc etc were all open. The London variant was at play. There were no vaccines. People were allowed in each other's houses. There are two variables there which aren't here now and no one wants a week off or to completely relax everything. Just start it up a bit is all people want.

[Smurfy123]

Sid the big difference here is the vaccine
It has been proven that it works
That government needed to come out today and lift something small say next week to give people a lift
At one stage we had 2000 in hospital now we have 297
I just don't get it

[imtommygunn]

There was never anywhere near 2000 in hospital in the north smurfy.

[thewobbler]

Two problems with NI's current "strategy".

First, it is inevitable that very soon, just like they did last April people will make their own minds up on the dangers of engaging with others. We entered a "lockdown lite" phase long before things opened up last spring, with kids birthday parties, outdoor gatherings and group training all happening. Last year it was based on guesswork with improving numbers and good weather, and people were overwhelmingly proven right in their convictions. This year the vaccine is another string for that thought process. With regards to sport, it makes no sense not to provide this engagement from now in controlled outdoor environments.

The second problem is that if hospitality isn't phased in relatively quickly, then it's going to put an awful lot of stress on those facilities that are open, especially over Easter week when everyone is off work, and bored. Is it really in anyone's interests to have thousands of cars trying to access the same forest park all hours of the day? Is it in anyone's interests for kids having to take a leak (or worse) in the woods as basic amenities are closed, and there are no cafes / restaurants to avail of?

These may seem like small issues. But personally I'd prefer if people weren't gathering in each others' houses and families weren't thronging to the same few places. The issues are readily overcome by allowing bars, restaurants, theme parks, zoos, etc to open quickly for outdoor service only.

[Ed Ricketts]

Mike Ryan of the WHO basically saying it's unrealistic to expect Covid to be over by the end of the year.

when covid ends that means this guy goes back to being a nobody , fauci the same these people who were no names before covid have turned into celebrities and spend half their time on tv or being talked about on social media and that should be looked at as a slight conflict of interests.The smarter we get the dumber we are getting in lots of ways too.

The stick these fellas get for doing their jobs is really weird. Do people really think some one like Fauci wants to prolong the pandemic just so that he and his family can keep their 24/7 armed guard? Celebrity isn't actually that desirable for a great many people, especially those already extremely successful, well paid, and well respected in their chosen fields, and especially especially when it comes with daily death threats.

Furthering the public understanding of science is core responsibility for someone with public health leadership brief, particularly during a public health emergency. That means getting in front of a camera to let people know what you know, and explaining the rationale behind your advice to policy makers.

Would people really prefer the alternative? That these lads stayed in the shadows, and that for the last year we only had Trump, Boris & Arlene to explain the science to us? Just picture that world.

[sid waddell]

Sid the big difference here is the vaccine
It has been proven that it works
That government needed to come out today and lift something small say next week to give people a lift
At one stage we had 2000 in hospital now we have 297
I just don't get it

Three quarters of NI's population have not had any dose of a vaccine

Pretty much everybody has not had a second dose

[Captain Obvious]

Fauci is fine Trump made a major error to ignore him and his team and not a lot wrong Mike Ryan either, covid will likely be here for the rest of the year as many of the poor countries will be waiting on vaccines. A lot can't stand Luke O'Neill however at least he deals in the positives.

Sam McConkey, Gerry Killeen, Tomas Ryan, Anthony Staines, Gabriel Scally on the other hand have all used this virus to increase their own profile and raise anxiety in the public with their extreme views and OTT predictions.

[Rossfan]

Don't mind that Gmac.
He's a Trumpite.

[sid waddell]

Fauci is fine Trump made a major error to ignore him and his team and not a lot wrong Mike Ryan either, covid will likely be here for the rest of the year as many of the poor countries will be waiting on vaccines. A lot can't stand Luke O'Neill however at least he deals in the positives.

Sam McConkey, Gerry Killeen, Tomas Ryan, Anthony Staines, Gabriel Scally on the other hand have all used this virus to increase their own profile and raise anxiety in the public with their extreme views and OTT predictions.

Nothing extreme about their views at all - it's government policies throughout the western world which have proved extreme

The people you name deal in reality and caution, which is absolutely right

You obviously can't handle that