https://www.newstalk.com/news/ivan-yates-on-lockdown-idea-we-are-all-in-this-together-absolute-nonsense-1165189 (https://www.newstalk.com/news/ivan-yates-on-lockdown-idea-we-are-all-in-this-together-absolute-nonsense-1165189)
https://kevinmyers.ie/2021/03/12/and-no-one-of-importance-complained/ (https://kevinmyers.ie/2021/03/12/and-no-one-of-importance-complained/)
https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/02/10/letters-from-lockdown-1-everyone-else-cant-have-gone-crazy-therefore-have-i/ (https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/02/10/letters-from-lockdown-1-everyone-else-cant-have-gone-crazy-therefore-have-i/)
https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/letters-from-lockdown-2-roll-up-roll-up-its-the-rights-sale-of-the-century-and-everything-in-wonderland-must-go/ (https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/letters-from-lockdown-2-roll-up-roll-up-its-the-rights-sale-of-the-century-and-everything-in-wonderland-must-go/)
https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/03/05/letters-from-lockdown-3-in-this-dark-future-you-cant-forget-your-past/ (https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2021/03/05/letters-from-lockdown-3-in-this-dark-future-you-cant-forget-your-past/)
I've always thought this type of movement was on the way, it is open to being hijacked by quite a few different groups....
But Ewan MacKenna?
If Ivan Yeats, Kevin Myers and Ewan McKenna are the intellectual powerhouse of your movement its a shit movement
The wave against lockdown - the mé féiners, the self important has-beens, the completely deluded and those that like wrecking things
Yeats is right in what he says. Some groups are affected more than others. But no country as successfully navigated Covid without lockdowns so I'd like to see what his alternative is.
Quote from: trailer on March 16, 2021, 12:32:00 PM
Yeats is right in what he says. Some groups are affected more than others. But no country as successfully navigated Covid without lockdowns so I'd like to see what his alternative is.
Someone or some groups (usually bound to include the poor) are ALWAYS going to come out of it worse than others, no matter what the situation.
My wife and I have not been affected financially. I don't know what the long term effects will be on our primary school aged kids, however.
I've a sibling in the pub industry. Luckily for that person, they had a nest egg to fall back on, but its been a major financial hit for them.
No matter what side of this you're on, its a balancing act, trying to find the middle ground between the public health and the economic impacts.
My patience ends at the "its all a hoax" and "f**k you and your masks" crowd, but beyond that, its a judgement call where people's real concerns have to be respected.
Quote from: GetOverTheBar on March 16, 2021, 09:08:37 AM
I've always thought this type of movement was on the way, it is open to being hijacked by quite a few different groups....
But Ewan MacKenna?
I clicked on one of Ewan's articles out of curiosity and seen his paypal link looking for donations as the mainstream media are afraid to publish his pieces. The man has lost it. As he says him himself he's a former sport journalist.
Quote from: Baile Brigín 2 on March 16, 2021, 11:57:50 AM
If Ivan Yeats, Kevin Myers and Ewan McKenna are the intellectual powerhouse of your movement its a shit movement
That sums it up really . . . add in Jim Corr and O'Doherty and that says all you need to know!
Quote from: J70 on March 16, 2021, 12:41:42 PM
Quote from: trailer on March 16, 2021, 12:32:00 PM
Yeats is right in what he says. Some groups are affected more than others. But no country as successfully navigated Covid without lockdowns so I'd like to see what his alternative is.
Someone or some groups (usually bound to include the poor) are ALWAYS going to come out of it worse than others, no matter what the situation.
My wife and I have not been affected financially. I don't know what the long term effects will be on our primary school aged kids, however.
I've a sibling in the pub industry. Luckily for that person, they had a nest egg to fall back on, but its been a major financial hit for them.
No matter what side of this you're on, its a balancing act, trying to find the middle ground between the public health and the economic impacts.
My patience ends at the "its all a hoax" and "f**k you and your masks" crowd, but beyond that, its a judgement call where people's real concerns have to be respected.
Very sensible post. And can largely agree with it al.
I know plenty who aren't affected financially, myself included, but socially and development wise for the kids, it's been a tough time. As adults we can make the best of it and adjust but kids are different. They nearly adjust too well and become withdrawn and socially distant. The excitement of getting back to school this week was off the scale at the weekend.
There is many in self employment who have struggled financially and emotionally. I know others in same boat who have thrived and are actively looking at their future away from what they done - mainly in the pub trade, have seen quality of life improve and have more goals for their and family future. Others in same trade are despairing. Their is others who have gained by operating in black economy - hairdressers, builders, nail techs etc who are in the PUP but are working cash jobs and happy at it.
It really is a mixed bag and people on all sides of the equation and impacted in many ways. Others not so.
On your shit list, I'd add "they just want to control us" group. A mask is against their human rights apparently.
Quote from: Baile Brigín 2 on March 16, 2021, 11:57:50 AM
If Ivan Yeats, Kevin Myers and Ewan McKenna are the intellectual powerhouse of your movement its a shit movement
It's all about Gary Dempsey now
Ranting into your phone in a parked car in the dark is all the rage now, with the emphasis on rage
Don't know is it road rage or roid rage
Being an anti-lockdown gym owner is a very fashionable grift at the moment
Do the ministers on the big hill have announced changes in the lockdowns, was driving and not really concentrating on the finer details.
Other than Angelo and smurphy can someone put what we can do and not do?
Sometimes you can just get too much of the same waffle. Joe Duffy, Tubridy, D'arcy, Claire Byrne, Pat Kenny, Matt Cooper and so on. All have been reading the same script for the last year. All loyally sticking to the Narrative. Never questioning, never wondering and never walking on egg shells. Week in week out, we run with this madness, no one asks. And anyone that could have an opinion is never asked. Never asked on mainstream media.
Maybe all the above are talking rubbish, but is it not refreshing to hear stuff being questioned? Isn't it refreshing that somebody is not going with the flow, believing what we are told, trusting people we don't normally trust.
More than anything it's great to find out you are not alone in questioning the direction and reasoning in this madness.
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on March 16, 2021, 06:07:10 PM
Do the ministers on the big hill have announced changes in the lockdowns, was driving and not really concentrating on the finer details.
Other than Angelo and smurphy can someone put what we can do and not do?
Not a whole pile of difference really. More kids back in school. Gold back from 1st April. More people can meet up
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54117810
Quote from: tonto1888 on March 16, 2021, 09:37:38 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on March 16, 2021, 06:07:10 PM
Do the ministers on the big hill have announced changes in the lockdowns, was driving and not really concentrating on the finer details.
Other than Angelo and smurphy can someone put what we can do and not do?
Not a whole pile of difference really. More kids back in school. Gold back from 1st April. More people can meet up
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54117810
Ulster council allowing 15 back training outside on the 12th
Was that Tom Humphries speaking on Virgin TV tonight against the lockdown? I thought he was locked up.
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on March 16, 2021, 09:39:42 PM
Quote from: tonto1888 on March 16, 2021, 09:37:38 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on March 16, 2021, 06:07:10 PM
Do the ministers on the big hill have announced changes in the lockdowns, was driving and not really concentrating on the finer details.
Other than Angelo and smurphy can someone put what we can do and not do?
Not a whole pile of difference really. More kids back in school. Gold back from 1st April. More people can meet up
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54117810
Ulster council allowing 15 back training outside on the 12th
Big plus
Quote from: macker15 on March 16, 2021, 11:53:52 PM
Was that Tom Humphries speaking on Virgin TV tonight against the lockdown? I thought he was locked up.
MacEwan's Lager seems to
think he's locked up
He must have a big case of Humphries envy
Humphries could actually write well though
Quote from: sid waddell on March 17, 2021, 12:39:39 AM
Quote from: macker15 on March 16, 2021, 11:53:52 PM
Was that Tom Humphries speaking on Virgin TV tonight against the lockdown? I thought he was locked up.
MacEwan's Lager seems to think he's locked up
He must have a big case of Humphries envy
Humphries could actually write well though
Humphries was a superb writer.
Talk about pissing your life away.
I see George Lee is blaming the Cafes, Restaurants and Pubs! ;D
https://twitter.com/idahocafe/status/1375516825954385921 (https://twitter.com/idahocafe/status/1375516825954385921)
https://twitter.com/i/status/1369345482707845132 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1369345482707845132)
https://twitter.com/IrishInquiry/status/1369393159445315589 (https://twitter.com/IrishInquiry/status/1369393159445315589)
There follows ten more messages from extremist Twitter accounts, presented without comment or context
That's internet "debate"
Sometimes you can put up a link and leave it there without comment. People will make up their own mind. Or they have already made up their own mind and will ignore. Not everything needs to be commented on. Or needs multiple comments on. :-\
"Make up ur own mind"
"Do ur own reserch"
"Sheeple"
I think this is a valid topic. I find it odd that people take for gospel what someone like Tony Holohan has to say. I also think people need to remember what Nphet are about. They are a very narrow looking group concerned about one thing and one thing only - COVID. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with them effectively running the country, telling us when we might be able to go on holidays, back to school etc.
The job of Nphet is to advise government. Advise should also be sought from other groups as to the harm a Nphet led Ireland is causing to other groups at risk - suicide and cancer and jobs are 3 that spring to mind.
We have an extremely weak Taoiseach who is happy to sit back and let Tony and the boys run amok. And for those that think Tony and the boys and infallible, you should look at some of the flip flops they have done during COVID themselves.
No doubt I will now be attacked by the Tony disciples and I think that is the point of this thread, you can not have a healthy discussion on this topic anymore or you are labelled a crank.
This is it in a nutshell
We should have gone for Zero Covid/aggressive suppression last summer - we had four cases on July 1st, and for a good month in June/July we were bumping around in single figures/very low double figures
It would have been very hard to do that, not easy at all - but what has actually happened since has been far harder and far more extreme than what would have had to be done then to achieve Zero Covid/aggressive suppression
The government chose to let Covid back in and that, unfortunately, was supported by the majority of the Irish people amidst a media environment of manufactured consent for letting Covid back in
We were told that schools or pubs or construction don't spread Covid, these were lies that were obvious lies
So that was a massive failure and ever since, the government have been totally petrified about admitting to any mistakes
On the other end, the anti-lockdown narrative now is the most extreme of all, far more extreme again than the failed extreme policies of the Irish government and other governments across the west
We have to keep lockdown now because we didn't put in the hard yards last summer - we tried to cut corners, and government gave in to business vested interests
The problem with the current lockdown is it hasn't been hard enough, it hasn't been a proper lockdown, it was another half measure, for sure it was better than than what the anti-lockdown extremists want but it was only partially effective
Half measures don't work with Covid
Half measures are the result of the failed belief that we can "live with Covid"
You couldn't "live with Covid"
Refusing to recognise that one big thing has us where we are now
A few weeks ago I said Level 5 needed to stay until June and was met with a furious reaction here
That now looks optimistic, September might be more realistic
The most important report I've seen lately was a PrimeTime report on Public Health teams a few weeks back
They are totally under resourced, under staffed and often have to work with pen and paper
That is a farcical situation
NPHET are no more than a mudguard for government at this stage, they aren't prefect but I feel deeply sorry for them, and for people like Ronan Glynn who are thrown out for public consumption and savaged
NPHET wanted hotel quarantine last May but they are not the government - it's the government who are to blame for NPHET not being listened to
NPHET have always had both hands tied behind their back
You can make an argument that NPHET maybe should have resigned in protest at government inaction last summer but they are public servants who genuinely want to help
It's the government who have put them in the horrible position they are now in
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 11:33:19 AM
This is it in a nutshell
We should have gone for Zero Covid/aggressive suppression last summer - we had four cases on July 1st, and for a good month in June/July we were bumping around in single figures/very low double figures
It would have been very hard to do that, not easy at all - but what has actually happened since has been far harder and far more extreme than what would have had to be done then to achieve Zero Covid/aggressive suppression
The government chose to let Covid back in and that, unfortunately, was supported by the majority of the Irish people amidst a media environment of manufactured consent for letting Covid back in
We were told that schools or pubs or construction don't spread Covid, these were lies that were obvious lies
So that was a massive failure and ever since, the government have been totally petrified about admitting to any mistakes
On the other end, the anti-lockdown narrative now is the most extreme of all, far more extreme again than the failed extreme policies of the Irish government and other governments across the west
We have to keep lockdown now because we didn't put in the hard yards last summer - we tried to cut corners, and government gave in to business vested interests
The problem with the current lockdown is it hasn't been hard enough, it hasn't been a proper lockdown, it was another half measure, for sure it was better than than what the anti-lockdown extremists want but it was only partially effective
Half measures don't work with Covid
Half measures are the result of the failed belief that we can "live with Covid"
You couldn't "live with Covid"
Refusing to recognise that one big thing has us where we are now
A few weeks ago I said Level 5 needed to stay until June and was met with a furious reaction here
That now looks optimistic, September might be more realistic
The most important report I've seen lately was a PrimeTime report on Public Health teams a few weeks back
They are totally under resourced, under staffed and often have to work with pen and paper
That is a farcical situation
NPHET are no more than a mudguard for government at this stage, they aren't prefect but I feel deeply sorry for them, and for people like Ronan Glynn who are thrown out for public consumption and savaged
NPHET wanted hotel quarantine last May but they are not the government - it's the government who are to blame for NPHET not being listened to
NPHET have always had both hands tied behind their back
You can make an argument that NPHET maybe should have resigned in protest at government inaction last summer but they are public servants who genuinely want to help
It's the government who have put them in the horrible position they are now in
When you have ppl traveling to and from the UK for essential reasons zero covid is a pipe dream. The Kent variant would have arrived anyway. It's far more transmissible. I get the zero covid argument and the look at Oz or look at NZ but for Ireland it would have been impossible.
Quote from: trailer on March 27, 2021, 01:43:34 PM
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 11:33:19 AM
This is it in a nutshell
We should have gone for Zero Covid/aggressive suppression last summer - we had four cases on July 1st, and for a good month in June/July we were bumping around in single figures/very low double figures
It would have been very hard to do that, not easy at all - but what has actually happened since has been far harder and far more extreme than what would have had to be done then to achieve Zero Covid/aggressive suppression
The government chose to let Covid back in and that, unfortunately, was supported by the majority of the Irish people amidst a media environment of manufactured consent for letting Covid back in
We were told that schools or pubs or construction don't spread Covid, these were lies that were obvious lies
So that was a massive failure and ever since, the government have been totally petrified about admitting to any mistakes
On the other end, the anti-lockdown narrative now is the most extreme of all, far more extreme again than the failed extreme policies of the Irish government and other governments across the west
We have to keep lockdown now because we didn't put in the hard yards last summer - we tried to cut corners, and government gave in to business vested interests
The problem with the current lockdown is it hasn't been hard enough, it hasn't been a proper lockdown, it was another half measure, for sure it was better than than what the anti-lockdown extremists want but it was only partially effective
Half measures don't work with Covid
Half measures are the result of the failed belief that we can "live with Covid"
You couldn't "live with Covid"
Refusing to recognise that one big thing has us where we are now
A few weeks ago I said Level 5 needed to stay until June and was met with a furious reaction here
That now looks optimistic, September might be more realistic
The most important report I've seen lately was a PrimeTime report on Public Health teams a few weeks back
They are totally under resourced, under staffed and often have to work with pen and paper
That is a farcical situation
NPHET are no more than a mudguard for government at this stage, they aren't prefect but I feel deeply sorry for them, and for people like Ronan Glynn who are thrown out for public consumption and savaged
NPHET wanted hotel quarantine last May but they are not the government - it's the government who are to blame for NPHET not being listened to
NPHET have always had both hands tied behind their back
You can make an argument that NPHET maybe should have resigned in protest at government inaction last summer but they are public servants who genuinely want to help
It's the government who have put them in the horrible position they are now in
When you have ppl traveling to and from the UK for essential reasons zero covid is a pipe dream. The Kent variant would have arrived anyway. It's far more transmissible. I get the zero covid argument and the look at Oz or look at NZ but for Ireland it would have been impossible.
You never know if something is impossible unless you try it - and only human decisions make it impossible
It would likely at worst have resulted in a much more lax set of restrictions
Drastic changes in the way we live/organise society have been enacted in the last year - and thus nobody can tell me the drastic changes needed to implement Zero Covid/aggressive were impossible
The way we live now was thought impossible, if somebody had said in January 2020 that the way we have lived for the past year would come to pass, that would have been laughed at
If people think Zero Covid is impossible, they should probably shut up moaning about the Irish government's Covid policies
https://twitter.com/mccormack_tara/status/1375473535548854272?s=21
This Nurse should be held accountable.
Quote from: sid waddell on March 16, 2021, 04:50:12 PM
Quote from: Baile Brigín 2 on March 16, 2021, 11:57:50 AM
If Ivan Yeats, Kevin Myers and Ewan McKenna are the intellectual powerhouse of your movement its a shit movement
It's all about Gary Dempsey now
Ranting into your phone in a parked car in the dark is all the rage now, with the emphasis on rage
Don't know is it road rage or roid rage
Being an anti-lockdown gym owner is a very fashionable grift at the moment
This is the same Gary Dempsey who was banned for betting on his tea to lose?
Quote from: Baile Brigín 2 on March 29, 2021, 11:53:07 PM
Quote from: sid waddell on March 16, 2021, 04:50:12 PM
Quote from: Baile Brigín 2 on March 16, 2021, 11:57:50 AM
If Ivan Yeats, Kevin Myers and Ewan McKenna are the intellectual powerhouse of your movement its a shit movement
It's all about Gary Dempsey now
Ranting into your phone in a parked car in the dark is all the rage now, with the emphasis on rage
Don't know is it road rage or roid rage
Being an anti-lockdown gym owner is a very fashionable grift at the moment
This is the same Gary Dempsey who was banned for betting on his tea to lose?
He must have read the tea leaves
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 04:06:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on March 27, 2021, 01:43:34 PM
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 11:33:19 AM
This is it in a nutshell
We should have gone for Zero Covid/aggressive suppression last summer - we had four cases on July 1st, and for a good month in June/July we were bumping around in single figures/very low double figures
It would have been very hard to do that, not easy at all - but what has actually happened since has been far harder and far more extreme than what would have had to be done then to achieve Zero Covid/aggressive suppression
The government chose to let Covid back in and that, unfortunately, was supported by the majority of the Irish people amidst a media environment of manufactured consent for letting Covid back in
We were told that schools or pubs or construction don't spread Covid, these were lies that were obvious lies
So that was a massive failure and ever since, the government have been totally petrified about admitting to any mistakes
On the other end, the anti-lockdown narrative now is the most extreme of all, far more extreme again than the failed extreme policies of the Irish government and other governments across the west
We have to keep lockdown now because we didn't put in the hard yards last summer - we tried to cut corners, and government gave in to business vested interests
The problem with the current lockdown is it hasn't been hard enough, it hasn't been a proper lockdown, it was another half measure, for sure it was better than than what the anti-lockdown extremists want but it was only partially effective
Half measures don't work with Covid
Half measures are the result of the failed belief that we can "live with Covid"
You couldn't "live with Covid"
Refusing to recognise that one big thing has us where we are now
A few weeks ago I said Level 5 needed to stay until June and was met with a furious reaction here
That now looks optimistic, September might be more realistic
The most important report I've seen lately was a PrimeTime report on Public Health teams a few weeks back
They are totally under resourced, under staffed and often have to work with pen and paper
That is a farcical situation
NPHET are no more than a mudguard for government at this stage, they aren't prefect but I feel deeply sorry for them, and for people like Ronan Glynn who are thrown out for public consumption and savaged
NPHET wanted hotel quarantine last May but they are not the government - it's the government who are to blame for NPHET not being listened to
NPHET have always had both hands tied behind their back
You can make an argument that NPHET maybe should have resigned in protest at government inaction last summer but they are public servants who genuinely want to help
It's the government who have put them in the horrible position they are now in
When you have ppl traveling to and from the UK for essential reasons zero covid is a pipe dream. The Kent variant would have arrived anyway. It's far more transmissible. I get the zero covid argument and the look at Oz or look at NZ but for Ireland it would have been impossible.
You never know if something is impossible unless you try it - and only human decisions make it impossible
It would likely at worst have resulted in a much more lax set of restrictions
Drastic changes in the way we live/organise society have been enacted in the last year - and thus nobody can tell me the drastic changes needed to implement Zero Covid/aggressive were impossible
The way we live now was thought impossible, if somebody had said in January 2020 that the way we have lived for the past year would come to pass, that would have been laughed at
If people think Zero Covid is impossible, they should probably shut up moaning about the Irish government's Covid policies
To get from a few cases everyday to "Zero Covid" it would take an extremely strict lockdown for at least one month.. possibly longer. No travel at all out of the state even for essential purposes. Lorries stopped, Garda and Army on the street enforcing the stay at home message. You close the country to all from the outside and deal with any flare ups extremely harshly. Even with this approach Aus still have some outbreaks. I don't think a country like Ireland that relies so much on food imports from the EU and UK could take this approach. There is also a lot of ppl who work in GB Mon - Fri in construction and other industries. I'd love to see zero covid but you have to realistic in what is achievable.
Quote from: trailer on March 30, 2021, 08:41:20 AM
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 04:06:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on March 27, 2021, 01:43:34 PM
Quote from: sid waddell on March 27, 2021, 11:33:19 AM
This is it in a nutshell
We should have gone for Zero Covid/aggressive suppression last summer - we had four cases on July 1st, and for a good month in June/July we were bumping around in single figures/very low double figures
It would have been very hard to do that, not easy at all - but what has actually happened since has been far harder and far more extreme than what would have had to be done then to achieve Zero Covid/aggressive suppression
The government chose to let Covid back in and that, unfortunately, was supported by the majority of the Irish people amidst a media environment of manufactured consent for letting Covid back in
We were told that schools or pubs or construction don't spread Covid, these were lies that were obvious lies
So that was a massive failure and ever since, the government have been totally petrified about admitting to any mistakes
On the other end, the anti-lockdown narrative now is the most extreme of all, far more extreme again than the failed extreme policies of the Irish government and other governments across the west
We have to keep lockdown now because we didn't put in the hard yards last summer - we tried to cut corners, and government gave in to business vested interests
The problem with the current lockdown is it hasn't been hard enough, it hasn't been a proper lockdown, it was another half measure, for sure it was better than than what the anti-lockdown extremists want but it was only partially effective
Half measures don't work with Covid
Half measures are the result of the failed belief that we can "live with Covid"
You couldn't "live with Covid"
Refusing to recognise that one big thing has us where we are now
A few weeks ago I said Level 5 needed to stay until June and was met with a furious reaction here
That now looks optimistic, September might be more realistic
The most important report I've seen lately was a PrimeTime report on Public Health teams a few weeks back
They are totally under resourced, under staffed and often have to work with pen and paper
That is a farcical situation
NPHET are no more than a mudguard for government at this stage, they aren't prefect but I feel deeply sorry for them, and for people like Ronan Glynn who are thrown out for public consumption and savaged
NPHET wanted hotel quarantine last May but they are not the government - it's the government who are to blame for NPHET not being listened to
NPHET have always had both hands tied behind their back
You can make an argument that NPHET maybe should have resigned in protest at government inaction last summer but they are public servants who genuinely want to help
It's the government who have put them in the horrible position they are now in
When you have ppl traveling to and from the UK for essential reasons zero covid is a pipe dream. The Kent variant would have arrived anyway. It's far more transmissible. I get the zero covid argument and the look at Oz or look at NZ but for Ireland it would have been impossible.
You never know if something is impossible unless you try it - and only human decisions make it impossible
It would likely at worst have resulted in a much more lax set of restrictions
Drastic changes in the way we live/organise society have been enacted in the last year - and thus nobody can tell me the drastic changes needed to implement Zero Covid/aggressive were impossible
The way we live now was thought impossible, if somebody had said in January 2020 that the way we have lived for the past year would come to pass, that would have been laughed at
If people think Zero Covid is impossible, they should probably shut up moaning about the Irish government's Covid policies
To get from a few cases everyday to "Zero Covid" it would take an extremely strict lockdown for at least one month.. possibly longer. No travel at all out of the state even for essential purposes. Lorries stopped, Garda and Army on the street enforcing the stay at home message. You close the country to all from the outside and deal with any flare ups extremely harshly. Even with this approach Aus still have some outbreaks. I don't think a country like Ireland that relies so much on food imports from the EU and UK could take this approach. There is also a lot of ppl who work in GB Mon - Fri in construction and other industries. I'd love to see zero covid but you have to realistic in what is achievable.
Compared to what we've had, that would have been a doddle
Australia gets occasional tiny outbreaks, so what, they're able to shut them down immediately
They also got 51k at the MCG for Carlton v Collingwood the other night
The main argument against Zero Covid/aggressive suppression is that we do not have functioning public health teams, the discipline is woefully underfunded and under staffed