From what I can see āthe new variantsā @Malarkey is partly scare tactic and partly vaccine booster sales pitch. By the autumn thereāll be a whole hape of new variants - necessitating a whole hape of new jabs. Iāll guarantee it.
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I think theyāll be uncomfortable this weekend after the 3 lads escaped. Thereāll be many more who do that because they canāt put in pace the enforcement powers. More numbers is more problems. The government will just want to keep their heads down on it but I am very interested in the next week or so of it as theyāve threatened more countries to be added.
I do not know. And I see no way to know.
Like the vast majority of people, I am hoping there is a way to break free of this process. But I do not know.
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Of course you know. New variants = boosters in the autumnā¦and every autumn. Bet you a bottle of ardbeg
Vaccines are the only hope we have mate, unless you want lockdowns for the rest of time. Get enough vaccinated and the dynamic will change quickly.
The only hope who has? The 99.7%?
Iām genuinely surprised at you.
The only hope of getting to what I believe you want, which is a close to normal life. As long as the threat of death is there for the 30% or whatever the vulnerable population is, there will be no lifting of lockdowns. Look at continental Europe ffs, do you see them emerging from lockdowns anytime soon? You and I will be drinking pints in May while the stragglers are looking at August if they are lucky.
Six more weeks of lockdown likely as Covid figures remain stubbornly high
Nphet meets today to finalise its latest advice to Government
There are fears that stubbornly high new Covid-19 cases will mean the public will have to wait at least a further six weeks before any significant easing of restrictions is likely.
Experts from the emergency medical advisory committee, Nphet, meet today to finalise their latest advice to Government which they will then relay to the Cabinet Covid-19 subcommittee meeting this evening. Those ministers will bring the outcome of the two meetings to the full Cabinet tomorrow for final decision.
It comes as there was no sign of an improvement in the number of new cases of the virus with 604 reported yesterday. A further 13 deaths were also confirmed.
Two well-placed government sources have said that only āminimal changesā will be announced tomorrow, to take effect as promised a week later on April 5.
Officials pointed out that for the past three weeks, the new case figures of the virus remain stubbornly high.
"It is the Governmentās job to factor in other issues beside the medicine and the science. But on this occasion there is a strong sense that Nphetās advice will hold sway,ā one government source told the Irish Independent.
"The bigger hope will be change in May depending on the vaccine roll-out happening as planned. But it seems likely that major changes will be in the latter part of May,ā another source said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the Government has only āvery narrowā scope to ease coronavirus restrictions and told RTĆ radio that ministers will be taking a ācautiousā approach.
āWhat we are trying to ensure is that we donāt allow a fourth wave of Covid spread to happen between now and when the majority of adults in the country will be vaccinated,ā he said.
"I would expect, but I canāt be sure, that we would be looking at the 5km restriction, that weād be looking at outdoor activity, that we will certainly want to facilitate completing the full return to school for children after April 5.ā
One minister said that both the medical experts on Nphet and the Government are "very aware that people are lockdown wearyā.
The main focus of hope will be upon what easing of restrictions is possible in May.
"But they way things are we are looking at the middle to the latter end of May,ā another source said.
There is speculation that outdoor dining at food-serving pubs and restaurants may be allowed by mid-May, along with the reopening of non-essential shops and countrywide travel.
Mr Coveney said he believed that by mid-July the majority of people will be vaccinated and this could lead to a much more positive picture.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach was non-committal about reports the UK may be ready to share vaccines with Ireland in efforts to ensure the easing of restrictions in Northern Ireland are not obstructed.
An Irish government spokesperson said: āThe UK has previously indicated that once it has achieved a high level of vaccination of its own population, it would consider sharing vaccines with other countries. We are not aware of any specific plans to share vaccines with Ireland at this stage.ā
Mr Coveney said while the UK had soared ahead in administering first jabs, the proportion of second jabs administered there was not dramatically higher than in Ireland. He said on that basis it was less likely Ireland will get early supplies from the UK.
As the Buff would say, that was a bad statement by me 
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I took heart from this. I donāt think anyone is expecting much for the next phase but if the above was the state of play from mid-May weād have some chance.
Or was it 
Youāve had a stormer of a Pandemic, but you need to ease off a bit here. The kite flying will be off the charts and the next 7 days will be crucial. Youāre a great fella, but thereās lads on here who could live or die by a bit of false hope. We all have a duty to be responsible.
The 6 weeks at each juncture thing bothers me. Did they not do reviews every 3 weeks last year?
Doubt he got much choice on where he was sent to school. And having gone through it, wouldnāt his opinion therefore on the subject potentially hold more weight? Heās likely benefited from it but still appears to champion an even education system.
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Headshot
No Palestinians were harmed in the making of this video.
Mid July, as predictedā¦
Lads think he funded his own private school education from the few quid he earned as a paper boy.
I think that was the point of the leak mate.
Throw in a few non-committal carrots to disguise extending the current lockdown.
Some lads are easy pleased.
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