Haha Brilliant, all the self righteous replies, I hope he infected the whole plane with a headcold
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i never come into this thread but lol
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The hospitals are on a âwar footingâ
Donnelly says 20,000 cases a day by January, not many of those will survive
Theyâll die from the fluid loss through the runny nose
Has he not realised that you should ignore Nolans spreadsheet
Tony and the NPHET gang will go full metal jacket later. Nolanâs modelling will create a terrifying vista.
The Government has been warned there could be more than 20,000 Covid-19 cases per day in Ireland in early January as a result of the far more transmissible Omicron variant, the Irish Independent has learned.
The unprecedented scenario of record high case numbers â quadruple current levels â was presented to the Coalition leaders and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Tuesday night.
Amid mounting fears over the new variant, which spreads more easily and can evade the protection of two vaccine doses, the Government has been warned that socialising on the scale seen in the run-up to last Christmas could drive daily case numbers to a peak higher than 20,000 at the start of next year.
Mr Donnelly warned last night that under some of the Nphet scenarios it was âentirely possibleâ that hospitalisations due to Omicron could exceed the more than 2,000 people who were in hospital at the peak last January.
Even if Omicron proves only marginally more transmissible and people slightly reduce their contacts, the Government has been told that cases could peak at between 8,000 and 9,000 in early January, although in this scenario hospitalisations and ICU admissions may not be as high as in previous waves.
There will now be a major push on the vaccine booster programme and an appeal to people to limit their contacts this Christmas in a bid to counteract Omicron, which is expected to become the dominant strain in Ireland by the end of next week.
Speaking in Brussels, Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin said both take-up in the booster jab and testing would be âkey pillarsâ in fighting Omicron. âThe public health advice now is that Omicron is everywhere,â he said.
Mr Donnelly last night waived the 15-minute waiting period after a vaccine is administered as part of efforts to ramp up the HSEâs vaccination capacity to 300,000 doses per week.
Speaking at his parliamentary party meeting last night, TĂĄnaiste Leo Varadkar said 1.75 million people or more would have received their third Covid-19 vaccination by Christmas and two million by New Yearâs.
A total of 250,000 PCR tests are being carried out every week along with 100,000 free antigen tests.
Chief medical officer Tony Holohan also warned last night that people planning to spend Christmas with older or more vulnerable family members should take precautions as of yesterday, including avoiding crowds, limiting their contacts and working from home unless absolutely necessary.
He will chair a meeting of Nphet today, which will make further recommendations on public health measures to Government. While senior Coalition sources were last night not expecting major new restrictions, fresh advice around people limiting social contacts and curbs on large gatherings is thought to be likely.
One measure being considered by Nphet is a recommendation that fully-vaccinated people who are close contacts should restrict their movements for five days â a departure from the current advice that they continue as normal and take regular antigen tests.
However, there are concerns in Government that this could lead to triple-vaccinated healthcare workers and teachers being forced to stay at home.
The Coalition leaders were told on Tuesday that all efforts should be made to avoid large super-spreading events. This has led to some ministers fearing that attendances at large events lsuch as the Christmas racing festival at Leopardstown and the Munster vs Leinster rugby match on St Stephenâs Day could be curtailed.
However, the Coalition was in the dark last night as to what exactly Dr Holohan and his team will recommend when they meet today.
Mr Varadkar said ministers were likely to meet tomorrow to discuss any potential newrestrictions on social mixing and international travel proposed by Nphet.
Is this chap a hero to @gaillimhmick ?
Similar modus operandi, disagree with them, cast paedophile shade on them
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At current testing capacity, 4 in every 5 tests carried would need to be positive to get the 20k cases.
I doubt theyâve any plans to increase testing capacity at the moment.
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@BruidheanChaorthainn off to burn Leinster House
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/15/wuhan-lab-leak-now-likely-origin-covid-mps-told/
There was a similiar reaction to this a year ago. I suppose it takes some a little longer to wake up.
Youâll be labelled a racist and conspiracy theorist for saying that 12 months ago
Youâd expect all radio shows today to have no guests in the studio
Project fear ramping up the next few days for lockdown in January
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You can forget about attending national league matches.
20k cases a day 
⌠Rehashing the same story every few months
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Mr Donnelly warned last night that under some of the Nphet scenarios it was âentirely possibleâ that hospitalisations due to Omicron could exceed the more than 2,000 people who were in hospital at the peak last January.
Groundhog day
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The issue in the health system is clearly an absenteeism issue. Pre Covid 20 per cent absenteeism was normal.
Iâd say Nuala will be off next week for her nerves.
There is a âgrowing dreadâ among health professionals about what may lie ahead as the Omicron variant spreads, a consultant in Infectious Diseases at Beaumont Hospital said.
On RTĂâs Morning Ireland, Dr Eoghan De Barra said while it remains to be seen how the variant will affect the number of patients in hospital, there will âalmost certainly be a big impact on staffing numbersâ and the ability to deliver care.
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