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Public health officials considered a proposal by the Department of Health to reduce the allowed social contacts of Irish people to a strict group of six for at least the next six months, but dismissed it as “unrealistic.”
The recently released minutes detail the considerable deliberations in which the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has engaged on how best to reduce virus restrictions at Christmas.
They also note a general malaise among the public regarding the widespread nature of the pandemic and the nature of Irish health advice and restrictions.
“The perception of unfairness of the restrictions is beginning to affect general confidence in counseling, but people are willing to make some sacrifices if they can do the things they value most,” the Nov. 5 meeting noted.
The minutes say the pandemic has now “normalized”, and people are now focused “on how to deal with the restrictions” in terms of finances and mental health.
However, the team noted that the introduction of seemingly arbitrary or illogical restrictions is becoming less feasible.
“People want to know the government’s strategy for next year and understand the logic behind the guidelines,” the minutes read.
“In the absence of this, they feel blind and powerless.”
The minutes show reservations among NPHET members as they consider the ‘safe socialization’ proposal presented on November 5 by the Department of Health communications team.
The key to that proposal was the idea that “people should socialize with an exclusive group of six people from outside their home for the next six months or until a vaccine is distributed”, with dispensing for young adults living have a “group of six separated from their parents” at home.
However, many NPHET members viewed the proposal as a failure, particularly given their dependence on the implementation of a successful vaccine.
They also pointed out that the idea could be seen as “exclusive”, especially for the youngest.
Regarding the then pending lifting of the Level Five restrictions, NPHET repeatedly emphasized the special importance of the Christmas period for Ireland and agreed that the restrictions should be temporarily lifted some time after December 1, when the lockdown was to end, before returning to applied for three weeks to measure the consequences of the holiday period.
That specific period has come to fruition and will run from December 18 to January 14.
However, this elevation of the Christmas period as of particular importance was contrary to NPHET’s own public investigation, detailed in the minutes of the meeting the following week on November 12, which noted that only a little more than 50% of the People were in favor of a “special” easing of restrictions at Christmas.
Furthermore, the introduction of wastewater surveillance as an early warning system for the detection of virus surges was approved, with the Center for Health Protection Surveillance and the National Virus Research Laboratory to work on set to that end.
The completed project could include 69 wastewater treatment plants across the country, covering 84% of the population, sampled weekly to detect the prevalence of Covid at the regional level.
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