Teenage band in Dublin urged to self-isolate after contact with Covid-19 patient
The measure is part of the contact tracing process in response to the first confirmed case.
www.thejournal.ie
Pro active ideas to stop this virus
- Thread starter seamus m
- Start date
www.thejournal.ie
A few facts on which to cogitate.
- We cannot stop this virus, but we may, at best, slow the spread.
- We cannot prevent further infections but we may be able to minimise the effects of those infections
- None of the measures here or indeed elsewhere, are in any way proactive, they are reactions to the circumstances in which we find ourselves
Are we using the 4 hour testing kit or do we have any coming .I know we have new testing stock for tomorrow is this the faster kit. Does anyone know much about 15 min test and kit that two Tipp men are working on can it be rolled out?. That could b a game changer if we have enough quickly . Tipp , Tipp,Tipp
That's mostly for show, limited real effect.
Do Leo & Simon know this? If it's true, why are we hearing reports of a shortage of ventilators and related equipment in acute hospitals in Ireland? If we have a critical need here at home can we not place priority orders with MedTronics in Galway or ask them to work extra shifts to meet new demand?
We have failed to do anything remotely proactive in this crisis, can we at least react appropriately to save suffering and lives?
Not sure seizing private companies will be constructive - at the very least it would open us to retaliation (by US or whatever). There is still a rule of law which is important.
There isn't a failure to do "anything". At EU level there is a purchase scheme going on and a plan to move equipment to locations as demand moves. There is also an announced increase in Irish equipment over the coming weeks. You can question whether there is a realistic plan to do more, but probably best to only do so if you have specific expertise or knowledge.
They have been heavily funded by IDA and it's not about seizing it's about doubling down and helping them more to meet our orders finding them and providing whatever they need. Be it raw materials ,staff ,transport that all these extra minutes are used to fill our demand and we continue this then for world demand .I wouldn't think Donald would be as kind.
And does anyone on this board know that there has been no discussion with them? Or that other actions aren't being taken? Or - just because announcements haven't been made (which might have a valid reason for not announcing) that "the government is doing nothing". If not, then better to temper language and take a breath - that's my point
And out of interest -
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Irish project for easy-to-assemble Covid-19 ventilators bears fruit
Open Source 3D-printer ventilator project has prototypes ready to be validated by HSE
Interesting quote in the article - they have worked with the HSE to get approval for the devices but don't think they will be needed here.
Saw a biologist today on some programme or other saying that any cure that appears in the very near future for the Coronavirus can in no way be trusted and that he certainly wouldn't take it. What do people feel, would you take it if it appeared in the next month or so?
Important to look at the detail of the reports. Many of the recent reports are about promising trials of anti viral drugs. In the main these involve existing drugs (which have been through all the trials) originally developed for other viruses. They are usually referring to success in treating people who already have the virus. So in some small samples, retooling existing medication looks like it delivers promising initial results.
Vaccines are different. There have been a number of reports of labs starting to develop vaccines. And I'm sure it's being worked in many places. But even if a prospective vaccine is ready to test, it will need to go through many stages of testing. It would be close to a year or more before widely available. In the past, short cutting vaccines has led to cases where the vaccine actually made the effects of the virus worse.
Where did you get that rubbish from?
I have made no such proposal, explicitly or implicitly. This is what I suggested "can we not place priority orders with MedTronics in Galway or ask them to work extra shifts to meet new demand?"
I'm sure if Leo and Simon had had a decently innovative idea, we'd be the very first to know, with announcements heralded by fanfares. The only poster using intemperate language is you talking about "seizing private companies" and opening us " to retaliation (by US or whatever)" both topics of your own creation.
The government has done nothing in the weeks leading up to today - apart from print some yellow posters and counsel us that washing our hands was the answer,
We have too few acute hospital beds to isolate the numbers of patients who will ultimately need isolation, we have too few laboratory testing facilities and too few testers who are already working overtime (RTE TV news). wW are due to get 30,000 extra testing kits in the next few days. If or when those extra testing kits are delivered, we can test an additional 0.67% of our population. What a wonderful country we have with exemplary leadership being displayed, 8 to 10 weeks too late to be useful.
The article you provided a link to says no such thing. Read it again. It actually states "now has prototypes ready that may be validated for use by the Health Service Executive from as early as next week."a notion every bit as inaccurate as the headline writer of the Irish Times report, the new Red Top.
Explain how we get our orders prioritised?
Is it an assumption that production isn't already ramped up? If true, how do we change management decisions?
That's where I got "'that rubbish"
I debated whether to bother continuing this. But there is a wider point.
I did answer your question. I said the only way the Government could achieve the two questions you posed was by taking over the management of the company. There is no official way of skipping the queue. Assuming the company isn't already working flat out (your assumption) there is no way of forcing them to. So you posed questions but didn't propose a methodology - or show some specific knowledge.
But it's the broader issue (not specific to your post btw) that bothers me. It is easy to say in forums that the government / HSE / <insert specific person's name> are doing nothing about this. But it's crazy to think that people are sitting there thinking "I don't think I'll bother doing anything today - maybe tomorrow".
The nature of a pandemic is that it will stretch resources. It is impossible to completely cover all resource demands in a relatively short space of time. But, for example, the ramping up of testing here is a lot quicker than most countries at our stage. The change in societal behaviour has been introduced here quicker than elsewhere (for the same stage), the ramping up of backup health staff here is a lot quicker than other countries, test kits are short but additional kits are arriving here quicker than other countries (so must have been arranged earlier), equipment shortages are happening but certainly not as bad as UK / US for example - I'm sure there are other examples.
Also - not everything is going to paraded in the media. If, for example, a health minister had informally persuaded a manufacturing company to push our orders up the queue, I don't think it would be in either party's interest to see that in the media. Much better to do it quietly. Likewise with any supplies that were ramped up. The same happened pretty much with the drive through testing centres - better to announce when they just about to open rather than announcing it weeks in advance. But none of this happens without planning and discussions happening weeks or months ahead.
We can throw out ideas and that's no harm. It is likely, behind the scenes, that anything we throw out here has already been thought about. But any good ideas I'm sure will get passed on. But I don't think we should be claiming any people in the public or civil service, or any of the politicians (from any political hue) are not doing anything - they may make mistakes, they may miss something. But they are not inactive
One of the massive bottlenecks the government has failed to address is the timely testing of oral swabs and other samples for COVID-19.
We have dozens of empty laboratories in universities and technical colleges around the country and we have laboratory technicians and scientists who are at best underemployed. What would it take to outfit empty labs with extra equipment (if necessary) and re-train lab staff (if necessary) to test for COVID-19?
It strikes me as pretty pointless to increase the centres taking samples if the samples can’t be tested and results fed back in a timely manner.
We have dozens of empty laboratories in universities and technical colleges around the country and we have laboratory technicians and scientists who are at best underemployed. What would it take to outfit empty labs with extra equipment (if necessary) and re-train lab staff (if necessary) to test for COVID-19?
It strikes me as pretty pointless to increase the centres taking samples if the samples can’t be tested and results fed back in a timely manner.
I am not sure at all what has happened which is why I asked the questions. What makes you so sure about what has happened? And I never suggested jumping queues. Read my post