Nphet | Business Post

Covid advisory group to be scaled back after pandemic emergency declared over

Group has only met once this year, with no further meetings scheduled

Holohan rebuked by Donnelly over Nphet replacement group

The chief medical officer raised concerns over membership of the new advisory team, correspondence seen by the Business Post shows

Editorial: State must apply lessons learned during pandemic to manage refugee influx

The arrival in Ireland of up to 100,000 Ukrainian people fleeing the war must be handled compassionately and efficiently if it is not to turn the housing crisis into a full-blown emergency

Tony O’Brien: High levels of Covid are a policy failure, but refusing to act is a leadership failure

The reintroduction of a partial mask mandate seems a simple and proportionate response to the situation we are now in

Willie O’Reilly: Cutting health measures and messaging a double blow

The government may come to regret shuffling Nphet off stage in so much haste as we still need to be guided out of the pandemic and its volatile aftermath

Group to replace Nphet ‘not being set up in response to rising cases’

Tony Holohan requested new group be established following Nphet’s final meeting last month

Department to underpin Nphet decisions in event of legal action

Legal service to compile reports and documentation relating to team’s work

Health officials divided over ending use of Covid certs

Nphet meeting heard that focus should be on ‘long-standing deficits’ in the county’s health service exposed by the pandemic

Out of Office: Record employment numbers and the end of Nphet?

Your essential round-up of the latest business news

Holohan signals end of Nphet as mask wearing set to be eased

The team met for the first time today since most Covid-19 restrictions were lifted almost four weeks ago

Covid-19: Global public health risk still ‘very high’, Holohan to say

Chief medical officer will tell politicians the outlook is ‘broadly positive’ when it comes to the risks associated with the disease in Ireland

Government’s expert group on antigen testing stood down

The group met 20 times between last July and January to advance the widespread use of rapid testing

Tony O’Brien: Ireland should use its UN pulpit to push for vaccine equity

Such a move would be a worthy use of a privileged position, in a world where new variants of Covid-19 may well emerge before long

Nphet signals end to most restrictions including Covid certs and limits at events

The Cabinet will meet tomorrow to decide on dates to ease restrictions

Are we nearly there yet? How the Covid-19 crisis could be reaching its endgame

A growing number of medical experts are increasingly optimistic that the pandemic may be about to peak, with Omicron causing far fewer deaths and showing a reduced virulence. While there is still some caution, their predictions suggest we can get back to normal soon – but what will that look like?

Covid-19: Omicron wave to peak but concerns remain over record case numbers

With one of the highest incidence rates in the world, how will hospitals cope in the next few weeks?

Fallout of the ‘pingdemic’: should the close-contact rules change?

Staff shortages caused by the self-isolation mandate for close contacts of cases of Covid-19 are leading to closures and reduced service in pubs and restaurants, as well as in shops, pharmacies, factories and supply chains

Number of contact tracers to rise as officials meet to discuss Omicron wave

Taoiseach Micheál Martin indicated he did not expect further restrictions this week saying it was ‘steady as she goes’

Positive antigen tests could be added to official Covid figures

Government is optimistic that Covid-19 cases will peak this coming week, but business leaders warn that staffing shortages are emerging in critical industries like food and pharma

Omicron: Why the experts have ‘never been more concerned’

With case numbers doubling every two days, and vaccine protection dropping in some cases to zero, it seems the safest option is to batten down the hatches and spend a very quiet Christmas