@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: No.

@Wheresmyjumper: holidays are not important. People need to get a grip. Unnecessary travel should be stopped until this thing is under control. Let there be restricted travel for goods and services but holidays business trips etc etc going from country to country should be prohibited

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: just no, not the first time this has happened, natural selection will run its course.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: it’s the flu you fool. Does the whole world grind to a halt every winter because there is an outbreak of the flu. The panic over this is laughable!

@Who cares?: Have u seen its impact. It’s getting worse. We are probably being told half of what is actually going on to stop people panicking. Measures need to be put in place so this thing doesn’t kill the young, the elderly, the sick…. Just anyone who’s vulnerable at the minute. Nothing to do with natural selection

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: so every flu season we’ll do this ya? Or just when you go hysterical

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: you understand what natural selection is?

@Joe: idiot. Have u seen the extremes governments are going to to stifle this thing. Do you see this with the flu? No you don’t. I’d say u have the intilectual capabilities of a two year old with a comment like that.

@Wheresmyjumper: they say we grow enough food on the island OF Ireland to feed 80 people million ..so the food part is sorted …we can’t close borders If refugees are arriving on to island

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: yes I have seen the impact, following most news and social media, like yourself, explain to me what is different than a virus which spreads through any other species and kills the weak! Only difference is we can see it coming, and we spread it at an accelerated rate with all our travelling and interaction.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin:

Why would you put travel ban in place? It will have very little impact on anything. People need to go about their daily business taking normal precautions. Remember 80,000 cases reported in one of the most densely populated areas of the world in in China, is the equivalent of 280 cases in Ireland.If its 10 times worse, that’s still only 2800 cases.

If you are a little concerned, avoid large gatherings, don’t go to the pub, don’t go to sporting events.

If you are in a state of panic, rent a house on Achill, get a wind up radio, get your supplies in, seal up the doors and windows and you’ll be fine.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: you do understand why the governments are trying to stop this? Money! i.e A Global Economy Crash!

@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: travel bans and checkpoints are known to cause more harm as people could be unwilling to alert people to their illness while inadvertently spreading it.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: People need to just keep calm and keep high hygiene standards. These kind of comments just put everyone in an unnecessary spin.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin:‘intilectual’?

@Desmond Lyons: I knew I’d caught on that one!!! Haha

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Maybe you should see a professional about your paranoia. A little light entertainment a few deep breathing exercises helps. Too many episodes of the Walking Dead are definitely not good for your delicate mindset.

@SteoG: you’ll be singing a different story if it darkens your door. I’m not paranoid. I’m a realist. All I said was basically to limit travel to limit its spread. That’s not paranoia… That’s called sensible thinking.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: do you propose we ban driving due to the amount of deaths it contributes to?

@Joe: the only difference is this flu has been given a name and as a result sounds scary. We are as well of now to just go and catch the damn thing and get it out of the way

@Fozz: you need to go back to school with Joe.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: A realist? Ha ha, you’re gas

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: No you are certainly not a realist. You are a deluded paranoid alarmist who is working under the false impression that you know better than the health professionals. Not your fault of course but you are the product of an overprotective society.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: travel from where to where. You saying my kids cant come home as Irish citizens. Clown

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: and you and the other SF experts will decide who enters or not

@SteoG: what have I been alarmed by?!! U see this thing very simple. Prevention is better than cure. Being aware of what will make the situation worse is not delusional it’s sensible. Your the alarmist reacting to a sensible idea with such distain.

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: great idea caoimhin, just you stay where you are!

@DeWitt: I said unnecessary travel. And ya if it’s unnecessary for your kids to come home then I would say yes. Why is everyone over-reacting to what I said?

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: It is indeed a sad state of affairs that you admit that you do not know what you are alarmed by. Suggestions that life comes to a halt because of your fear when the health professionals say otherwise is not sensible. If it was Ebola there might be merit in your idea. Covid19 does not pose a serious threat to the vast majority of people. There are real threats out there that pose a much greater risk to you but you probably dismiss them.

@SteoG: you are putting words in my mouth now…. Say your the delusional one clearly. Never said life should hault… But this serious. This is spreading like worldwide. People have died. Governments are taking massive steps to stop it’s spread. Stock markets have plummeted as a result. And here u are telling me it’s grand. Don’t prepare. Don’t try and stop the spread of it. U are a fool…

@Wheresmyjumper: it’s not the flu ye tool

@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: you need to step away from online news sources and chill buddy

@Pat Quinn: have a look through this. It gives you quite a bit of information on stats and cases for each country and worldwide. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/ have

@Pat Quinn: have a look through this. It gives you quite a bit of information on stats and cases for each country and worldwide. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

@Pat Quinn: USA has a population of 327,000,000 the flu virus may infect from 5- 20% of the population every year depending factors which is ~ 16,000,000 to 65,000,000 infected people. Of that number 8000 to 20,000 can die as a result of flu related factors.
That’s a mortality rate of ~0.03%.

SARS-COVID19 has infected ~78,000 in China so far and has killed ~2800 with ~ 8000 in critical condition.
That’s a mortality rate of ~ 3.5%.

Flu is a pandemic every year it infects millions and we have vaccines, it’s mortality rate is ~0.03% others deem it to be 0.01%.

In China CV19 has a mortality rate of 3.5% in Iran its much higher currently.
If it infected the 20% that flu does in some years in USA the death rate would 2,275,000 not 20,000 like flu.

@Shougeki: touché

@Joe: I didn’t realise scientists would be able to come up with a figure based on assumptions. Which is exactly what you’re saying. So how do they calculate how many people they believe got it that they don’t know about? Not that simple really….

@Shougeki: Thats not true. Ireland’s healthcare system compares very will internationally. A 2017 Lancet survey has us at 19th in the world in terms of access and quality

@Shougeki: Did you just make that nonsense up? Iran is 93rd and Ireland is 19th. https://thepatientfactor.com/world-health-organizations-ranking-of-the-worlds-health-systems/?fbclid=IwAR3gou_GQpVJzNy4dJBCoSA2KiSe3a-VBZ6J67Mp7ox8Pu996aJXtciEaVA

@Brendan Power: You’re not wrong. Another figure people need to keep to the forefront of their minds is that only 44% if cases have recovered so far. The fate of the remaining 56% is as yet undecided. But of those 46K or so people not recovered ~6% of that group are dead.

@Brendan Power: That’s exactly what scientists do. The look at actual numbers and trends. They make educated assumptions, and they forecast using complex statistical methods.

@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: like I said, not that simple!

@Brendan Power: You are correct it is not. But it’s generally better to heed to the experts rather than snippets of headlines and internet comments.
The estimated fatality rate of the virus is less than 1%

@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: Explain why thousands have been left for days on hospital trolleys, The Irish A&E,s are a disgrace

@Ian Breathnach: ya, I see that now. Still…

@Olivia Smith: “The Japanese Ministry of Health said the man was the sixth person from the ship, which has been quarantined off the country’s coast, to have died.” They did not say he died on board, they said he was from the ship.

@Kevin Lonergan: Any News Report Iv read states he died while being quarantined on board the ship. Even sky news said the same. News outlets should get facts correct before reporting anything.