I'm a bit stunned at this. @PhilipNolan_MU has completely failed to understand the basics of how the virus spreads. It's December 2021, 20 months into the pandemic. As @johnwenger9 says it defies the laws of physics. I'd also argue it defies basic intuition. 
I think I can fairly infer from Nolan's comments that he's *still* relying on a dated understanding of heavier aerosols ("droplets") vs less heavy aerosols. It's this wrong understanding that led to an incorrect focus on screens and 2m distance at the start of the pandemic.
Th science on this moved on last year. The droplets distinction itself was based on bad science.
If this has been addressed last year we'd all have been a lot safer. Instead we have an unwillingness to accept new science and evidence. Personally I can't see how Mr Nolan can continue his position at NPHET.
Our health leaders need to understand one very basic concept: how does SARS-CoV-2 spread? If they can't understand that *very basic concept*, the measures they recommend to Government to mitigate spread will inevitably be wrong ones.
Can I *again* ask my colleagues in the media: ask NPHET how the virus spreads. We need an answer. Who believes the old droplet/fomite focussed way? Does NPHET believe the virus is airborne, or not? Because *all* mitigation strategies (schools/pubs etc) flow from their answer.
Apologies for the typos but I'm apoplectic. Tweeting about this now since summer 2020. It's exhausting that we're still stuck here.
I made my concerns clear in this thread from 13 months ago. My suspicions were correct. NPHET had not and has not internalised the aerosolised nature of the virus.
https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1317768189506441218
and at the height of the soaring number of cases and deaths in January I (somewhat jokingly) riffed on what I would do if I was Taoiseach. Some were implemented, some not. I still stand by them today:
https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1353853644714684418
This was January and *pre Delta* - which makes the measure all the more urgent!. It's now *December*. And only now are we getting around to more substantial chats about filters and higher grade masks. So much wasted time. And the reason?: NPHET does not seem to accept the science
And perhaps a follow up question for NPHET from the media: does NPHET stand over this completely wrong dangerous and unscientific guidance from the HSE?
If the answer is they do. The question is "why".
If the answer is, they don't. Then the question is "why was it put out?"
If the answer is they do. The question is "why".
If the answer is, they don't. Then the question is "why was it put out?"
And here's an illustration from the BMJ (h/t @NoonanJoe) on where focus should be on mitigation of spread - the air. Aerosols and small droplets are predominant ways the virus spreads. NPHET focusses measures on large droplets and surface transmission. They have it *arse ways*.
@NoonanJoe Link here: bmj.com/content/375/bm…
TL;DR: NPHET are giving bad advice to government based on a misunderstanding of how the virus spreads, itself based on outdated and bad science. And here's me right now:
And, again, for some background on the droplet v aerosol debate and the science, read this wired.com/story/the-teen…
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