Will this Government ever learn to say no to Nphet?

When can we get on with simply living with Covid, rather than living in fear of whatever threat new variants will throw at us?

'If the Omicron variant is more serious, then Nphet and the HSE’s opposition to things like antigen testing, delays to the booster vaccine campaign, and their repeatedly flawed modelling will come into sharp focus.' File Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

For the second time in three weeks, the Cabinet has been forced into holding an emergency or unscheduled meeting on a Friday in response to recommendations to enhance limitations on our personal freedoms.

Rather than have National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) recommendations linger in the public domain over a weekend until its normal Tuesday meeting, ministers have been bounced into action by their own unelected advisors. It is all a bit unsettling.