A public health expert says we are already in the second wave of COVID-19.
Professor Anthony Staines is one of the scientists and health experts who have written a letter cautioning against a rapid reopening of the country.
They instead say authorities in the Republic and Northern Ireland should work to drive the number of coronavirus cases down to zero.
Press Release 15/07/2020 Experts from medicine & science across #Ireland and abroad announce a @ZeroCOVIDIsland strategy to eliminate #COVID19 from across the Island of #Ireland enabling us to open up https://t.co/NLp1vcbaJ8
— Independent Scientific Advocacy Group (ISAG) (@ISAGCOVID19) July 15, 2020
32 new cases were reported yesterday - the highest number in weeks.
It comes as the Government’s set to announce this evening whether all pubs can reopen next week as part of Phase 4.
However, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has expressed concern about moving to what would be the final phase of the re-opening of the economy.
Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Professor Anthony Staines - from DCU's School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health - says other countries have also seen a 'slow' resurgence of the virus.
He observed: "What we're saying is that we are actually in the second wave right now.
"Unlike the first time, the second wave will be slow because people are socially distancing - that reduces the speed of transmission.
"But the number of cases is going up, and we're following the same path as countries like Switzerland and particularly Israel, where the second wave started slowly and then got out of control."
Prof Staines stressed that nobody is arguing for the country to go back to lockdown, but the Government needs to make a decision about whether they want to achieve zero new cases.
He said: "If they do, then we need to bring in rules about masks.
"We need to bring in an idea of a 'green zone' - there are places in the country where there is really no spread, and there are places where there's significant community spread continuing. We need to do things differently in those places.
"The evidence shows we should be wearing masks in most indoor situations... we should be wearing masks in any crowded situation outdoors.
"The Government needs to get behind that, because they have the democratic political authority to get behind that message and push [it]."
He said the major problem isn't tourists coming across the Irish border or into Dublin Airport, but instead people living here spreading the disease "entirely innocently".
He argued: "My thought would be is we can open the pubs as scheduled, providing we do so responsibly, carefully and safely.
"If we get down to zero, there is nothing to stop you going to your local pub having a pint with as many of your pals as you like. Until we get down to zero, we're not going to be back to normal."
