There are further calls for Ireland to work towards the total elimination of COVID-19 this summer.
Professor Gerry Killeen from the School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences in UCC has warned that current policy could lead us to a “rollercoaster of restrictions and relaxations.”
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, he said Ireland could be COVID-free by September if we act to crush the curve now.
“I would have said the same thing a month ago but a month ago, New Zealand hadn’t proven that it is possible,” he said.
“Now we know for sure that it is doable; it is no longer just theory and it is an opportunity we have; we are just on the cusp of it and it would be a shame to blow that opportunity now.”
He said the best way to tackle a virus like COVID-19 is to crush it as fast as possible, noting that “what you don’t want to do is get yourself into a rollercoaster of restrictions and relaxations.”
“If this was the flu it would be a different ball game,” he said. “Flu has a reproductive number less than 2. This has a reproductive number of 4 so what that means is that there is very little room for relaxation.
“It means that as soon as you take your foot off the gas, it roars back into business.”
Gardai walking around the streets in Dublin City Centre to make sure pubs are not breaking the guidelines on social distancing, serving food or time limits etc
Yet this is allowed on Dame Lane..... pic.twitter.com/4inEgsY2Rm
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) July 4, 2020
Professor Killeen said scenes of people failing to socially distance while drinking outside pubs in Dublin over the weekend were “terrifying.”
“I wish it was surprising,” he said. “If you look through the history of public health and outbreaks you will find that in almost every major chapter there has been some 2% or 3% of the population that don’t have much regard for the rest of us.
“We need to stop and have are-think about what comes next because it has taken a lot of work to get so far to where we are today and we all need to ask ourselves, is this really over or do we need to finish the job?”
He said people should only be allowed to travel internationally for essential reasons – even to countries that are deemed safe.
“You can have a list of countries but still rule out non-essential travel,” he said.
“There is a big difference between flying out to Greece to see your 80-year-old mother versus going for a sun holiday.
“I would say a sun holiday is non-essential and I think we could all survive without a trip to the pub for a couple of months so you really have to ask yourself what is essential.”
You can listen back to the full interview here:
