An Irish doctor has made an extreme prediction for a Europe-wide lockdown if Covid-19 cases continue to spiral.
DCU professor Anthony Staines said the key to ensuring our economy can return to normal is suppressing the virus.
He told Claire Byrne Live: "We can see our economy dipping, we can see unemployment rising, we can see all the expenditure the Government is making.
"That is all being driven by the amount of virus in circulation.
"If we drive the virus down, the countries that are doing OK economically with this are China, with very few cases, South Korea, Vietnam with effectively no cases, Taiwan, also with almost no cases.
"New Zealand is doing OK and they have almost no cases, their economy has dipped but that's probably for other reasons.
"That is what we need to do [chase it down]. My bet on this is if we don't get this under control, there will be a Europe-wide lockdown."
Professor Staines also said he was "not too worried" about outdoor gatherings including those seen at the Oliver Bond flats.
He added: "If you're going to socialise, if you're going to do mad stuff, do it outside.
"It's much safer to have 200 of your closest friends in a field or on a football pitch, than to have 20 of your closest friends in the back of your house.
"I think the behaviour of the people around the Oliver Bond was disgraceful.
"Remember they weren't from there, they came from outside and they caused havoc. And regardless of the virus, it was completely anti-social.
"With the rave in Meath, the farmer commented that they cleaned the place immaculately before they left. I'm not endorsing what they did, but if you're going to do mad stuff, do it outside, because it's much safer."
