A public health expert insists we could get down to zero cases of Covid-19 in eight weeks or less - but it would take everyone staying in their own county and no big parties.
As Prof Anthony Staines prepares to present to the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 tomorrow, he says we can eliminate the virus completely from Ireland.
If not, he fears that we could be trapped in a cycle of lockdowns across the country, until a vaccine is available - which could be July 2021.
Prof Staines, who will be presenting to the Oireachtas committee tomorrow with colleagues from Dublin City University, told the Irish Daily Mirror: “If you head for zero, at the very least you’re going to get a low number of cases, and we can live with that.”
Political will and leadership must be in place if Ireland is to get rid of Covid-19, he added.
Prof Staines said: “We need to decide that we want to do it, to get down to zero.
“If you’re asking people to do stuff, you’ve got to have a reason. I think given a reason and given leadership, they will.”
In order to get the number of cases down to zero, a number of steps must still be taken, according to the health systems expert - but these steps do not have to include total lockdown.
Instead, they include more mask-wearing in public places, and on-the-spot fines for people who do not wear one.
It also includes abiding by the social distancing guidelines of two metres.
For those who have symptoms or have contracted the virus, they must self-isolate - and be paid for their time off work.
But crucially, Prof Staines says people must remain within their county and only make essential journeys.
And big parties are “off the agenda” until a vaccine is available.
Prof Staines said: “To be honest, big parties are off the agenda till we get to zero.
“And it’s not just mad teenagers getting drunk, although that is part of it. It is down to all of us to say, what’s reasonable to do?”
But he says these tough measures would only have to be in place for six to eight weeks, all going well, before we get the number of cases down to about zero.
“This could take six to eight weeks, provided we do this right,” he said.
