IRELAND WILL face four more waves of Covid-19 before a vaccine is found, according to a leading doctor who is calling on the government to adopt a “Zero-Covid” policy.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Dr Anthony Staines, professor of Health Systems at Dublin City University (DCU), warned that Ireland is only y in the second phase of the pandemic.
Based on his previous modelling for the virus as part of the "Zero-Covid" policy group, he believes that Ireland will face at least four more waves of the virus until a vaccine is available.
Dr Staines and his colleagues estimates that the last of these four predicted waves will arrive in Ireland at some point in May 2021.
The healthcare academic was one of several scientists who wrote to the Oireachtas special committee on Covid-19 calling for calling for the universal use of masks in enclosed spaces and “more targeted” finding, testing, tracking and isolation of cases.
In their letter to committee chairman Michael McNamara, the scientists said Ireland was heading forlong-term social and economic catastrophe “with an unknown but significant associated burden of death, disease and disability.
“Our proposal, to avoid this by moving to a zero-Covid policy, a policy backed by science, experience and extensive analysis, should be considered at national political level.”
Part of the proposals included the introduction of an “effective and fair” system of testing and isolating any and all incoming travellers into the country.
“We believe that many of the public understand this, and will support a credible Zero-Covid island policy, both to avoid a second wave, and because of the tangible positive rewards,” the letter said.
“We have a choice to make: continue with the current ‘live with the virus’ approach which carries significant cost without a clear destination, or take the socially and financially beneficial zero-Covid island approach.”
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