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Ireland could face 10,000 cases of coronavirus a day by Christmas if measures are not put in place to stop its spread, an expert has warned.
There are currently fewer than 1,000 cases a week, but Professor Gerry Killeen believes that if the numbers continue to multiply the way they have been, we could face 10 times that number per day.
And he told how he thinks we are already in a second wave, and we have been since the end of June.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror, Professor Killeen said: “I do not agree with the Government; we’ve been on a second wave since the end of June, it’s just a slow wave.
“And since it’s slow, we don’t react as we should.
“Our cases are 10 times higher than two months ago.
“If you move along that path without any change, there are 1,000 cases a day in two months from now and 10,000 a day at Christmas.
“So if you do something to speed that up (bring the schools back, etc.), you accelerate it at a much faster rate than people might imagine.
“It is not about whether we are approaching a second wave or not, we have been in it for two months. The turning point was at the end of June, even before we got out of phase two.
“Even if you’re leaning on the optimistic side, it’s hard to see everything stay open for long.”
And he added that he does not believe it has to “be like this” and that there are “solutions and solutions.”
Professor Killeen added: “All of Europe is going to find out sooner or later that it is not what people imagined, that it was just going to be constant chaos.
“Let’s meet back where we started. It will start with a bunch of regional locks and then once you have too many it will result in a national lockdown.
“We will meet there sooner or later, but earlier is much better. Each day we lose is several more days than it will take us to the other extreme.
“The increase in transmission among the younger age groups will be much greater before we notice that it is spreading to the older age groups, which means it will take a long time to undo.”
Meanwhile, the University College Cork academic said that the return of the universities in the coming weeks could spell further disaster with student house parties.
Professor Killeen said: “If I were to classify them, I would put universities in a completely different category than schools: over 20,000 young adults with their accommodation scattered around the big cities and then many trips home to other counties, they are in a situation totally different. different scale of threat.
“There is no doubt that these reopens will contribute to transmission and accelerate the virus.
(Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)
“Those slow-burning drivetrains can last for months before someone gets sick enough to notice, too.
“Unfortunately, we are already back in epidemic growth and schools and now universities are only going to accelerate that.
“My advice to college students would be to be much more aware that they are much more likely to carry it with them and never know it.
“It is very difficult to control adults. I think it is important that we discuss and distinguish among the vast majority of people, including younger people who are reasonable.
“We just have to reason with them.”
And the former mayor of Cork, Catherine Clancy, said legislation must be introduced to deal with student parties that take place, which in turn is helping to spread the virus. Ms. Clancy, who is part of the Magazine Road and Surrounding Areas Residents Association, shared how people living near UCC have already seen an influx of house parties during the summer from students who stayed behind. accommodation.
He added: “We are very concerned. We have had a terrible summer here. We need enforceable legislation to deal with the cohort of homeowners and youth who will not comply with Covid-19 restrictions.
“Since May 23, we have held 221 parties at Covid houses within a 1 km radius.
“These parties would have had a minimum of 30 people in them involving 77 properties.
“One of those houses had 17 parties only that we know of and another had 15.
“We have excellent community guards here, but they can only go so far.
“We have lived with anxiety all summer and we have done everything possible to highlight the situation; we need applicable legislation for the fall.”
The Association of Irish Universities, which overlooks seven, including DCU and Trinity College Dublin, said the emphasis is on collective responsibility.
Communications Chief Lia O’Sullivan said: “All of our universities are implementing an active communication campaign for students, enforcing public health guidelines.
“This is being done in collaboration with the student unions and will continue throughout the year.
“The emphasis is on collective responsibility and ensuring that everyone plays their part to ensure the health and safety of everyone on campus.
“An example of this is NUI Galway Curam Da Cheile / Community Promise, where students and staff are asked to sign up to be part of the university community, to behave appropriately, to follow the advice of the university. and public health guidelines.
“Regarding the probability of cases on campus, the universities are receiving advice from public health experts on this issue and are implementing a collective protocol.”
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