The majority of Covid-19 cases in Ireland are the result of domestic contacts, according to an infectious disease specialist.
Professor Sam McConkey said that while mandatory quarantine for incoming travellers was important, it was just one part of a 20-piece jigsaw.
The head of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons called for “huge investment” in public health, including retraining unemployed people to help with detailed contact tracing.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Prof McConkey warned that opening up the hospitality sector and allowing multi-generational mixing could lead to a surge in cases and thousands of deaths.
The current Level 5 restrictions had not led to the same responses as were achieved in the first and second lockdowns, he said.
People were getting tired of the restrictions which meant the country was in “a really tight spot”. He warned that if the country opened up “things will get rapidly worse.”
'Should have been done a year ago'
It could be September to November before the widespread vaccination programme was completed, Prof McConkey said, due to vaccine supply issues.
The arrival of several new vaccines will ease the situation but will take a little while, he added. “When it goes from three to 12 we will be able to vaccinate the majority.”
If there was a “huge investment” in population or public health, it could mean thousands of people becoming involved in local outbreak management teams.
With more staff and better IT, along with processes and governance, outbreaks could be better managed. Volunteers and retrained unemployed people could assist with tracing and help the current staff who were struggling, he said.
There was also a role for employers such as providing access to GPs and sick pay.
“There’s a lot that could be done better, that should have been done a year ago,” Prof McConkey said.
