By Vivienne Clarke
Liam Glynn, Professor of General Practice at UL and a GP in Ballyvaughan in Clare, has said Ireland should be aiming to “crush” the COVID curve rather than just “flatten” it.
“We have come a huge, long way towards flattening the curve. Recent figures do seem to be dropping, but the question now is where are we going? What are we aiming for? We need to be talking about crushing, not flattening the curve,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
As an island Ireland has the opportunity to “stamp down” the coronavirus to “a really low level”, he added.
Or are we just happy to get it to an acceptable level where it is allowed to circulate?
Cocooners would prefer to live in a society with as low a level of the virus as possible, where it is not a threat, he said. “This is not a small challenge.”
Does society just throw up its hands, he asked. “Is it going to control us rather than us controlling it?”
Comparisons with New Zealand were not fair, he said given its remote location and the fact that it was not part of an organisation like the European Union.
“We have the advantage of being an island, we can do trade safely, but it will take some level of border patrol to stop cases from coming onto the island.
“There are things we can do safely.” Prof. Glynn said he had faith in the ability of humans to adapt and survive. “I want to put my money on the human race and my faith in the Irish nation.”
There can be a safer environment through a new way of living with social distancing and face covering in crowds. “That is something to aim for.”
