LISTEN BACK: Neil speaks to Professor Gerry Killeen who says there will be repeated waves of Covid-19 over the next four years unless restrictions remain in place

'I could guarantee you a biblical plague by Christmas,' warns UCC Professor. Professor Gerry Killeen, Research Chair in Applied Pathogen Ecology at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences in University College Cork, has said there will be repeated waves of Covid-19 over the next four years unless restrictions remain in place for now. Killeen said the Irish response to the outbreak, and in particular to incoming travellers and asymptomatic cases, has been slow and half-hearted. "There's no way to get to Phase Five without causing a second wave so then I'd ask the question, why would we embark on a journey that sooner or later is going to backfire on us?" Killeen said. "Certainly, our existing restrictions should go on for longer but we're talking about months and we're talking about bringing it to an end point where the virus is eliminated from the country."

You can listen to Professor Killeen's full conversation with Neil here: