An infectious disease specialist has said a shorter but stricter lockdown could be a more effective way to contain COVID-19 in Ireland.

The Government is today expected to announce an extension of the restrictions on work and travel today.

They were due to come to an end on Sunday but the National Public Health Emergency Team is expected to recommend an extension after it meets again today.

Professor Sam McConkey | Image via @RCSI_Irl on Twitter

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Professor Sam McConkey, Head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the RCSI, said there are two options facing the government moving forward.

“One is to flatten the curve and try and spread infection in about half of our population or more over a period of about six or nine months so our health service can cope with it,” he said.

“The other is to try and have more severe restrictions and try and prevent the spread of coronavirus completely or eliminate it from our island.

“That would have to be on a 32-county basis and it would require a shorter period of time of restrictions but more severe restrictions.

“That second approach has been tried in China and succeeded. It is also what New Zealand is doing and because we are on an island it gives us an alternative approach.”

He said the second option would allow the country to bounce back quicker if it was successful; however, it would be difficult to operate.

“It is possible that we would try it and it might not be successful,” he said.

“It would be quite challenging to implement and it might also unfortunately involve restricting the travel of people coming in – not by preventing them travelling but just simply keeping them in quarantine for a couple of weeks and that is again what is happening in China.”

It comes after the Health Minister said he expects the restrictions to remain in place for the next few weeks.

Simon Harris said growth rate of the virus has slowed; however, not enough progress has been made to lift the lockdown.