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Travelers have been advised that a ‘gold standard’ PCR test result will only be accepted for those who wish to move around Ireland without restrictions upon arrival.
The Cabinet agreed to a new range of measures under the EU traffic light system that will allow tourists and travelers to move around the country without the need to adhere to the strict Covid-19 movement restrictions.
Under the system, there will be green regions, orange regions, red regions and gray regions throughout the EU.
This map will be updated every Thursday based on epidemiological data from the EU and the changes will take effect in Ireland the following Monday.
People arriving from the green regions of the EU will not have to restrict their movements.
Arrivals from the orange regions will also not be required to restrict their movements as long as they have a negative or undetected result from a Covid-19 test that was conducted no more than three days before departure.
Starting at midnight on November 29, arrivals from a red EU region will also not be expected to restrict their movements as long as they have a negative Covid-19 test taken a minimum of five days after their arrival in Ireland.
The same will apply to arrivals from orange regions that did not take a pre-departure test.
Arrivals from third countries, such as the United States, will be treated in the same way as arrivals from the red regions. Arrivals from Great Britain will be subject to the same traffic light classification and restrictions that apply to other locations in the EU.
However, the government has warned that only so-called gold standard PCR tests will be accepted and will not be provided through the public health system.
“There are a number of Covid-19 testing technologies currently available or emerging in the commercial market. However, subject to ongoing review of testing by Nphet and the Government, a negative result from a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is the only test result that means no the passenger is expected to follow the advice to restrict movements, “a government statement said.
Additionally, travelers using Dublin Airport will be able to undergo pre-flight testing for the coronavirus after the Cabinet approved a planning exemption for a privately run test facility at the airport.
Vaccine
The ministers were also briefed on ongoing EU efforts to secure a coronavirus vaccine.
Ireland is currently participating in an EU procurement effort that is being managed by the European Commission. Ministers were informed that the allocation of access to vaccine doses among EU member states will be decided according to an established population distribution.
A high-level vaccine working group is being established, but Cabinet was cautioned that “complex logistical challenges have been identified.”
These relate to issues such as “the delivery from the European continent of products with very demanding storage and transport requirements, the need to plan for timely delivery to the sites of delivery of immunization to patients, and the need to ensure that waste”.
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