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The government is considering a temporary 48-hour ban on non-essential travel from Britain and will announce its decision this afternoon.
Sources said any temporary travel ban is likely to be extended once the Cabinet has a chance to meet and discuss the issue on Tuesday.
The move is a response to growing concerns in the government about a more infectious strain of Covid-19 that is reportedly spreading across Britain.
Two high-level sources have confirmed that an initial temporary ban is an option that is being considered this afternoon.
Medical Director Tony Holohan is currently meeting with other public health officials and will then report to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. The three leaders of the ruling party held urgent talks this afternoon on the ban and a formal announcement will be made this afternoon.
Sources have said that a travel ban between Ireland and Northern Ireland is not being considered.
Speaking earlier, Donnelly said he expected an announcement on the restrictions for passengers from Britain today.
The current advice is that there should be no non-essential international travel. Arrivals from red zone areas must be quarantined for 14 days.
Several European countries, including Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, imposed new restrictions on travel to and from the UK on Sunday due to concerns about the new strain of the virus.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week radio show, Mr. Donnelly said that other countries have imposed travel restrictions and that the government “is looking at exactly the same question.”
“We are considering flights, we are looking for ferries, we are looking for trips to and from the island of Great Britain and Ireland in general and we are considering it very seriously at the moment,” he said.
When asked if the government is telling the Irish not to travel, Donnelly replied: “In the first place, the UK government is telling them they cannot come. Let’s be very clear on this. The UK government is not saying they should use their judgment. The UK government says they can’t come. “
‘Overwhelmed’
Public health officials are currently discussing the issue, as the UK warned it had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the virus.
Donnelly also said that he was concerned that the new variant of the Covid-19 virus may have reached Ireland. There were no confirmed cases.
“I don’t think anything is inevitable, but I will be very, very, pleasantly surprised if he is not here,” given the number of flights, ferries and travel between the UK and Ireland.
It would be “very naive to think that it potentially would not be here.”
He said he would like the north and south of Ireland to have similar measures when it comes to tackling Covid-19.
When asked if there would be restrictions between the north and south, he said there would be no “physical” restrictions, but that they would seek to advise people not to travel.
“We are certainly not considering physically sealing the border. Politically it is not practical, but certainly what we could well be doing is giving very solid advice in terms of travel north and south, “he said.
A leading public health expert has called on the government to impose travel restrictions from Britain as a “reasonable precaution” to prevent a mutant variation of Covid-19 from spreading to the state.
Dr Gabriel Scally said the rate of spread in south-east England was very high and that initial analysis of the new variant “gives cause for concern” justifying travel restrictions.
“I think it is a reasonable precaution to stop the flights for the time being without giving a fixed point on it,” he told The Irish Times on Sunday morning.
The Health Department said Sunday morning that analysis by the UCD’s National Virus Reference Laboratory found no evidence of the virus variant in any of the infections tested to date.
The UK government has imposed a blockade on London and most of south-east England over a variant of the coronavirus that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said could be up to 70% more transmittable than previous versions of the virus. virus.
People living under the new Tier 4 rules in Britain, the most severe lockdown, have been asked not to travel outside their region and others outside the area have been advised not to visit there.
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