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The ministers today will examine the possibility of intensifying controls on people who are quarantined in their homes after a trip, and fines are being considered for those who do not comply with the obligations to “stay at home”.
It is understood that some ministers want to strengthen arrangements for those who must isolate themselves after traveling abroad, including with a negative PCR test, with mandatory home quarantine under consideration along with sporadic checks and tougher penalties to ensure compliance.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that a limited mandatory hotel quarantine for those arriving in the state without a negative test result, or variant hot spots, could be extended over time, if approved today by the Cabinet’s Covid subcommittee.
He said this would be “challenging and could take a few weeks to get up and running, but it would give us the advantage of learning how to do it successfully if the policy were expanded to more inbound travelers at a later time.”
He said the subcommittee will consider steps “to narrow the web on Covid” with a view to “avoiding new variants and reducing other national spread.”
El Tánaiste said that from a business and employment point of view, “being able to lower Covid to a low level so that we can reopen our national economy is much more important than being able to travel abroad.”
He warned that supply chains for fuel, drugs, vaccines and other goods must be maintained.
Two island strategy
Given that the UK is reportedly considering some form of mandatory hotel quarantine, Varadkar said a two-island strategy “could have real merit.” He said that even the hotel quarantine for all arrivals would not stop the arrival of new variants to the state “without an all-island dimension.”
A spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he supports stricter border controls and stricter enforcement, and while the recently introduced requirement to perform a pre-trip PCR test will help, “it is not enough and more measures are needed. “.
Government sources said follow-up calls and visits to people who isolate themselves at home will be examined, along with options for fines and a stricter definition of essential travel. Proposals to limit travel from different access points, including visa bans or restrictions, will also be considered.
It is understood that there may also be proposals to allow an early departure from any new home quarantine arrangements for people who obtain a second negative PCR test after five days.
The government will have to consider who will be responsible for overseeing any new arrangements. The Health Department has previously raised concerns that it has been given the responsibility of handling passenger locator forms, while placing additional demands on the Garda could raise concerns in the Justice Department.
Back to school
Meanwhile, government sources said that most of the children will not be returning to school next month and may not return to the classroom until around Easter. While he is unlikely to fully return to school until the second half of March, sources say the determination to reopen special education next month remains if transmission rates continue to fall.
Yesterday, the National Public Health Emergency Team reported another 23 deaths of Covid-19 patients, bringing the total number of deaths in the pandemic to 2,970. It also reported 1,378 more cases of the disease, bringing the total recorded to date to 187,554.
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