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CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER Dr. Tony Holohan says he was “surprised” by advice issued by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) last week, which suggested that air travel should not be considered a high risk of Covid-19 spread.
“Basically, we don’t agree with that advice,” he said, adding that he believes the correct public health advice for this country is for people to avoid non-essential air travel this Christmas.
He also said that issues would be raised with the ECDC on this matter.
Dr. Holohan spoke at tonight’s NPHET briefing, where another 242 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed.
NPHET’s position has always been that people should avoid traveling home at Christmas due to the risk of spreading Covid-19, and this has also been the guidance of the government.
At the end of November, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that “there is no ban on international travel or for people to return home” but that the government is asking people not to take a trip home if they do not believe it is essential. .
“It is a judgment call and it is the individual who is in the best position to judge that. I think everyone’s family circumstances are different, I don’t think we can define that,” added Transport Minister Eamon Ryan in the same Press conference.
Ireland is currently operating within the EU traffic light system for international travel which classifies countries as green, orange or red based on the country’s Covid-19 incidence rate. It also has testing facilities available at airports.
Last week, the ECDC released details of its new guidelines for Covid-19 testing and quarantine for air travelers.
He said imported Covid-19 cases “represent a very small proportion of all detected cases and are unlikely to significantly increase the rate of transmission.”
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He added that “travelers should not be considered a high-risk population, nor treated as Covid-19 case contacts, unless they have been in known contact with a confirmed positive case.”
The ECDC also said entry controls, quarantine, and border closures for inbound travelers are unlikely to prevent the introduction of Sars-Cov-2. [the virus that causes Covid-19] in a community, although they can delay it for a short period of time ”.
Speaking on Brendan O’Connor on RTÉ Radio One on Saturday, Aer Lingus Acting Executive Director Donal Moriarty referenced the ECDC guidance and said that “the narrative has made people feel unsafe” and said this Narrative “has come to light at the policy level.”
Speaking tonight, Dr. Holohan was asked if ECDC’s guidance on travel between countries with similar virus incidence had its merits.
He said: “It’s a solid epidemiological point to make. But we believe that the correct public health advice to be issued for this country is not the summary advice on that issue from ECDC last week.
Our advice here is, as we already said, that we are asking people to avoid travel that is not essential by nature at Christmas, even though we understand how difficult it is for people at Christmas.
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