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THE GOVERNMENT IS considering whether it should make it mandatory or legally enforceable for someone to restrict their movements or isolate themselves if it is a close contact or confirmed case.
Speaking about the new EU traffic light system that will go live in Ireland on Sunday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that travel-related testing will be particularly important “given that as the numbers go down, the risk of overseeding increases and we want to avoid that ”.
One of the issues the government is considering is enforcement, Varadkar al Dáil said, although he indicated it would not apply to international travel.
At the moment, the requirement that a person restrict their movements from abroad is not mandatory. It is also not mandatory for a person to restrict their movements if they are a close contact, Varadkar explained, noting that this is a much greater risk than international travel.
“Consequently, one thing that we are considering as a government is whether we need to make mandatory and legally enforceable the requirement that a person restrict their movements or isolate themselves in certain circumstances,” he said.
However, he said that “it would not make sense to apply that to international travel,” as it is actually a lower risk than someone who is positive and does not isolate himself or someone who is a close contact who does not restrict his movements.
“We need to be proportionate in that regard,” he said.
While the Tánaiste said that international travel is a risk, “we must also be realistic about it,” he said.
“We are an island country but not an island state. We share a land border with Northern Ireland that is wide open. There is a relatively liberal regime in Northern Ireland for international travel. There are no restrictions on traveling to Great Britain and a very extensive green list, much longer than ours.
“We did not detect the appetite of the Executive of Northern Ireland to change that. We have to be very realistic about it. We could have very strict rules at our airports, but they could be made fun of by virtue of the fact that we have open travel with Northern Ireland which we are obviously not going to restrict, ”he said.
As reported by TheJournal.ie last week, from midnight on the 8th In November, the government plans that the requirement to restrict their movements for those arriving from orange locations will not apply if they have a negative test result up to three days before arrival.
While the current requirement that a person restrict their movements for 14 days after arrival from a ‘red’ region remains until further notice, the Government anticipates that, as soon as possible, this requirement can be waived on a result negative from an approved Covid-19 test performed five days after arrival.
Testing requirements for arrivals from red countries will be in place “in a matter of weeks,” according to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan.
Speaking to an Oireachtas committee yesterday, he confirmed that testing for departures from Ireland could be implemented in a matter of weeks.
Speaking of mandatory quarantine, Ryan said we don’t have such a system and that it would be very difficult to implement.
“Our system is a compliance-based system,” he said. Medical Director Tony Holohan previously recommended that all international flight arrivals be held at state facilities for 14 days, something the government ruled out early in the pandemic.
Pre-departure testing requirements for the amber and red areas are aimed at reducing the risk of the virus being re-seeded in the country, Varadkar said today.
He said the tests will be particularly important “given that as we drop the numbers, the risk of reseeding increases and we want to avoid it.
Varadkar said that the government is “advising people a lot that we are in a Level 5 period. Under Level 5 restrictions, a person is not supposed to travel more than 5 km from home, except for work, education or compassionate reasons such as caring for a family member. That also applies to international travel, so if people travel internationally, it must only be for work, education or a compassionate reason that may involve, for example, having to take care of a family member, ”he said.
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The new system, which applies to regions rather than countries, determines the rules around travel abroad.
Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy, said that in the absence of testing at ports and airports, “we are taking a fingers crossed approach.”
Speaking about Level 5, Varadkar said that “what we are definitely saying is that Level 5 is for six weeks.”
“We want to reduce the number of cases as low as possible before considering the status of the restrictions. We still don’t have a decision to tell people what level we’re moving to on December 1.
“But I understand his point that companies must prepare and families must be as open as possible.”
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