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Members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) called for a hotel quarantine to be imposed on all passengers arriving in Ireland.
The long-awaited quarantine system will be introduced this week, but it will only apply to people arriving from 33 countries considered high-risk for Covid-19.
Tifco Hotel Group will operate the system on behalf of the State. At least three of the group’s four hotels in Dublin will be used: the recently renovated Hard Rock Hotel in the city center, the Plaza Airport Hotel in Santry and the Clontarf Castle Hotel.
However, just released minutes from a Nphet meeting last month show that members of the public health task force wanted the quarantine laws extended to all passengers flying into the country.
At a meeting on 18 February it was noted that “some members expressed the view that travel restrictions should be extended to all incoming travelers to Ireland, regardless of origin of destination”.
The minutes said those who called for the quarantine system to be extended noted how “rapidly the epidemiological landscape is evolving” and the importance of the national vaccination program.
However, Nphet agreed that the focus should be on “implementing a robust strategy with secure legal backing for travelers from high-risk countries in the first instance” before any extension of the measures is considered. Nphet also said was “aware” of the impact of system expansion on HSE resources.
Nphet first called for mandatory quarantine measures for foreign travelers in May last year.
Opposition parties have been calling for the new quarantine laws to apply to all passengers arriving in Ireland for non-essential purposes.
Senior Cabinet members also believe the system should be extended to all travelers.
“I think it makes logical sense to extend it to all countries if we are introducing it,” said a senior minister.
Yesterday, Sinn Féin transport spokesman Darren O’Rourke said the government “still has time to change course and expand the regime.”
“Given the fact that many European countries are in, or are facing, more lockdowns, with widespread community transmission of the virus and the growing threat of the importation and spread of variants in Ireland, that is exactly what they should do. “Said Mr. O’Rourke said.
Currently, there are 33 countries on the list of the so-called ‘category two’ of states considered high risk for Covid. Most of the countries are in Africa and South America and are not considered busy air traffic routes to Ireland.
The new rules apply to people arriving from South Africa and Brazil, where there are new strains of the virus, but the regulations do not apply to anyone traveling from Great Britain, where the dominant variant of Covid first emerged in Ireland.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has the power to add countries to the list, but he does so on the advice of the medical director. Ireland’s quarantine system is the strictest of all the EU member states.
Donnelly will officially announce the introduction of the new restriction in the coming days.
Once announced, it will be three days before passengers from category two countries are required to reserve places in quarantined hotels.
Travelers will reserve their place in hotels through an online portal run by the Government. It will cost just under € 2,000 for an adult and around € 500 for a child under three years of age.
Passengers arriving at Dublin Airport later this week will be transferred to one of the quarantined hotels upon arrival. They will be required to submit a negative test taken within three days of travel.
When in quarantine, they will be asked to take a test on the fifth and tenth day of their hotel stay. If your second test result is negative, you will be allowed out of quarantine.
Those in quarantine will be allowed to leave their rooms once a day to exercise or smoke. However, they will not be allowed to leave the grounds of their hhotel.
Online editors
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