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INFECTION RISKS ASSOCIATED with the widespread movement of people back to Ireland for Christmas would be a recipe for disaster, experts warned.
Dr. Gabriel Scally said he agreed with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s assessment that it was too early for people to consider booking flights home for the holiday period.
Dr Scally, chairman of epidemiology and public health at the Royal Society of Medicine, said some returning travelers would not experience “many Christmases” due to the need to comply with self-isolation restrictions based on where they arrived. since.
“I really don’t think travel should be on the agenda this Christmas,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s This Week program.
“And I hope that people stick to that because we know that this virus travels very well and that people in and out of countries and through airports and all the other travel that involves is a recipe for disaster.”
Last week, Varadkar warned people not to book flights to Ireland for Christmas.
He told the Dáil that it is “too early” to make travel arrangements.
“Right now we are not in a position to warn people that it is safe to go home at Christmas and I know that is a difficult message,” he said.
Last week, the Government said that people traveling to Ireland from the ‘red’ listed regions will no longer have to restrict their movements once they receive a negative Covid-19 test after arrival. The test must be done five days after they return to return.
Under the new traffic light system, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control will publish a weekly map of the EU using a three-stage color system (green, orange and red) to indicate the level of risk in each area.
Those new travel rules, which will go into effect at midnight on November 29, had raised hopes for many families that a Christmas reunion would be possible.
The Government has recently given the green light to allow Covid-19 testing for passengers traveling through DAA airports in Dublin and Cork.
Passengers will be able to test before and after their flight in private test facilities. The tests are expected to cost between € 100 and € 200.
But experts have criticized the planning to return to Ireland for the festive period. Medical Director Tony Holohan said flying home for Christmas was not essential.
“We believe that people should avoid nonessential travel and continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” Dr. Holohan said at Thursday night’s NPHET press conference.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said his government would inform the people “before the end of November” of what the plans will be for the Christmas period “so that the people can make preparations.”
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Passport stamp
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to initiate negotiations at the EU and WHO level on the development of a “Covid Stamp” passport to demonstrate vaccination against the virus.
Ireland’s southern MEP made the call when it became clear that vulnerable populations would start receiving a vaccine in late 2020 and early 2021.
He said Ireland needs a standardized system where travelers can demonstrate that they have received the vaccine and are therefore not required to isolate or quarantine themselves when entering different countries.
“Currently, the WHO issues the Carte Jaune – Yellow Card to demonstrate that vaccines have been administered against certain communicable diseases, such as the yellow fever virus,” said Kelleher.
With reports from Garreth MacNamee
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