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The bill that establishes the mandatory quarantine of people entering the state from certain areas to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has become law.
President Michael D Higgins signed Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 this morning.
Having considered the 2021 Health (Amendment) Bill, the President signed the bill and it became law accordingly.
– President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 7, 2021
The law means that people entering Ireland from a current list of 33 countries will have to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if they do not have a negative Covid-19 test.
The government has yet to announce which facilities will be used for quarantine purposes and exactly how much each person will be charged, although it is believed to be around 2,000 euros per adult.
The Defense Forces are likely to play an important role in transporting people to hotels for mandatory quarantine.
They are also expected to participate in the preparation of the hotels thanks to their expert knowledge in logistics and their experience in the rapid set-up of camps.
The Defense Forces are also likely to help operate the computer system that will underpin the mandatory quarantine process.
However, the daily operation of the hotels will be carried out by a private security company.
When the matter was discussed at last Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, no exact date was given on when the system will be up and running.
However, multiple sources have told RTÉ News that there was a clear feeling that hotels should be ready in two weeks, even if it is proving to be an “operational challenge.”
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The milestone of administering half a million Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland was reached yesterday.
Currently, there are 423 people with Covid-19 in hospitals across the country. There were 14 hospital admissions and 12 discharges in the last 24 hours.
The number of patients with the virus in intensive care is 103, with five ICU admissions and two discharges in the last 24 hours.
The Health Department confirmed yesterday 14 more deaths of people with Covid-19 and 539 new confirmed cases.
Nine of the deaths occurred in March, 1 in February and 4 in January or earlier, the department said.
The median age of those who died was 80 years and the age range was 59 to 94 years.
It brings the official death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland to 4,419.
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