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THREE people escaped from a mandatory quarantine facility at a hotel near Dublin Airport while on a smoking break outside, with one person located and searches underway for two others, Independent.ie learned.
Ources said three men, who had arrived on a flight from Dubai, were outside the Crowne Plaza hotel in Santry smoking under supervision when they tried to escape. One of the men returned voluntarily but two others left the premises. One is an Irish citizen and another has a UK passport, it is understood.
Gardaí was notified that three people had left the quarantine facility at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Saturday afternoon and attended the scene. Gardaí is understood to be in contact with the Defense Forces at the scene and participating in the searches. A person has been located, it is understood.
The Garda Press Office said: “A Garda Síochána is this afternoon in contact with the State Liaison Officer at a designated quarantine facility in the Dublin area, in accordance with current protocols.
“As the Department of Health is the lead agency in relation to the management of mandatory quarantine, An Garda Síochána will not comment further at this time.”
The Health Department declined to comment on the incident, but said in a statement: “It is a criminal offense if you fail to comply with the legal requirement to report to the hotel’s mandatory quarantine, if you resist being quarantined or if you leave a designated place installation without authorization.
“A person found guilty of these or other relevant crimes can be sanctioned with a fine of up to 2,000 euros, a month in prison or both.
“A Garda Síochána will investigate any alleged crime and will enforce these laws.”
It comes just one day after the first passengers started arriving from designated high-risk countries and were required by law to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine facility.
While it is expected that there will be private hotel security on site and the presence of the Defense Forces, they cannot enforce quarantine regulations.
Before the system went into operation, the government said that An Garda Síochána would be called in case a person tried to leave the quarantine facility.
The first passengers to arrive on the new system on Friday were transported to the Crowne Plaza hotel. Three other facilities in Dublin, including the Holiday Inn Express near Dublin Airport, Clontarf Castle and the Hard Rock Hotel on Upper Exchange Street, have also been designated for use in the system.
Countries that have been deemed “high risk” due to so-called variants of concern are Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Austria, and 29 other countries, primarily in Latin America and Africa.
As of Friday morning, 76 people had made reservations under the online system for the hotel’s mandatory quarantine, including 37 due to arrive in March, 33 in April and six in May.
A stay of 12 nights in hotel quarantine costs € 1,875 per adult, € 625 for a second person over 12 years old sharing the room and € 36 for children from 4 to 12 years old.
Visit our Covid-19 Vaccine Dashboard for updates on the vaccination program launch and the Ireland coronavirus case rate
Online editors
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