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Ministers next week will consider restricting arrivals from South Africa and Brazil, in addition to monitoring more closely the quarantine of the Irish people at home, as countries in Europe move to restrict international travel.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has also warned that current restrictions should be extended until the end of February, dampening hopes of a reopening of the construction sector early next month.
Sources expect the restrictions to be extended until at least the end of February, although the government expects some elements of education, especially special education, to be able to reopen next month. There is also hope that a partial reopening of construction will be possible later in the month.
Senior officials on Friday discussed a variety of options on stricter quarantine restrictions, including changes to the visa regime, ahead of a cabinet Covid subcommittee meeting on Monday. But it is clear that a tightening of restrictions is coming.
While there are continuing top-level doubts about the effectiveness and applicability of a blanket mandatory quarantine, arrivals from South Africa and Brazil, as well as other South American countries, may face a hotel quarantine period if a total ban. The sources said that this approach would allow the state to “test” how such a system would work.
Non-essential travel
Garda’s enforcement of the non-essential travel ban is also expected to intensify on routes to Dublin Airport.
Amid growing fears among EU governments about new variants of the disease, Taoiseach Micheál Martin indicated on Friday that more restrictions are coming and that the current lockdown will be extended and reviewed every four weeks.
When asked about the additional travel restrictions on Friday, Mr Martin said officials were working on proposals, but that the Common Travel Area with the UK was a “complication” for the new restrictions.
Mr Martin said that the border with Northern Ireland cannot be sealed and that a “two island” approach – with the Republic and the UK adopting common requirements and restrictions for incoming travelers – “could apply”. But he downplayed reports that such an approach was imminent, saying instead that contacts with the British government were “very exploratory and very embryonic.”
A spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he had “been of the opinion for some time that stronger measures are required on incoming international travel,” including “the potential for new measures and also a stronger implementation of existing measures.”
As the EU prepares to propose new travel restrictions, some member states are moving forward independently. On Friday, Belgium announced a ban on all non-essential travel to and from the country until March.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a press conference that the country “may need to go further to protect our borders.” He also said that the B117 variant detected in Kent, which now accounts for 60 percent of new cases in the Republic, “may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.”
‘Two islands’ approach
When asked if a “two-island” approach could “realistically work”, Mr. Martin said: “It could go on. There are many issues related to implementation and delivery.”
Mr. Martin said the government was still discussing with educational partners about reopening special education “as soon as possible.” Government sources are optimistic that at least some special education could open next week, or the following week at the latest.
Meanwhile, new questions have been raised about the delivery schedule for the “breakthrough” AstraZeneca vaccine. The company told the European Commission that there would be delays in the delivery of the vaccine compared to the forecast for the first quarter of the year.
In hospitals, there is growing concern about capacity in ICU units this weekend. Cork University Hospital staff were asked to volunteer for shifts to provide critical care on Friday night, as the hospital was affected by staff absences due to Covid-19. The HSE said patients were being transferred from the west of the country to ICU units at Dublin hospitals, with sources saying more transfers are likely this weekend and next week.
An additional 52 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the state Friday night, along with another 2,371 confirmed cases.
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