Eire to switch British journey ban with stricter COVID-19 tests

DUBLIN: Ireland options to conclude a ban on travel to the country from Britain on Jan 6 and replace it with stricter COVID-19 testing actions as it seeks to quit the spread of a highly infectious new variant of the virus, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was quoted as saying on Friday (Jan 1).

Eire banned passenger flights and ferries on Dec. 21. Some 30,000 men and women had travelled to Eire from Britain in the previous two weeks, for the duration of which time the new variant was spreading rapidly in elements of Britain.

Travellers traveling on non-essential enterprise from Britain following Jan. 6 will require to create a destructive examination taken three days prior to their flight, Coveney explained to the Irish Impartial newspaper.

They will also be questioned to restrict their actions for at minimum 5 days from their arrival and can move freely only if they then receive a next adverse check.

“We’re arranging to conclusion the travel ban with the Uk on January 6 but substitute it with a additional restrictive set of travel polices amongst Britain and Ireland,” he explained.

“We are nervous to move away from a journey ban, which we don’t feel is practical and there does want to be journey facilitated in between Britain and Eire for lots of reasons.”

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly all over again in Eire and overall health officers have reported that it has discovered seven cases of the new variant from 77 beneficial checks that subsequently underwent genomic sequencing.