Ireland could randomly test tourists from high-risk countries for Covid-19
Ireland may start random testing visitors for Covid-19 if they come from countries where the disease is deemed not under control.
Leo Varadkar, the tánaiste (deputy prime minister), said on Tuesday the government was considering introducing the tests as the country, which has largely suppressed community transmission, experiences growing concern that imported cases could trigger a second wave.
Varadkar told RTÉ any testing would be for people coming from countries not on Dublin’s “green list” of countries deemed to have the pandemic largely under control.
The list – due to published next week – will specify which countries people can travel to and from without restrictions. Currently visitors from all countries are supposed to quarantine for 14 days, one the strictest regimes in the European Union.
Some opposition politicians and public health experts have called for Ireland to send a message that tourists are not welcome for now and that anybody who does visit will be tested and subject to strict quarantine, with violations punishable by jail.
The government said it will not go that far. Varadkar ruled out mandatory testing as legally unsound and problematic and cited quarantine hotels in Australia which ended up hosting clusters and becoming sources of infection. Instead authorities may introduce random testing or testing “in some cases”, he said.
The proposal came as Ryanair said on Tuesday it would cut up to 1,000 flights between Ireland and the UK during August and September. The airline blamed quarantine rules, which require arriving passengers to complete a locator form specifying where they intend to spend the following fortnight self-isolating.
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The company said this made no sense given the UK and Northern Ireland opened up air bridges to most EU countries last week and the border between Ireland and the north remained open.
It added: “We call on the Irish government to remove all travel restrictions between Ireland and the EU as a matter of urgency, so that Ireland’s hotels, guest houses, restaurants and other tourism providers can recover their business and minimise job losses before we reach the downturn winter period.”
The writer Mary Kenny complained this week that she could not travel from England to attend a literary event in County Roscommon. “The overall message is: ‘Stay away! You’re not welcome!’” she wrote in the Irish Independent.
