DUBLIN (Reuters) – The Irish government has been advised to add 43 countries including the United States, France, Germany and Italy to a list of jurisdictions subject to mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival, the Irish Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the health department declined to comment on the report.
Ireland last week followed neighbouring England in bringing in a hotel quarantine system for arrivals from countries deemed “high risk” or those without a negative COVID-19 test.
The newspaper said the Department of Health’s Travel Expert Advisory Group had recommended the additions on the basis of high incidence levels of the disease or concerning variants and that a government decision would be taken later this week.
Any addition to the list requires consultation with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, a spokesman for Coveney said, adding that this has not happened to date.
With the exception of Austria, the 33 countries currently on the high-risk list are in Africa, Central and South America. Arrivals must quarantine for up to 14 days in a hotel room, or can leave after 10 if they test negatively for COVID-19.
“Such a damaging decision for Irish tourism. Message being sent out to key overseas markets so negative. How can airlines plan? Let the vaccination programme roll out.” Irish Tourism Industry Confederation CEO Eoghan O’Mara Walsh said on Twitter.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams and David Evans)
