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DUBLIN, July 6 (Reuters) - Ireland will judge whether to
ease quarantine restrictions on people traveling from abroad
from July 20 on the amount of new COVID-19 cases, the trend and
the quality of testing and tracing in qualifying countries, the
government said on Monday.
Ireland, which has been more cautious than much of Europe on
the reopening of its economy and air travel, has advised its
citizens against non-essential travel since March and requires
anyone arriving in the country to self-isolate for 14 days.
The outgoing government had promised to produce by July 9 a
"green list" of exempt countries with similar or lower COVID-19
risk to Ireland, but the new administration delayed that date
amid increased warnings from public health officials.
"We know we are still dealing with a very internationally
volatile situation, as witnessed in Spain, as witnessed in the
UK and that is informing our view as second waves are emerging,"
Prime Minister Micheál Martin told a news conference
"On July 20, we'll be in a position to say whether any
country or whether a number of countries make the green list ...
At the moment there would be a number of countries in that
position but that can change."
The criteria will be three-fold: new cases over the past 14
days per 100,000 inhabitants, currently three in Ireland, if the
trend suggests the virus is on the rise or suppressed elsewhere
and whether the quality of testing, surveillance and tracing
means Ireland is comparing like with like with other countries.
The government will also tighten regulations that require
incoming travelers to provide the address at which they will
self-isolate, moving to an electronic system capturing passenger
data directly from airlines and ferry operators.
With 4,000 daily passengers now arriving in Dublin airport
compared to 1,200 a week ago, call back and symptom checking
services will also be ramped up, Martin added.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Giles Elgood)
