The Government is sending mixed messages on travel during the COVID-19 crisis and there is urgent clarity needed on a green list, according to an infectious diseases expert.
The Government's announcement of a "green list" of countries it is deemed safe to travel to and from has been delayed due to the ongoing EU summit in Brussels. America, the UK, Spain and Portugal are not expected to be on the list.
Infectious diseases consultant Dr Jack Lambert said the Government should publish a green list of countries to which travel was acceptable, but that there needed to be a long-term plan with COVID-19 set to potentially “continue for years.”
Dr Lambert told RTÉ radio that as Ireland was part of the EU and shared a land border with the UK, people were coming into the country “whether we like it or not.”
He said Ireland was not an island in the same sense as New Zealand, which could not be used as a comparison. He said the goal was not elimination of the coronavirus, but to manage it.
We need to come up with a list of red and green travel zones. We need to come up with solutions from a safety standpoint, a psychological standpoint and an economic standpoint.
Dr Lambert called for a plan containing sharp, precise details with a clear message. He said there were many reasons why people might need to travel, and people needed to be educated on the dangers of COVID-19 at all levels, including house parties.
He said had personally chosen not to travel abroad this year: “We all need to be part of a solution that makes sense and prevents further spread of the virus.”
Dublin GP Maitiu Ó Tuathail described the current situation as “hugely confusing” on the same programme, saying essential travel should be clearly defined and a mandatory two-week quarantine imposed.
He said that GPs were seeing a slow but steady increase in patients with COVID-19 symptoms associated with overseas travel.
The World Health Organisation is warning the world is dealing with a very intense and large outbreak of COVID-19. There have now been over 14 million cases worldwide and over 600,000 deaths.
