COVID-19

Ireland's quarantine policy 'the worst of all worlds'

Ireland's quarantine policy 'the worst of all worlds'

Ireland's quarantine policy has been described 'the worst of all worlds', because it does not distinguish between safe and dangerous countries in relation to COVID-19.

The co-leader of the Social Democrats wants the government to publish a 'green list' of countries as soon as possible and says it is important to have very clear guidelines.

The so-called green list is not set to published until July 20.

The Government is advising against all non-essential until at least that date.

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Anyone who travels into Ireland is required the quarantine for 14-days.

Róisín Shortall says there are plenty of Americans travelling around the country and it is not clear if they have observed the 14 day quarantine rule.

“We can’t have a situation where really anybody can come into the country and move around,” she said.

“At the moment, with the regime that’s in operation, it’s the worst of all worlds.

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“Because there’s no distinction being made between those countries that are safe for travel back and forth and those countries that are highly dangerous.

“And that’s the problem.”

Yesterday, it was announced that there were no new Covid-19 deaths in Ireland.

However, the National Public Health Emergency Team announced 11 new cases.

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Earlier this week, the Irish Travel Agents Association said the ‘green list’ will be a hindrance rather than a help to the travel industry.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Irish Travel Agents Association(ITAA) Pat Dawson said that this review could cause problems.

Mr Dawson said: "You could be in the middle of a two-week holiday and it could change, so it goes from green to red as such, so therefore you have to quarantine when you come back."

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