The Department of Health has shared a “video tour” of the State's first mandatory hotel quarantine facility.
The official video, posted on YouTube and the department's Twitter feed, explains the arrivals process and gives a tour of the Crowne Plaza hotel near Dublin Airport.
Interior shots of the hotel lobby and bedrooms are shown, including close-ups of the tea and coffee facilities and television.
Viewers get a glimpse of the “safe and secure space” for air breaks outside the building, which a voiceover explains “should be booked in advance”.
The Government announced on Friday night that the US, Canada, France and 13 other countries would be added to the mandatory quarantine list from Thursday.
Over the weekend it was reported there was a surge in the number of people booking flights from the US to Ireland to beat the quarantine system.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said it was “inevitable” that people would race to book flights from the affected countries to avoid isolating in a hotel.
“Inevitably when you categorise any status category two, there is going to be a few days … and there is going to be a bit of this,” he said speaking today on national radio.
He said that hotel capacity was based on an 80 per cent reduction in travel and the Government can increase hotel capacity if the number of people arriving is more than anticipated.
He added: “We’ll bring more capacity online. At the moment we have a little more than 650 beds, that’s been ramped up to an excess of 1,100 and there is the facility to go significantly above that.”
Mr Donnelly said it was possible the Government may have to cap the number of people travelling into Ireland.
He said it would be based on room availability.
On Sunday, a man was released from mandatory hotel quarantine to care for his dying father after an appeal to the High Court.
Derek Jennings (47) is fully vaccinated but was forced to enter the facility at Dublin’s Crowne Plaza hotel on Friday after returning from Israel.
Mr Jennings, from Clondalkin, had been working in Israel since February, but rushed home when his father, who suffers from cancer, collapsed and was admitted to intensive care during the week.
