Pack your bags! Ireland invites travellers from 15 countries, no quarantine required

The Republic of Ireland on July 23 released a ‘green list’ of 15 countries that travellers can go to and not self-isolate on their return. According to a press note, the United States and the United Kingdom are not included in the list, however, the 15 countries that are included are Malta, Finland, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovakia, Greece, Greenland, Gibraltar, Monaco and San Marino. The Irish officials said that the list will be reviewed every fortnight. 

Currently, travellers arriving in the Republic of Ireland from anywhere other than Northern Ireland are required to self-isolate for 14 days. However, the countries that are included in the ‘green list’ are those whose coronavirus levels are similar to or lower than Ireland, hence posing low risk to the country. While the Irish officials announced the ‘green list’, they also advised avoiding non-essential travel to all other countries. 

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The Irish government said, "Anyone arriving into Ireland from these countries will not have to restrict their movements.  Passengers from any other country outside of those with a Normal Precautions advisory are asked to restrict their movements for 14 days. There is no change to the current policy in respect of travel from Northern Ireland". 

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Irish govt strengthens existing measures 

While speaking about the plans to strengthen the existing measures for monitoring passengers who arrive into the country, the officials said that the government will be introducing ‘Electronic Passenger Locator Form’, enhanced follow-up procedure, a call centre operated by the Dublin Airport Authority and a proposed testing regime for symptomatic passengers at airports and ports. The Irish government also plans to explore processes to restrict flight or passenger travel in certain circumstances. 

The announcement of the ‘green list’ comes after the Irish Department of Health reported 17 new confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country and one new death related to the virus. According to the Johns Hopkins University tally, currently, Ireland has over 25,800 confirmed coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 1,754 lives in the region. 

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