Significant number of people brought virus back from abroad
A SMALL but significant number of people who were infected with the coronavirus abroad are among those testing positive, figures reveal.
So far they account for 351 cases of the disease and in the last six weeks some 183 people who picked up the infection out of Ireland were found to have the infection after being tested here.
Foreign transmission was the main source of infection in the early days of the spread of the virus here as people returned from skiing holidays in Italy and Austria in March.
It comes as it emerged that gardaí are to be given powers to check up on passengers arriving into Ireland from overseas under new restrictions being considered by the Government.
Gardaí may call to the addresses of passengers to ensure they are following the guidance to self-isolate for two weeks, regardless of whether they have symptoms.
Although infection from abroad is now vastly overtaken by numbers testing positive after getting infected here, it is still posing a risk of spread.
The Department of Health no longer names the countries where the person was infected, but previously it had been most commonly picked up in Italy, Austria and the UK.
A significant number were also infected in Spain and France.
Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 61pc, close contact with another infected person is the source for 36pc, and travel abroad makes up 3pc.
The advice is to avoid non-essential travel due to the coronavirus threat and this has led to a massive fall in air passengers, reducing the risk of bringing the virus back here.
The Irish Aviation Authority said it feared that flight levels would drop by up to 90pc over April and May.
A study had found that air travel was the main driver behind the spread of coronavirus. Brazilian researchers found the nations hit hardest by the killer disease were ones which had busy airports accepting thousands of international flights.
China grounded all its flights from the virus’ epicentre in Hubei province on January 23, within weeks of the first diagnosed case.
Research from the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador said screening and isolating travellers may have been “a cheap solution for humanity”.