Covid-19 hotspots on travel ‘red list’
Ban on visitors from countries with high virus rate under new proposal
THE Government is set to ban all non-essential travel from countries with high rates of Covid-19, including the US and Brazil, under plans being drawn up by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
New proposals being drafted by the Department of Health would see a ban on tourists arriving into Ireland from countries that are disease hotspots, by placing them on a new travel red list.
The plan comes as another 174 confirmed cases of Covid-19 emerged last night, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 26,644. One more patient has died, bringing the total of deaths to 1,772.
Mr Donnelly has asked his officials to prepare options for the Government on restricting non-essential travel from countries with a high incidence rate of Covid-19. There will be exemptions from any travel ban for Irish citizens and residents returning home, EU citizens and family members, as well as essential workers or people travelling for essential reasons.
The red list proposals will not include the UK or any EU and European Economic Area countries.
There has been growing public concern over the number of foreign visitors arriving into Ireland in recent weeks.
However, the number of Covid-19 cases detected among overseas visitors has been very low. The red list will almost certainly include the US, where the rate of Covid-19 is currently 116 cases per 100,000, and Brazil, where the rate is 143 per 100,000.
Mr Donnelly’s spokesperson said: “While the number of cases of Covid-19 detected among travellers from overseas has been very low, the health minister is concerned about the growth in cases in some countries.
“Restrictions on non-essential travel are being examined for countries outside the EU/ EEA/UK with a high rate of Covid-19. The approach would be aligned with the approach adopted by other EU countries.
“The minister would like to make it clear that there are no plans to make any changes to the current operation of the green list, which is already reviewed every two weeks. The final decision on implementing any proposed measures will rest with Cabinet.”
Separately, the Sunday Independent has learned that the Government was last month considering allowing all pubs outside of Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to reopen from tomorrow under plans to have so-called ‘green zones’ that would move to phase four of the reopening roadmap before the rest of the country.
The move had political support, but the increase in Covid-19 cases since then has meant the tentative plan was scrapped. A senior Government source told this newspaper there may be a case for so-called green zones, where certain counties or regions could reopen fully, “down the line”, but cautioned that the country is far away from introducing such measures at the moment. The Government postponed the plan to move to Phase 4 — which would reopen all pubs — for at least another three weeks last Monday.
It comes as new public health restrictions took effect across Laois, Offaly and Kildare following a spike in new cases and outbreaks in food processing plants.
Some 400,000 residents in the three midlands counties must restrict their movements for the next two weeks, while hundreds of businesses are being forced to close and restaurants and pubs serving food must limit their services. Indoor gatherings are limited to six people from no more than three households and outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 15 people.
An Garda Síochána are drafting in extra personnel from surrounding counties to oversee the enforcement of new measures, with checkpoints and a permanent presence on relevant motorways and associated off ramps being set up. Anyone who refuses to comply with the new restrictions and directions from gardaí could face a fine of up to €2,500 and/or up to six months’ imprisonment.
Mr Donnelly denied that the measures amounted to a lockdown. “The vast amount of businesses are staying open, the vast amount of social life is going to continue, so the measures are proportionate,” he told RTÉ radio.
There has been widespread criticism of the Government’s failure to address the dangers of clusters of the disease breaking out in food processing plants. Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary is to submit plans for mass testing in the meat and food processing industry to Nphet this week.
Fine Gael junior minister Martin Heydon and a number of Coalition TDs have criticised the manner in which the new restrictions were introduced, with former justice minister Charlie Flanagan labelling them “draconian” and a “enforcement nightmare”.
Amid calls for extra support for the affected counties from Fianna Fáil TDs, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar hinted that further measures could be introduced for businesses in the midlands that have been forced to close for the next fortnight.
Mr Varadkar said he was “determined to do everything in my power to help businesses and workers affected”.
Minister Donnelly told RTÉ’s Nine O’Clock News last night that meat plants affected by the Covid-19 outbreak should not open on Monday. He said it would be “inappropriate” for these factories to operate while other people are being asked to restrict their movements.
THE elimination of the Covid-19 virus in Ireland is not only achievable and desirable, it is also vital to enabling a fully functioning economy and society. What it requires is political leadership of the highest calibre.
Perhaps the current Taoiseach is the right person, in the right job, at the right time. Micheál Martin displayed his public health credentials when he made Ireland the first country in the world to curb environmental tobacco smoke. Now is the moment for those same qualities of leadership to be deployed to even greater effect.
This is an important moment in the complex task of defeating the Covid-19 virus. Across Europe, the number of infections is increasing following the lifting of restrictions. This has occurred at the peak of the summer holiday season when, undoubtedly, many people will want to put the social and economic sacrifices of the spring and early summer behind them. Enjoying good weather and the company of family and friends, home or abroad, is what this season should be all about.
But the virus could easily thrive in the more relaxed atmosphere — and any substantial resurgence would set a dangerous scene for the autumn and winter months ahead. An effective vaccine may not be available for some time. In truth, it would be extremely unwise to rely on an effective vaccine being found.
The current situation here poses a choice between two roads. The first is that we continue with substantial social restrictions, with them being eased or tightened from time to time, depending on the levels of new infections being found.
This would be an extremely bumpy path. For elderly and vulnerable people in particular, it creates the prospect of some degree of isolation indefinitely and hoping for the arrival of that effective vaccine. It would undoubtedly mean further substantial social restriction placed on communities, villages or towns in order to deal with local flare-ups.
This would be enormously disruptive and damaging to education and the economy. It would also mean further deaths, and, for some people, the long-term effects of serious damage done by Covid-19 to their health — the so-called ‘long-Covid’.
But there is a second road available. We could set the goal of eliminating the virus and preventing its return. It would require effort and determination. The goal would be to get the number of cases arising within Ireland down to zero, and keeping it there.
The term ‘elimination’ is often used to describe the situation. Achieving elimination means that the only cases occurring in a country are those that have their origins from new importations of the virus.
As an island, Ireland is perfectly placed to adopt what has been termed the ‘zero-Covid’ strategy. Making use of this island advantage is what has kept the populations safe and economies functioning in islands as diverse as New Zealand and Taiwan. Both places are avoiding the virus spreading in their countries and have reaped the benefits to their lives and economies from removal of social and work restrictions.
So what is needed to achieve Zero-Covid here?
The first key element is to drive down the number of infections occurring across the country by further developing the vital Find-Test-Trace-Isolate-Support systems. It means very active case finding involving public communication campaigns, particularly targeted at vulnerable communities and workplaces, so as to encourage people to come forward for testing as soon as possible when they develop symptoms.
The current testing and tracing system is well proven and should be further enhanced in any ways necessary. Isolating and supporting people who are close contacts or positive cases is vital. People may not come forward for testing, even if they have obvious symptoms, if they will lose work and income as they have to isolate.
Similarly, enabling people to self-isolate in a supportive environment is important, so as to avoid the infection of others in their household. Investing in financial and accommodation support for potential or confirmed cases could pay very real dividends in driving down the numbers of new cases to zero.
The second and vital component of eliminating the virus is to make sure there is no importation of new cases. This will require a properly structured and resourced system of public health controls at airports and ferry ports.
Different islands have taken different approaches to arriving passengers. These range from compulsory and supervised quarantine for 14 days on arrival, to Bermuda’s system of requiring a negative test in the days before boarding the flight, followed by testing on arrival and several times over the course of the subsequent weeks.
What is entirely clear is that Ireland’s current approach is not fit for purpose and should be strengthened considerably.
There are, of course, substantial issues to be overcome. An agreed approach with the Northern Ireland Assembly Executive is absolutely vital. The Health Committee of the Assembly has already supported the zero-Covid approach. The notable achievement of having interoperable mobile phone applications for Covid-19 should be built upon by top-level agreements on a range of other north-south issues.
The east-west dimension is also crucial. Scotland has a commendably strong position in favour of zero-Covid and Nicola Sturgeon has shown tremendous leadership in calling for a ‘four nation’ agreement to work for the elimination of the virus. Ireland should be an enthusiastic supporter of this approach, for the benefit of us all.
‘As an island, Ireland is well placed to adopt a zero-Covid strategy...’