COVID CRISIS: MUSIC TO OUR EARS

Expat says take ‘safe’ UAE off list

A Fully-vaccinated Irish expat has hit out at the mandatory hotel quarantine system as “unfair” and stated thousands of Irish people feel “abandoned” by the State.

Toni Ann Byrne, 24, from Co Carlow, believes the United Arab Emirates should be removed from the travel list that requires forced isolation.

Thousands of Irish people living in the UAE have been vaccinated with Sinopharm – the Chinese vaccine, which has not been reviewed by European Medicines Agency.

Ms Byrne said countries such as Iraq, have been taken off the list recently despite recording thousands more daily Covid-19.

The UAE has also recently surpassed Israel as the most vaccinated nation in the world.

She said: “A lot of people have done their part, they didn’t go home at Christmas as was requested by the Government. It’s like it has backfired on us now, we went and got the first vaccine available to us.

“Irish people over here feel completely betrayed and forgotten about, cast aside and not taking things into consideration like having the UAE on the red list.

“I really want to get home to see my family, I have elderly grandparents as do so many people over here.

“I know Irish friends here that have parents that are sick and the last thing they want to do is pay €2,000 that they don’t have on top of €1,000 flights.” Ms Byrne contacted several

TDS but has received no response.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the current policy is to accept vaccines that have been approved by the EMA.

While in a statement to the Irish Mirror, the EMA said the vaccine is not under a “rolling review”.