New law for hotel quarantine signed by President
LEGISLATION on mandatory hotel quarantine for passengers deemed at high risk for Covid-19 on entering Ireland has been signed into law by President Michael D Higgins.
The President’s office confirmed yesterday that the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021, put through the Dáil and Seanad by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last month was now formally put into law.
But no exact date has yet been specified for when the measure will take full effect.
The law means that people coming into the county from a current list of 33 countries will have to quarantine for 14 days after their arrival if they don’t have a negative Covid-19 test.
The Government has not announced yet what facilities will be used for quarantine purposes and how much it will cost each person, but it is understood to be around €2,000 per adult.
The Defence Forces are expected to play a role in transporting people to hotels
for mandatory quarantine.
They are also expected to be part of getting hotels ready due to their expertise in logistics and setting up camps.
The day-to-day operations will be taken care of by a private security company.
Officials said the first arrivals into the hotels are unlikely until at least the middle of this month as the Government is still trying to work through final operational hurdles.
The hotel isolation measures will apply to 33 countries currently on the ‘category 2’ list from where the risk of transmission of Covid-19 or mutations of the disease is deemed high.
Welcoming the signing of the measure into law, Mr Donnelly said in a statement that the next step was to finalise and sign a contract with a service provider, adding: “I anticipate this would happen shortly.
“This law is another important element of Ireland’s defence against Covid-19 and I welcome today’s news that it has become law.
“The operationalisation of designated quarantine facilities is being advanced on a cross-departmental basis as a matter of priority.”