DUBLIN: Concerns have arisen that the threat of Indian COVID-19 variant could shatter Ireland’s summer hopes. The idea was to facilitate foreign travel and celebrate the summer. The cabinet is set to discuss the return of international tourism this week with plans for a “travel bubble” between Ireland and the UK.
But the highly transmissible Indian variant of COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in the UK. The number of cases related to Indian strain has more than doubled in a week, from 520 last week to 1300 this week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued a statement calling for “hard choices” in light of the escalation of ‘Indian strain’, and has stated that the UK is rapidly revising its roadmap.
The Indian version has two strains, B1617.1 and B1617.2. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) confirmed on Friday that Ireland has reported 20 cases of the B1617.1 strain and 41 cases of the B1617.2 strain.
Dr Cillian de Gascun, chair of the expert advisory group to NPHET, said: “B1617.2 is the one that we’re more concerned about at the moment, based on the experience in India and in the UK.”
The Indian strain was declared a global variant of concern last week by the World Health Organisation. It is also said that the B1617 variant might be resistant to vaccines, as there have been cases in India of fully-vaccinated people had become infected with COVID-19.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan earlier shared the possibility of imposing local restrictions if necessary. “When we’ve had the need to, in the past, take specific measures against specific variants, we’ve done that. Some of the arrangements are in place in terms of travel are a perfect example of that,” he said.
Prof Sam McConkey, an infectious diseases expert, has advised the Irish government not to open travel to the UK until more information on the impact of the Indian variant of COVID-19 is available. He warned that good control is needed in order to avoid the “fourth wave” of the COVID-19 in Ireland.
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