DUBLIN: European countries Belgium, France and Italy, as well as the US and Canada will be included in the list of mandatory hotel quarantine in Ireland.
It is understood that the decision was made to add 16 new countries to the list. The Cabinet meeting held yesterday evening gave official approval to this.
Due to the limitations in the hotel quarantine system, new countries will be added to the list on two separate dates.
From next Thursday, April 15, travelers from Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Kenya, Pakistan and Turkey will be admitted to hotel quarantine for at least 12 days upon arrival in Ireland. On the same day, the US and Canada will be added to the high-risk list.
Eight more countries will be added on April 19th. These include Armenia, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curaçao, the Maldives and Ukraine. Israel, Albania and Saint Lucia will be excluded from the quarantine list. Israel was added to the list last week.
The Government has asked Tifco Hotel Group to provide 1,147 rooms from 654 for hotel quarantine, by the end of this month.
Hotel quarantine legislation will be reviewed in June, the Government sources said.
At the same time, it will be a legal requirement for all travelers arriving in Ireland to book the COVID-19 test with the HSE on the fifth day after their arrival in the country. This is in addition to the negative test certificate they must submit upon arrival.
The official decisions were announced after the cabinet meeting held yesterday.
Kindly click the link below to join WhatsApp group chat to get important news and breaking news from Irish Samachar