A quarantine hotel system for travelers arriving into the Republic of Ireland from high-risk countries is due to come into effect later this week.
According to the minister for public expenditure Mr. Michael McGrath, the mandatory quarantine legislation will apply to those arriving from 33 countries considered high risk, mainly South America and Africa, and those without a negative COVID-19 test.
He said, “This is a very complex issue and it does involve very significant interference with people’s civil liberties, but it is for the greater good and that’s why the Government was determined to do this properly and to get it done.”
He added that further details of how the system will operate will be outlined in the course of the week. The Department of Health in Ireland recorded the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases yesterday with 769 new cases.
He said, “In the next day or so Minister Stephen Donnelly will outline further details of the operational nature of the hotel quarantining, with a view to quarantining in hotels coming into effect later this week.”
The country has recorded 230,599 cases since the pandemic began.