PASSENGERS ARRIVING INTO Ireland from Britain who are not vaccinated could face up to ten days of home quarantine, if measures are approved by Cabinet tomorrow.

A memo going to Cabinet tomorrow will recommend the lifting of existing quarantine requirements for travellers from Britain who have received both doses of a vaccine.

At present, passengers arriving to the country from Britain are requested to quarantine at a home address for 14 days on arrival here, but can exit quarantine with a negative Covid-19 PCR test result after five days.

Under the new rules under consideration, those arriving into Ireland that are not fully vaccinated will be requested to quarantine at a home address for 10 days on arrival here, with a second PCR test taken after the ten-day period, rather than the current five days.

There are no restrictions in place for travel into or out of Northern Ireland to and from Britain as long as passengers are travelling within the UK. There are currently no restrictions in place for inter-county travel on the island of Ireland.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said yesterday that the Government is considering tighter restrictions on British passengers stating that the numbers associated with the Delta variant are concerning.

“We want to try and get the balance right between protecting the Common Travel Area with the UK as best we can because it’s very important, but also we need to take on board the very real and strong public health evidence,” Coveney told RTÉ’s This Week, adding he had spoken to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly yesterday about increased restrictions.  

“We are looking at this seriously, I don’t think you’re going to see dramatic changes in terms of quarantine and travel…certainly I think you will see some changes to reflect the concern and danger that the Delta variant represents,” Coveney said over the weekend.

There has been increasing concern over the spread of the Delta variant in the UK with Prime Minister Boris Johnson poised to sign off plans to delay the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England amid growing concerns about the surge in case of the highly transmissible variant.

The Prime Minister is expected to agree to put the final easing of controls on hold for up to four weeks when he meets senior ministers and officials on his return today from the G7 summit in Cornwall.

It could mean that lockdown lifting – which had been slated for 21 June under the Government’s road map – will be put back to 19 July.

There is some evidence to suggest the Delta variant is more transmissible, but it’s not clear to what extent.

The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said there is a “realistic possibility” that the Indian coronavirus variant could be as much as “50% more transmissible” than the Kent or B117 strain.

But, at present, there is no evidence the B1617.2 variant is resistant to current vaccines.

Ireland’s Department of Health yesterday confirmed 315 new cases of Covid-19.

It reported that 62 patients with Covid-19 are in hospital today, of whom 22 are in ICU. 

Around 3.1 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 have been administered in the State.

More than 2.2 million people have received a first dose (56.3% of the eligible population) and more than 1.1 million are fully vaccinated (28.1%).