Ireland may tighten travel restrictions for coronavirus hot spots – FM Coveney

Ireland may introduce further travel restrictions for countries with a very high number of new Covid-19 cases, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in Dublin on Wednesday. The move comes after the government lifted its 14-day quarantine requirement for 15 European countries.

The country has one of the lower rates of infection in the European Union, with around five cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. It decided late on Tuesday to drop the restriction for people coming from countries with a similar rate or lower.

Coveney said the government would turn its attention in the coming weeks to whether it should introduce steps beyond the 14-day quarantine for visitors from the hardest-hit areas. These could include a potential requirement to take a coronavirus test before departure, Reuters said.

Irish travelers returning from the 15 countries will not have to quarantine either. However, the government took out full-page newspaper advertisements on Wednesday telling people that the safest things to do was to not travel anywhere.