Ireland is going to allow travel from the United Kingdom again, but wants travellers entering the country to be tested more strictly. That’s what the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Friday.
Ireland stopped air and ferry traffic from Britain after a more contagious variant of the coronavirus had emerged, but now wants to get rid of it. People who come into Ireland from Britain from Wednesday must show a negative test that is no more than three days old. They will have to limit their movements until at least five days after arrival.
Ireland also has a rapid spread of the virus. Only two weeks ago, it had the lowest infection rate in the European Union, but now it is the country that is declining the most after shops and restaurants were allowed to open again in December. Seven cases of the contagious variety have been found in Ireland.
New figures published on Friday indicate that Ireland is doing even worse than previously thought. At least 9000 infections have not yet been included in the official figures.