Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
883. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if there is data to track the extent to which persons who flew into Ireland during January 2021 were associated with the spread of Covid-19 and the import of new variants of Covid-19 from Brazil or South Africa. [13052/21]
View answerThe HSPC (Health Protection Surveillance Centre) monitors the epidemiological situation in Ireland – recording total numbers of cases, tracking outbreaks or clusters, and monitoring the most likely modes of transmission.
The total number of cases recorded by HSPC to date, where the most likely source of transmission was travel, was 2,137 as of midnight on 31st January 2021. Travel related cases include cases who acquire COVID-19 infection outside of Ireland (imported cases) and cases who acquire COVID-19 infection directly from imported cases. The estimated number of cases notified in January where the most likely source of transmission was travel related was 457 cases.
Regulations underpinning a mandatory testing and home quarantine regime have been introduced since 4th February in an effort to mitigate the risk of importing new variants of concern to Ireland. Passengers arriving into Ireland from overseas are required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form, to present evidence of a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival and to observe mandatory quarantine.
Passengers arriving from the designated ‘high-risk’ Category 2 are subject to stricter home quarantine measures and are also advised to contact a GP to arrange a free PCR test. Positives identified through these tests are sent to the NVRL for genomic sequencing to detect the presence of new variants in Ireland. It is the Government’s intention to commence the operation of mandatory hotel quarantine as soon as possible.
