Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 March 2021
218. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the grounds for selection in respect of the 33 category 2 countries for travel purposes; the supporting data in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16187/21]
View answerThe clear Government and public health advice is that everybody should avoid non-essential travel.
An Expert Advisory Group on Travel was recently established and has taken a risk-based approach to inform recommendations to the Chief Medical Officer, who in turn advises the Minister for Health on countries to be specified as category 2 under the current Regulations (S.I. No. 44 of 2021). This approach considers the risk of sustained human transmission of COVID-19, as measured by the 14-day incidence in that country relative to that in Ireland, in addition to the risk of importation of a variant of concern and/or variant of interest based on the actual or potential prevalence of such variants.
The list of category 2 countries is subject to review on an ongoing basis.
