The Irish government will not be implementing a European Union decision to re-impose travel restrictions on Americans linked to the covid-19 pandemic and the rising number of Covid cases in the U.S.
The EU earlier this week removed the U.S. from its safe list for non-essential travel
The Journal.ie was reporting that the Department of Health had indicated that Ireland will not make the move to change rules based on the EU Council vote, stating that this vote was within the Schengen framework, “and therefore Ireland did not take part in its adoption."
“Furthermore, the EU recommendation is non-binding and Member States retain control over their own border restrictions,” the department said.
The current requirements for those travelling into Ireland from outside the EU, and which apply to arrivals from the U.S., are: all passengers arriving into Ireland are required to complete a Passenger Locator Form; those with valid proof of vaccination or recovery are not subject to travel related-testing or quarantine; those without valid proof of vaccination or recovery are required to present evidence of a not detected result from a RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival into the country, and to self-quarantine for 14 days; self-quarantine can be shortened upon receipt of a not detected result from a RT-PCR test taken from day five onwards after arrival into the country.
Ireland opened up to defined non-essential travel from the U.S. on July 19.
The U.S. currently imposes strictures on travel from a range of other countries, Ireland included, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage.
The EU-related Schengen Visa Information website earlier this week described a move "to remove from the list of epidemiologically safe third countries a total of six countries, including the United States."
Stated the website: "The removal from the list means that the Member States are advised to reimpose the entry ban on travellers from these countries so that the same are no longer eligible to enter restriction-free for non-essential purposes like tourism and business.
"In the US, which is home to 328.2 million residents, a total of 38,158,495 cases have been detected since the beginning of the pandemic, 169,512 of which within the last 24 hours, data by the World Health Organization reveals."
The list of restricted countries is reviewed by the EU every fortnight.
