He said Irish labs are “checking every positive case” to determine if the new strain of Covid-19 is in Ireland.
Minister for Transport, Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has said that the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Ireland means that it’s likely tighter restrictions will be reimposed in Ireland sooner than originally intended.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Monday, Ryan said that while the numbers in Intensive Care are relatively low, there has been a spike in cases over the past number of days meaning it’s likely restrictions will be in place before the end of the year.
Ryan also said that while there’s no evidence that the new strain of Covid-19 is present in Ireland at this moment, he confirmed that Irish labs are “checking every positive case” in order to find it and track it “if there is”.
The Government imposed a 48-hour ban on flights from Britain on Sunday night following fears over the spread of a new strain of Covid-19, while ferries to Ireland will be limited to freight travel.
Ryan said the aim of the initial suspension of travel was to “assess” the situation and decide with the EU and the UK government what comes next.
“We’ve a meeting with our European colleagues today and also internally in government and cabinet is meeting tomorrow to assess all the information that’s going to come to us,” he said.
He added the it was better the National Public Health Emergency Team, advisors and all other parties had all the information before Cabinet meets.
The ban is in place for Monday and Tuesday and the measures will be reviewed by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
Ferry crossings between Ireland and the UK will continue in order to keep essential supply chains moving.
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