Confusion reigns as ‘green list’ for safe travel delayed

A man wearing protective face mask walks through Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport as a requirement for people arriving in Ireland from overseas to alert the authorities where they will be self isolating has come into effect.

The 'green' list of countries safe to visit should not be treated as a “holiday list” as confusion mounts over the mixed messages about reopening international travel.

The long-awaited list was expected to be released by the government today but it emerged late last night that ministers are unlikely to discuss it now until later this week.

Cabinet was set to discuss the list on Monday and then the July stimulus package on Tuesday. However, Taoiseach Micheal Martin was kept at an EU leaders summit overnight, pushing back the government's timetable this week.

Cabinet could agree a list of under 20 countries that have low rates of Covid-19 but the government is still insisting non-essential travel should be avoided.

This contradiction has triggered warnings from key health professionals about the mixed messages being sent to the public.

It is strongly expected that Norway, Finland, Lithuania and Estonia will be on the list as will Cyprus, Malta, and Hungary.

But Portugal, Spain, France, the UK and the US-with higher rates of the virus-will not make the list.

The benefit of the list is that anyone who travels to the countries will not need to self-isolate for two weeks when returning home. Equally, travellers arriving from them don't have to quarantine.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan insisted that the table of countries, if agreed, should not be treated as a "holiday list". 

He denied to RTÉ that there were mixed messages being sent out, saying there were countries with “different circumstances” and with “similar or lower levels” of Covid-19.

The overall advice would still be to avoid non-essential travel, he reiterated:

“This is the summer and autumn to spend your holidays here at home.”

But Cillian De Gascun, chair of the expert advisory group to NPHET, said the list could lead to “confusion and provide people with mixed messages”.

There is also growing criticism about travellers entering Ireland from high-risk countries who are not subject to mandatory quarantine rules.

The Royal Society of Medicine's Dr Gabriel Scally called for joint North-South harmonisation on travel restrictions.

He said it was "an error" to leave the door open to international travel. Dr Scally also noted that Belfast Airport and Dublin Airport would have different lists of countries, while there would be free travel across the Irish border.

Mr Ryan blamed a lack of coordination with politicians in the North and on London on the failure to enforce isolation rules for those arriving into Ireland.

“If we did get that with both those institutions [there], of course you would look at that as an option."

“If you want to go down the route of having quarantine, that [the situation] would make it not effective because you would have that open door to the North, so you couldn't actually lockdown in that way.”

A key factor in the list decision making is expected to be the number of virus cases for every 100,000 people in a country, compared to Ireland.

The latest European data shows in the two weeks up to 17 July, Ireland confirmed 4.3 cases for every 100,000. This was the ninth lowest incidence of Covid-19 in Europe. Countries with lower levels included Malta (0.8), Finland (0.9), Hungary (1.2), Estonia (2.0), Norway (2.2), Lithuania (2.8), Latvia (3.0) and Cyprus (3.7).

Other countries are slightly higher, including Italy on 4.6 cases. But infection rates are far higher Spain, France, the UK and US.

The government is also set to beef up tracing methods with changes to its passenger locator form, while protocols for safe travel will also be agreed.

There were suggestions the green list may be scrapped, in part because of the fluid situation around Covid-19 and because of the mixed messages.

But many ministers expect it to go ahead. Nonetheless, the delay in Cabinet discussing the issue has also added to the confusion now.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said “clarity” was needed while Labour's Ged Nash called for “stringent restrictions” for travellers arriving here.