Covid-19: Christmas travel into Ireland could lead to rise in cases, expert says

Prof Sam McConkey said he was confident that if “hard suppression” measures continued then Ireland could get out of the red zone by the first week in December, meaning more travel would be possible. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Infectious diseases expert Professor Sam McConkey has warned that if travel into Ireland for Christmas was allowed there could be a subsequent rise in Covid cases.

While Prof McConkey said he was confident that Ireland could "get out of red zone in the first week in December", he did express concern that “letting everyone back in” would see a rise in cases.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Prof McConkey said he had lived and worked abroad for 11 years and had looked forward to coming home at Christmas or New Year to get together with family and friends, so he understood the desire to come home.

Prof McConkey added that he was confident that if “hard suppression” measures continued then Ireland could get out of the red zone by the first week in December, that would mean that more travel was possible.

He said: "Restrictive measures and quarantine for those returning would help as no one wanted to bring Covid home to their family. 

"Measures such as testing prior to travel, followed by testing on Day 3 and Day 5, would also be of benefit.

The more that cases are reduced, the better for the country. A faster tracing system would also keep down the figures

Prof. McConkey said that a regional approach to large countries such as the United States could also be considered, as there were different patterns of infection and transmission in different parts of the US.

Antigen testing at airports alone was not enough as they were “nowhere as sensitive” as PCR tests, he said.