Passengers arriving from Britain advised to take antigen tests for five days

The current requirement for all overseas passengers to have either a negative PCR or antigen test prior to travel will still apply.

Passengers travelling to Ireland from Britain will be advised to take an antigen test each day for five days upon their return, under new guidance issued by the Government this evening.

If the person returns a positive antigen test or experiences any symptoms they’re advised to isolate immediately and seek a PCR test.

In a statement, the Government said it has issued the new advice after it received an updated public health assessment in relation to the Omicron variant.

The Taoiseach said the new advice is an “additional precaution” to slow down the spread of the new variant.

Micheál Martin told the Tonight Show that this will only apply to Britain because of the higher degree of travel coming in from the UK to Ireland.

The Government statement said it would update its travel advice to “emphasise that everyone should take account of their overall health, their vaccine status, and the spread of Omicron in other countries before they decide to travel”.

It also urges anyone eligible for a booster to avail of it as soon as possible, particularly if they’re considering international travel.

The current requirement for all overseas passengers to have either a negative PCR or antigen test prior to travel will still apply.

Airlines and ferry companies will continue to check pre-departure test compliance, with spot-checking by border management officials also maintained at points of arrival, the statement added.

Six cases of Omicron variant

The chief medical officer has confirmed a total of six cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Five further cases of the variant have been detected on top of the first case which was identified on December 1.

No details of the case, such as whether it was travel-related, have been confirmed.

“A number of other probable cases are under investigation,” Dr Tony Holohan said.

"Although this is a new variant, our early understanding gives us confidence that a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine will offer good protection against Omicron and Delta infection."

Five further cases of the variant have been detected on top of the first case which was identified on December 1.

The update comes as the Department of Health confirms a further 4,022 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of Thursday morning, there were 530 people in hospitals with the virus, down 13 since yesterday, with 115 patients in intensive care units, down two.

Dr Holohan added: "Our current wave of disease continues to be driven by the Delta variant of COVID-19. We know that the public health measures we are so familiar with will break the chains of transmission of Delta, and we are confident they will work on Omicron.

"Please continue to layer up on the public health advice by getting vaccinated and boosted, reducing contacts, wearing masks, keeping distance, opening windows and cleaning hands regularly."

Earlier, HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry told reporters at a briefing that a number of suspect cases are being investigated, but said health officials are under no illusions that more cases will soon be confirmed.

HSE chief Paul Reid said that he expects the number of Omicron cases to rise significantly, with the expectation that it will become the dominant strain of the virus in Ireland.

“No reassurance can be taken now at the low levels that we’ve identified here,” he warned.

“We’ve seen what’s happening in the UK. We expect it’s only a matter of time before we are looking at significant numbers of cases phases of Omicron.” 

Health officials also promised that genome sequencing capacity was now being expanded in Ireland in order to better identify the new variant.

 - additional reporting from PA