The Irish government has removed five countries from the "green list" of countries to which people can travel without having to quarantine for two weeks upon returning to Ireland.
The countries that were originally on the list were Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and Slovakia, but Cyprus, Gibraltar, Malta, Monaco and San Marino have now been removed from the list due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in those countries.
When it was first revealed, the government said that the list would be reviewed every two weeks.
Health minister Stephen Donnelly stated, "Fourteen of the 15 countries on Ireland's 'green list' have seen significant increases in just the last two weeks since the list was created." However, only four countries have been removed from the list for the time being, and no countries have been added to it.
Despite publishing and subsequently amending the list, the government is still advising against non-essential overseas travel to any country, as avoiding non-essential overseas travel will help to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated, "There are no additions to the list, and we continue to advise people that the safest thing they can do in terms of their own health and the health of the country is to stay in Ireland."
Factors Taken Into Account
The Irish Independent quotes a government spokesperson as saying, "If a location's progress in suppressing the disease worsens - such as the status is no longer similar to Ireland - the location's travel advice will be changed.
"A number of factors are taken into account, such as the number of new cases over the past 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants and the overall response to COVID-19."
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