Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said it is too early to give advice to people on travelling home to Ireland for Christmas.
Speaking at the Oireachtas Transport Committee, he said that the National Public Health Emergency Team has to ensure that the country is not put at risk with arrangements that could lead to the importation of the disease in December.
Dr Holohan said that international travel will represent a prominent area of risk as Covid-19 comes under control nationally.
In relation to travelling home for Christmas, he said that NPHET could not provide advice now because he said it relates to factors that are not known at this stage.
He told the committee that once the virus is brought back under control in Ireland the risks of importation will have to be carefully managed.
In his written opening statement, Dr Holohan said that when there are low levels of domestic transmission, the impact of imported cases is all the greater.
He said this was seen in Ireland at times during the summer when travel-related cases at times accounted for around a quarter of Covid-19 cases.
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Dr Holohan said that should testing of asymptomatic passengers be introduced, a five to seven-day period of restricted movement, with a symptom check and test on day five, is the most efficient method to contain importation of the virus.
He also said that people who arrive in Ireland or who have returned from travel should avoid crowded situations for a full 14 days.
An update on COVID-19 and a thank you to everyone for the sacrifices they have made in recent weeks, from healthcare workers who continue to do everything they can for patients to kids who gave up trick or treating. We are on the right path 👏 pic.twitter.com/MMyc5N7U7Q
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) November 3, 2020
Dr Holohan told politicians that an agreement has been reached at an EU level on a common approach to intra-EU travel and the Government has decided on how these recommendations are to be implemented in Ireland.
The CMO acknowledged that it is important that countries adopt approaches that facilitate travel, with no additional risk to the wider population.
On what advice NPHET has given Government with regards to travel home to Ireland at #Christmas, @CMOIreland says it is too early to say what the situation will be and it depends on "a whole lot of factors that are simply unknowable at this time". #Covid19 https://t.co/rRQDm1WaZk pic.twitter.com/EObl5Jnsmu
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 3, 2020
He also said that Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) found that rapid antigen detection tests offer possibilities to enhance Covid-19 prevention and control, including expanding testing capacity, reduced test turnaround times and improved access.
Dr Holohan said these tests work best where there is high prevalence of the disease, for example in symptomatic cases.
Responding to a question from Fianna Fáil's Cathal Crowe, who asked if international travel would be safe between now and Christmas and from Christmas up to spring, Dr Holohan said the situation at the moment is that non-essential international travel at the moment is not safe.
He said NPHET would continue to provide advice in relation to the EU traffic light system.
With the number of new cases of #Covid19 in Europe increasing exponentially, @CMOIreland says "there is a substantial risk associated with international travel at the current time". | https://t.co/rRQDm1WaZk pic.twitter.com/ewKJEvxmKw
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 3, 2020
Mr Crowe also asked what advice NPHET has given to the Department of Transport in terms of rapid testing at departure airports and raised the calls from the aviation sector to have testing in order to allow the sector get back to normality.
Dr Holohan said that the vast majority of countries are "red and getting redder" and this is why NPHET is concerned about international travel.
He said the whole of Europe is experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus and Ireland has seen a reduction of Covid-19 because of the measures in place and NPHET has to take this into account when giving advice on international travel.
Dr Holohan said he understands the sensitivity for families who had not seen each other for many months.
However, he said NPHET had to advise on the risks so that it does not put the country at risk with arrangements that could lead to the importation of the disease over the month of December.
