Passengers arriving from India must enter hotel quarantine from today

Passengers travelling from India will have to enter the mandatory hotel quarantine system when they arrive in Ireland from Tuesday.

India is among five countries added to Ireland’s mandatory hotel quarantine list amid a devastating surge in Covid-19 cases and fatalities there in recent weeks.

Georgia, Iran, Mongolia and Costa Rica have also been included on the revised list of countries deemed “high risk” for the virus or its variants , published on Friday. The list comes into effect on Tuesday.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last week said the Government continues to advise against all non-essential international travel.

Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker: How many people have been inoculated in Ireland?

---

Revised HSE Covid vaccination plan to proceed with older people offered vaccines first

---

Coalition eyes €900m from EU ‘recovery and resilience’ Covid fund

---

Manufacturing surge as coronavirus restrictions eased

---

“Protecting public health remains the key priority of Government. The scenes we are witnessing in India are distressing and a devastating reminder to us all of the severe illness and death Covid-19 can cause,” Mr Donnelly said.

A further 453 Covid-19 cases were reported in the State last night, taking the total since the pandemic began beyond the 250,000 mark. No further deaths related to the disease were reported.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has presented plans to open up non-essential travel into the bloc to people from around the world who have been vaccinated with a jab approved for use in the European Union. Ireland would not be covered by the agreement because it is not part of the Schengen free travel area or an associated member, but the State could choose to align.

Under the proposals, the EU would lift its ban on non-essential travel from outside the bloc for people who have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before travel.