Revised advice means Christmas dinner alone for many back from Britain

People who have arrived in Ireland from Britain from December 11th will have to eat their Christmas dinner alone in their room, a senior HSE figure has confirmed.

The Government announced yesterday it had updated its advice for people who have travelled from England, Scotland or Wales to Ireland since December 8th.

The new advice calls on people to self-isolate in their room, rather than simply restrict their movements, for 14 days from the date of their arrival in Ireland.

Dr Colm Henry, the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer, was asked on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland if that meant people who had arrived since December 11th had to eat Christmas dinner in their room.

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“Sadly it does mean isolation in your room,” he said.

“I appreciate…not just how inconvenient this is but how painful this is for people who’ve waited so long to come home.”

Explaining the concept of self-isolation, he said that meant staying in your room in so far as possible, except for essential purposes. Those who had returned should stay in their room to ensure they were not the means of passing on this much more transmissible version of the virus, he added.

He said positive cases in people who had arrived from Britain had been identified.

It was estimated more than 30,000 people had arrived from Britain. Asked how many had tested positive, Dr Henry said the figures were not available to date but “enhanced surveillance” was underway.

Referring to the new Covid-19 strain found in the south of England recently, he said perhaps it was inevitable that it was in Ireland and people must act as if it is already here.

Dr Henry said that self isolating was no longer novel “in our collective national experience”, as many people in Ireland had self-isolated in recent times.

“It is difficult, it is painful, but we have learned to our cost…that delay in taking action to prevent spread, transmission of the virus, we will pay for it if we do so.”

The requirement to self-isolate includes people who have had a negative test, the HSE said, as these people could still be developing symptoms and pose a potential risk to others.

A test should be arranged through a GP within five days of a person’s arrival in Ireland from Britain and those who have already had a test privately must complete 14 days of self-isolation, regardless of the private test results, said a statement from the HSE.

Any person who receives the result “virus not detected” must continue to self-isolate for a full 14 days as they could still be developing symptoms and pose a potential risk to others, said the HSE.

If a person does develop symptoms after travelling from Britain, they must phone their GP immediately.

The HSE also advised travellers from Britain not to visit a nursing home or long-term residential facility until they had completed their 14 days of self-isolation.