THERE are doubts around Christmas flights home to Ireland this year with the country’s Chief Medical Officer warning that the risks around international travel remain ‘very substantial’.
With eight weeks to Christmas, there National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) have yet to specifically discuss Christmas travel arrangements yet.
However, Dr Tony Holohan, Ireland’s CMO, said that the current situation around Covid-19 means that it is ’too dangerous’ to consider international travel at the moment.
“Our advice is that the risk of non-essential travel outside this country is simply too high at this moment,” Dr Holohan said.
His comments have heightened fears that NPHET could issue an edict telling people not to travel in the coming weeks.
The Dublin Airport Authority will raise the issue of Christmas travel with the Oireachtas Transport Committee.
”We want to welcome our loved ones safely and allow those living here who have not seen families overseas to be reunited,” DAA said
DAA will include pre-departure testing among its calls to the Oireachtas.
In a briefing yesterday evening, Dr Holohan said that it is too early to say that ‘we have turned a corner’ with case numbers falling again yesterday.
He said: “We definitely cannot draw a conclusion that there is a trend from the fewer number of cases.”