Vaccinated people will begin to receive digital Covid certificates for travel in the European Union from Monday, but would-be holidaymakers who have not been vaccinated will have to pay to get a private PCR test if they wish to go abroad.
Up to 170,000 people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months will also be expected to contact a special call centre to get their certificate.
The Cabinet was updated on the plans for international travel on Tuesday amid continued concern over the impact of the Delta variant.
Ministers were briefed on implementing the EU travel certificate, which the Government has committed to doing by July 19th. The public health advice is not to travel abroad for non-essential reasons but Ireland will take part in the EU scheme.
The Irish Times reports that Government is likely to say that while legally you do not have to be vaccinated to travel after July 19th, the health advice will be not to.
More than 1.8 million people who have been fully vaccinated will start to receive their certs by post or email from Monday.
Certificates for negative PCR tests will be issued through approved private operators, with a Government spokesman saying this would help to prevent the public system coming under strain.
People who have recovered from a recent Covid-19 infection will have to contact a call centre to request a travel certificate. The spokesman could not give a date for the centre’s opening but indicated that the intention was for it to be in operation by July 19th.
Indoor hospitality
The prospect of adapting the certificate as a means of reopening indoor hospitality is still under consideration, with another meeting between the Government and the hospitality industry due to take place on Thursday.
There is a feeling among some Ministers that the reopening could be pushed out to end of July. Mr Martin told Ministers to maintain flexibility in their public answers on pubs until the Government arrives at position.
The Department of Health reported an additional 397 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic on Tuesday.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan noted “a small but concerning” increase in hospital admissions in recent days, which followed on from a rise in average daily case numbers over the last 10 to 14 days as the variant took hold.
