Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin announced on Tuesday that his government has decided to extend the current Level-5 or the highest-level restrictions until March 5 in order to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, particularly hospitalization and ICU (intensive care unit) figures, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Announcing the decision at a government press briefing, Martin also said that existing regulations requiring pre-departure COVID-19 tests for international arrivals will also be extended to March 5.
All those who arrive in Ireland in breach of the pre-departure test requirement will have to be quarantined at a designated facility for up to 14 days on top of a fine of 2,500 euros (about 3,000 U.S. dollars) or six-month imprisonment, he said, adding that those who come from Brazil and South Africa will also have to be quarantined at a designated facility for a similar period of time regardless of their COVID-19 test results.
The government has also decided to suspend all visa-free short-term travel from South Africa, Brazil and other South American countries until March 5 in order to mitigate the risk of new COVID-19 variants coming into the country, he noted.