Debate in Ireland around a border closure to fight against Covid-19
Truck drivers arrive at a chackpoint in Larne Harbor in Northern Ireland on December 12, 2020. AP - Peter Morrison
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2 min
Covid-19 contaminations in Ireland remain higher than in the previous two waves.
Irish politicians are therefore considering a “Zero Covid” strategy, adopted by countries like New Zealand to fight against Covid, with strict containment and hermetic closure of borders.
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With our correspondent in Dublin,
Émeline Vin
The Zero Covid strategy, the government is getting closer.
A quarantine of fourteen days is already imposed on travelers on their arrival in Ireland is now mandatory and no longer recommended.
But no details were given on the methods of monitoring compliance with this isolation.
And quarantine can be done at home.
It is too little, denounce the oppositions of all sides.
A measuring cup, for the head of Sinn Fein, the first opposition party.
Even within the coalition, some deputies say they are disappointed.
A total closure impossible for the government
But closing the borders is out of the question for the executive: what works in New Zealand cannot be transposed to an island that is a member of the European Union and which shares a border with the United Kingdom.
"
It would not work
," said Deputy Prime Minister Léo Varadkar.
It would take at least three months to eradicate the virus in Ireland.
Not to mention the risks for supply chains and the question: how to get out of this closed state?
The government is behind the fact that it has not been recommended by medical advice experts ... Since the beginning of the year, no cluster has been linked to an international trip.
►Also read: 6,500 caregivers on sick leave, Ireland lacking staff in the face of Covid-19
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