Written answers

Wednesday, 10 March 2021

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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764. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the situation faced by Irish citizens who contracted Covid-19 abroad and have recovered from the virus yet are stranded abroad and unable to return here as they cannot produce a not detected PCR test result due to non-infectious viral remnant; if he has considered the way they may return here after having received confirmation from relevant medical officers that they are no longer infectious which may include a period of mandatory quarantine at their own expense in a designated facility upon return; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12589/21]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has introduced more stringent measures applying to international travel in order to mitigate against the risk of new variants being imported through travel and to protect the progress we are making in suppressing transmission domestically.

The Department of Health is aware of residual positive tests in some recovered COVID patients and is examining the issue with public health officials. The issue is common to many countries with travel testing requirements and is also being discussed at EU level.

Under the current mandatory testing regime in Ireland, exemptions from the pre-departure test requirement are in place for international transport workers, passengers travelling with an urgent medical need and for travellers with genuine humanitarian emergencies unable to obtain a pre-departure RT-PCR test before travel.

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