Is it me or did Ireland just take a page out of Hawaii’s playbook?
Hawaii has taken its quarantine very seriously. Several states that have quarantines on the books just suggest, request or urge self-quarantining for 14 days upon entering from other places. Hawaii, on the other hand, requires you to follow through. Here’s what they expect from you:
“Travelers will be required to complete a Department of Agriculture Plants and Animals Declaration Form on their flight and present it to checkpoint staff after landing. The travelers must then go straight to the “designated quarantine location” that they identify on the form and remain there for 14 days or the length of their stay if it is shorter.” And they ain’t kidding! Because Hawaii is not fooling around.
It appears that Ireland is doing now something very similar.
Effective May 28, all passengers, both residents and visitors, who arrive in Ireland are now legally required to complete a coronavirus passenger locator form. This form, in effect, makes it mandatory for travelers arriving into the airports and ports to tell the Irish government where they’ll be quarantining for the next 14 days.
Each passenger aged 16 or older has to provide their name, address and contact details of where they can be reached, as well as their place(s) and dates of residence for the next 14 days. They also have to provide information on the name of the aircraft/ferry they arrived on, the date and time of their arrival, their points of departure and arrival, and the reason for their travel.
Which is very similar to what they’re doing in Hawaii. Just like our 50th state, the Irish government wants to be able to track and follow up with people to ensure they’re taking precautions.
Before May 28th, visitors would be “advised” to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival and were asked to fill out the form on “an administrative basis.”
Now they have no choice but to fill out the form, and if they refuse, they can face a fine of up to €2,500 (about $2,800) or six months in prison, or both. The same penalty/ies hold true if they provide false or misleading information, or if they don’t provide an update if they move to a different location within the 14-day quarantine period.
So far 1,600 people in Ireland have died due to COVID-19; the new rules are aimed at preventing further spread of the virus. Says Minister of Health Simon Harris, “These are extraordinary measures but they are necessary in a time of a public health crisis.”
The form will remain in place through at least June 18th.
*** Feature Photo: Giuseppe Milo/flickr
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
pretty sure Alaska is doing something similar too! but with them they are going to require you have taken a test either before you travel there or just after you do & also you will need a follow up text after the quarantine
They did, yes – we just didn’t wrote about it. A few people on BoardingArea already had, so we didn’t bother 😉 Thank-you, though!