Covid-19: Ireland implements EU traffic lights system to travel

Ireland has implemented the new ‘traffic lights’ system to travel, a move that applies to countries in the European Union / European Economic Area and the UK.

Under the ‘traffic lights’ system, countries across the EU, EEA and the UK are described as green, orange, red or grey, based on the risk levels related to Covid-19.

A map indicating the designation of each region is published weekly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), based on a criteria, including the 14-day cumulative incidence rate, testing rate and testing positivity rates.

Within the traffic light system, the country has not imposed entry restrictions on passengers arriving from green regions.

Each Member State can take a decision on what entry restrictions it will apply to passengers coming from red, orange and grey regions.

The Irish Government has urged all passengers entering the country from red, orange and grey regions to restrict their movements for 14 days.

This request for restricting movements for 14 days will be waived for passengers from an orange region, if they have got a negative PCR test result during the three days before arriving in the country. Passengers must present evidence of the negative test.

This request to restrict movement for 14 days, however, does not apply to some defined categories of passengers. Currently, there is a separate travel advisory for passengers arriving from Denmark.

In order to comply with Irish law, passengers arriving at Dublin Airport are required to complete the Public Health Passenger Locator Form online before their arrival.