O'Rourke critical of government's quarantine plan

The Government's quarantine proposals fall well short of what is needed, according to Deputy Darren O'Rourke. who described the proposals as "a half baked plan." The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Transport said “The plan to limit mandatory quarantine only to those arriving here without a pre-departure PCR test and arrivals from South Africa and Brazil is simply not good enough. "It will not address the weaknesses in our Covid-19 defences when it comes to international arrivals.“First and foremost, people should not be permitted entry to the State without a negative pre-departure test in the first place. They should not be permitted to board a plane.“The failure to introduce a five-day post arrival PCR test is a glaring omission. This completely ignores the fact that - as stated by NPHET - a single negative Covid test can miss up to 40per cent of cases. Sinn Féin have consistently called for the introduction of mandatory testing post-arrival to address this. This needs to happen without delay.“Given the dire situation, severe travel restrictions for international arrivals are needed. This will cause disruption and difficulties, which of course is regrettable, but it is for the greater good. "Deputy Toibin said that we need mandatory testing, pre-departure and post-arrival as well as a mandatory quarantine regime.“NPHET’s advice has been clear. In the past they have said mandatory quarantine should be introduced. In their most recent advice they say that all discretionary elements should be removed, with particular mention of testing and quarantine. It is simply unacceptable that the government is again ignoring this advice,” he said."Worse still, the Government proposal does nothing to address the lack of adherence to self-isolation/quarantine advice. This is a fundamental weakness in our regime.“The country’s health system is on the brink. Our frontline workers and the public as a whole have made huge sacrifices. It is an insult to them that the current lax regime continues.. “A half-baked plan to quarantine only a portion of international arrivals will not work,” he said.