Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have already banned all passenger flights from Britain.
The Irish government is expected to announce stricter travel restrictions to and from Britain tonight (Sunday, December 20), in light of the discovery of a more contagious variation of the COVID-19 virus.
The mutated version of the infection is reported to be 70% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 virus.
Earlier today, we reported that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tighter restrictions for London, and the South East and the East of England. These regions, as well as all of Wales, have been put into Tier 4 restrictions, and this prohibits movement into and out of those regions, and international travel unless for work is effectively banned.
Since then, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has stated that the Irish government is currently examining flights, ferries, and general overall travel to and from Britain.
Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have already banned all passenger flights from Britain.
Speaking to
RTE, Minister Donnelly said that he 'expected an announcement later today on such additional travel restrictions, as everything needed to be done in order to protect the health service.'
He also said 'that Irish people who cannot come from the UK due to the new restrictions are in an awful situation.'
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