France to Ireland

What is the criteria that placed France on the designated states / mandatory hotel quarantine list?

What metrics are we waiting to see before removing France from this category?

Diarmuid

At the whim of some member of NPHET

Peregrinus

From the media reports, NPHET were recommending all along that France be included in the list, but there was political resistance. That resistance has now been dropped, it seems.

NPHET's recommendation are based on a number of factors, including the infection rate in the country concerned, the variants of the virus known to be circulating there and the level and nature of testing in the country (which feeds into how reliable the information is about the variants that may be in circulation).

ngunners

Peregrinus wrote: »

From the media reports, NPHET were recommending all along that France be included in the list, but there was political resistance. That resistance has now been dropped, it seems.

NPHET's recommendation are based on a number of factors, including the infection rate in the country concerned, the variants of the virus known to be circulating there and the level and nature of testing in the country (which feeds into how reliable the information is about the variants that may be in circulation).

Yeah, but France has no variant of concern, decreasing covid numbers, incredibly high testing (free walk in centres all over the country), and a vaccination rate at least on par with ourselves. The decision to leave them on the list this long is bizarre and frankly damaging to our diplomatic relationship.

Peregrinus

This is wrong. Of the new cases in France in week 18 (May 6-9, the most recent week for which comprehensive figures have been published), more than 50% of those sequenced were cases of of Variant B.1.1.7, which is a variant of concern. Overall about 70% of the cases sequenced in France in week 18 were of one or other of the variants of concern.

More recently France has reported 18 episodes of variant B.1.167.2, which is a variant of concern. (NB an episode is not a case, but a distinct cluster of linked cases.) And within the past week we have reports of significant new clusters of B.1.1.7+E484K (tellingly, the "Bordeaux variant") which, again, is a variant of concern. It's a mutation of regular B.1.1.7 that appears to be more virulent.

Tl;dr: France has numerous variants of concern, and the situation seems to be getting worse in that regard.

It seems from what you are saying we shouldn't expect France to be off the mandatory hotel quarantine list anytime soon?

Peregrinus

Well, I'm not privy to the advice NPHET gives to the government. In particular I don't know what view they take of travel from countries where the variants present are also present in Ireland. Plus, as already pointed out, decisions about quarantine are based not only on the NPHET advice but on the political response to it.

pickarooney

whatnow! wrote: »

It seems from what you are saying we shouldn't expect France to be off the mandatory hotel quarantine list anytime soon?

This has now changed and quarantine is no longer required in a hotel.

Does anyone know if it's possible to travel for less than two weeks if quarantining for the entire time in one place?

Peregrinus

pickarooney wrote: »

This has now changed and quarantine is no longer required in a hotel.

Does anyone know if it's possible to travel for less than two weeks if quarantining for the entire time in one place?

You can leave home quarantine for the purpose of leaving the state. So, yeah, you could arrive in Ireland from France, enter home quarantine and then leave quarantine (say) 10 days later to get on a plane and go back to France.

But it would hardly be worth it. Home quarantine requires not just that you stay at home, but that you stay in a room on your own and avoid contact with other people. It's not much of a holiday. Who's going to travel to Ireland to do that for 10 days and then go back to France?

The other point is that in order to return to France you will need to get a Covid test in the 72 hours before departure. I think, though, you are permitted to leave home quarantine in order to get a test.

pickarooney

Peregrinus wrote: »

You can leave home quarantine for the purpose of leaving the state. So, yeah, you could arrive in Ireland from France, enter home quarantine and then leave quarantine (say) 10 days later to get on a plane and go back to France.

But it would hardly be worth it. Home quarantine requires not just that you stay at home, but that you stay in a room on your own and avoid contact with other people. It's not much of a holiday. Who's going to travel to Ireland to do that for 10 days and then go back to France?

The other point is that in order to return to France you will need to get a Covid test in the 72 hours before departure. I think, though, you are permitted to leave home quarantine in order to get a test.

When everyone in the house has been fully vaccinated, quarantining alone in a room is overkill.
I'm more than happy to stay in the house if I get to see my parents for the first time in two years.
Hopefully the vaccine passport will be a thing by late July.