Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that while Ireland would not be closing its borders, the National Public Health Emergency Team was considering further restrictions on inward-bound travellers. A senior source said that the new restrictions could involve increased oversight and communication with individuals who have returned from overseas. They might also be healthcare workers who volunteered to come back and work in the health service,” Mr Varadkar said. EpidemicsMeanwhile, Northern Ireland public health specialist Dr Gabriel Scally, who was the author of a report on the CervicalCheck screening controversy, has warned that Ireland’s geographical advantage is being “squandered” by differing approaches to the public health crisis North and South. “However, in this coronavirus pandemic Ireland’s geographical advantage is being squandered by the adoption of very different approaches to dealing with the disease.

Source: The Irish Times March 31, 2020 01:50 UTC