A leading Irish scientist currently in mandatory hotel quarantine in Dublin has criticised the “dehumanising” nature of the experience. “There are ways of quarantine but the whole compassion and care aspect is missing,” said Lokesh Joshi, the Stokes Professor of Glycosciences at NUI Galway. Dr Joshi, who is due to be released on Friday, told The Irish Times he accepts the need for mandatory hotel quarantine, but does not understand why it cannot be done with more compassion. Detention facilityHe said the quarantine hotel has been converted into “almost a detention facility”, with guests receiving a daily phone call to check if they are ok “but it feels like ticking a box”. Travellers coming to Ireland from a list of 51 countries with high infection rates or prevalence of variants of concerns are obliged to enter hotel quarantine.

Source: The Irish Times June 15, 2021 16:41 UTC