Updated public health assessment: COVID-19 and international travel

The government has received an updated public health assessment in relation to the Omicron variant.

This has been considered, and the government has agreed on a number of travel-related measures, taking account of relevant factors including the intention to continue to align with the overall European Union approach to travel, and the particular circumstances of the Common Travel Area.

The following actions will now be taken:

• government communications on COVID-19 will be updated to emphasise that everyone should take account of their overall health, their vaccine status, and the spread of Omicron in other countries before they decide to travel
• anyone eligible for a booster vaccine should avail of it where possible, if contemplating international travel in the near future
• the current requirement for all overseas passengers to have a “not-detected” pre-departure COVID test (antigen or PCR, depending on vaccine recovery status) will continue to apply
• airlines and ferry companies will continue to check pre-departure test compliance, with spot-checking by border management officials also maintained at points of arrival
• passengers arriving from Great Britain will be advised to undertake daily antigen tests for 5 consecutive days, beginning with the day of arrival (and to self-isolate immediately and seek a PCR test if they develop symptoms or have a positive antigen test).