Families advised not to travel abroad for holidays

"Don’t travel unless you’re vaccinated."

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said the public health advice is for unvaccinated people not to travel abroad for a holiday. Speaking on Thursday, Dr Holohan warned that unless you are fully vaccinated, you should not travel abroad for a holiday, but added that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) did want to see travel resuming because of the vaccination levels in the Irish population. He also said he would advise families not to travel yet because although parents might be vaccinated, the children are likely not. "Don’t travel unless you’re vaccinated, I think will continue to be our message, and we’re getting more and more people vaccinated," Dr Holohan said. It comes as Dr Holohan said the country is experiencing the "near elimination" of the virus in the vaccinated population. "We are now experiencing near elimination of Covid-19 in the vaccinated population. For the 50-65s who are in the process of receiving protection from full vaccination, incidence is dropping," he said. "Incidence is also reducing in most age groups, showing commendable compliance with public health measures as the vaccination programme is rolled out to more and more people." Professor Philip Nolan said the epidemiological situation in Ireland in regards to Covid-19 was "very positive", with the country seeing a "significant decline" in all indicators of disease.