Michelle O'Neill and Arlene Foster split over call for travellers Great Britain into NI should enter into 14 day quarantine

First Minister, Arlene Foster, and deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill are at loggerheads over whether people travelling into Northern Ireland from Great Britain should spend 14 days in quarantine before going about their business.
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The split comes as the Republic of Ireland is due to publish a list of countries that the mandatory 14 day quarantine period upon arrival will apply.

The list was due to be published on Monday but it looks as if it has been delayed and should be published on Tuesday.

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Countries such as Spain and Italy are expected to be included on the list but countries such as the USA, the United Kingdom, Russia, Sweden and Brazil are not.

First Minister Arlene Foster (left) and deputy First Minister pictured during one of their last media briefings.First Minister Arlene Foster (left) and deputy First Minister pictured during one of their last media briefings.
First Minister Arlene Foster (left) and deputy First Minister pictured during one of their last media briefings.

This means that people travelling from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland would have to adhere to the 14 day quarantine rule.

However, anyone travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland would not have to adhere to the rule.

Deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, said she was "concerned about" the potential spread of Covid-19 from Great Britain and declared it was "time to act".

“The community transmission there is so much higher.

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“Probably the biggest risk to us is travel from Britain. It is something I am concerned about," said Mrs. O'Neill.

She added: “It is my view that, given that this is where the biggest risk comes from, we need to act on that."

The number of deaths recorded in Northern Ireland remains at 556, the Department of Health reported on Monday.

First Minister, Arlene Foster, rejected the claims made by her Sinn Fein counterpart.

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“We have to be driven by the science and advice we are given, we’re also very clear that we are in a common travel area and we respect that common travel area,” she said.

“The Republic of Ireland has decided to go on a different route and they don’t respect the common travel area, that’s a matter for them.

“But I think it is important for business, for family life, for social life, for political life, let’s face it, as well, that we continue to have the UK working together and making sure we can have that travel across the United Kingdom.”

Mrs. Foster added: “We have always had differences as we work through Covid but I think the important thing is we’ve always communicated with each other, we’ve always understood why those decisions have been taken.

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“The decisions are taken around our travel regulations on the advice from the chief medical officer (Dr Michael McBride) working in the ‘four nations’ approach across the UK, so there’s an understanding as to why that is the case.”