Stormont health chiefs ‘struggling’ to tell how many visitors coming to NI

Stormont health chiefs are “struggling” to determine how many people are travelling into Northern Ireland, a senior official has admitted.
Health officials do not know how many people from the Republic – or elsewhere – are arriving in Northern IrelandHealth officials do not know how many people from the Republic – or elsewhere – are arriving in Northern Ireland
Health officials do not know how many people from the Republic – or elsewhere – are arriving in Northern Ireland

This comes after the Health Minister, Robin Swann, admitted the rules and guidance from Stormont on international travel are not “simple or clear”.

A fortnight ago, the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to end coronavirus quarantine requirements for those arriving in Northern Ireland from low to medium risk countries.

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But the official advice from Stormont is that people don’t go on holiday – in contrast with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who are no longer advising the public against non-essential travel to the list of countries deemed low risk.

Earlier this week, Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill suggested that people arriving in the Province from Great Britain should self-isolate for 14 days.

The proposal was dismissed as a non-starter by her DUP partners in government, and the UUP leader Steve Aiken highlighted the lack of “checks and balances” on travel from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland in light of higher transmission rates for the virus in the south.

Yesterday, Department of Health official Elaine Colgan was quizzed by MLAs on the Stormont health committee.

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The DUP’s Pam Cameron asked if figures were available on the number of “external visitors” arriving in Northern Ireland, and whether contact tracing measures are in place for those coming here from the south.

“External visitors, that is something we are struggling with in terms of the number of people coming in and we are putting mechanisms in place,” Ms Colgan said.

She added: “We are working with our statisticians and the department for the economy on that.”

The rules around travel were set to be discussed yesterday by the Executive.

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Meanwhile, a contact tracing phone app for Northern Ireland is set to be launched next week.

It will be called Stop Covid NI and will be aimed at interrupting coronavirus’ spread by finding those most at risk of catching it.

Should someone receive a positive test for the disease he or she will have a unique code texted to the phone. Once the user gives permissions the app will release data from the handset to a server so close contacts also using the app can be traced following a “digital handshake” between their devices, Stormont’s health department said.

The app should be able to communicate with the version used in the Republic of Ireland, which has been installed by 1.4 million people.

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The software’s use will be voluntary and identifiable information will not be stored to comply with data protection regulations, an official told the Assembly health committee.

The operating system is designed by Google and Apple and its use will require Bluetooth to remain on.