Ireland postpones easing of COVID-19 restrictions on overseas visitors

Restrictions on international travelers to Ireland will remain in place until at least July 20, reported Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE on Monday, reported Xinhua.

The report quoted Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin as saying that a "green list" of countries with virus levels similar to or lower than Ireland will be published by the government on July 20, a date when the country is scheduled to move into the fourth phase in lifting the COVID-19 restrictions imposed since the late March.

Following the publication of the green list, the restrictions on visitors from those countries on the list will be eased, Martin told a press briefing held earlier in the day.

The green list will be reviewed on a two-week basis, he added.

Ireland had earlier announced that it plans to allow people from countries on the "green list" to visit the country starting from July 9 without requiring them to practice a 14-day self-isolation.

The postponement of the plan is due to the government's concern that an increase in the imported cases of COVID-19 could lead to a second wave of the disease in the country, said the report.

Earlier last week, Irish Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told local media that the cases of COVID-19 related to international travel jumped to 17 percent of the country's total in the last few weeks from just 2 percent in the last few months.