Covid-19 cases in several ‘green list’ states rise at higher rate than in Ireland

Some countries on the Government’s travel green list have seen significant increases in Covid-19 cases since the list was announced last week.

The latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) confirm the extent of sharp rises in infection rates in Gibraltar, Monaco and Malta since July 21st, based on the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the previous 14 days.

As of Wednesday, cases in Malta have increased to 6.9 new cases per 100,000 people, compared with the State, which is currently at 5.3.

Monaco has seen an 800 per cent increase to 27 such cases per 100,000 people, while Gibraltar’s figure has increased from 2.9 to 17.8.

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Other countries on the green list, announced late on July 21st, which have seen an increase include Cyprus from 3.9 to 5.1, Italy from 4.6 to 5.2, Lithuania from 3.8 to 5.4 and Slovakia from 3.9 to 5.4.

People arriving into the State from countries on the green list do not need to spend 14 days in self-isolation or to restrict their movements.

Countries on the list which have seen an increase in cases but whose new cases per 100,000 people are still less than three include Finland, Greenland, Hungary and Norway.

Estonia, Greece, Latvia and San Marino, which are also on the green list, have seen new cases per 100,000 people decrease since July 21st.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that the Government is unlikely to undertake an immediate review of the countries on its green list despite some states experiencing big increases in cases.

The Government is to stick to a fortnightly review of countries considered safe to travel to.

Health advice

The list was drawn up at a Cabinet meeting on July 21st based on advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and it will be August 4th at the earliest before the list will be re-examined.

A Government spokesperson said the locations on the green list have a “similar or lower incidence of the virus to Ireland”.

“A number of factors are taken into account – such as the number of new cases over the past 14 days per 100,000 of inhabitants, overall response to Covid-19 etc.

“Data from the European centre of disease control which benchmarks countries based on the number of positive tests per 100,000 in the last 14 days is being used,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the latest data shows that the number of new cases in Spain stands at 51.1 per 100,000 people, while Portugal is at 32.7, France is at 17.1, and the UK is at 14. The US's figure for new cases per 100,000 inhabitants currently stands at 279.7.