Sir, – It just came to my notice that Ireland allows tourists to come into your country with only a self-isolation requirement.
Could I suggest that your Government look to the New Zealand model of not allowing tourists in at all?
It is doubtful that any tourist would voluntarily spend two weeks of a hard-earned holiday to a foreign land in self-isolation.
Our country is about the same size as yours, probably more ethnically diverse, but we have the same basic values for the protection for our population. Our government arranges the 14-day isolation in approved and controlled facilities for returning New Zealanders. Sure, our tourist industry is going to be a mess for a long time but we have had only 22 deaths and no community transmitted coronavirus transmission at present. The damage to the tourist industry is the price we are prepared to pay. Most New Zealanders would actually like a big reduction in tourists in the new norm.
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My letter is of course quite selfish. I had booked a canal holiday in Ireland (which I have never visited) and would really like your country to get well quickly so I can actually come and do it! – Yours, etc,
ROD McMAHON,
(Great grandfather was Irish),
Auckland, New Zealand.