PUBS CAN’T REOPEN as planned next week, we’re advised to avoid indoor social gatherings of more than 10 people, and we still shouldn’t book a foreign holiday.

But at the same time, we have tourists arriving in Ireland – how is that possible?

While there are verified reports of tourists arriving in Ireland, not voluntarily quarantining for a fortnight, and heading out to explore this country, the numbers appear to be quite small.

But each person has a chance of being a carrier of Covid-19, therefore complicating our efforts to limit the spread of the virus in this country by infecting others.

The government is eager to beef up the country’s defences against this.

We’re joined on The Explainer this week by TheJournal.ie’s senior reporter Michelle Hennessy to examine this further – she breaks down just how tourists can arrive in Ireland, and what their legal requirements are.

With presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, we also look at how the legal requirement to quarantine on arrival is murky, at best, and what the appetite for potential solutions are, such as testing on arrival.

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/why-are-tourists-able-to-visit-ireland-right-now/s-96gtlCR1wL7

This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, producer Aoife Barry, assistant producer and technical operator Nicky Ryan, and executive producer Christine Bohan. Design by Palash Somani. This episode contains a clip from Clare FM’s Morning Focus with Gavin Grace - listen to the full interview here.