Coronavirus: UK and RoI should enforce 'similar' quarantines

The UK and the Republic of Ireland should exempt people travelling between them from coronavirus quarantine requirements, the NI Secretary said.

Brandon Lewis said the UK government believed this was the best way to respect their Common Travel Area.

On Thursday, he said he understood the Irish government was reviewing plans to require travellers from Great Britain to observe a 14-day quarantine period.

The Irish government said no such review is under way.

On Friday, the secretary of state told BBC News NI the UK planned to give the Common Travel Area a full exemption from its proposed quarantine regulations and he hopes the Irish government will look at how they can implement their rules "in a similar way".

Mr Lewis acknowledged it is up to the Irish government to take whatever decision they deem is right for them, but reiterated that the UK regarded it as "right and logical and appropriate" to exempt all travel within the Common Travel Area.

Asked if the exemption on quarantine could be sustained if it only worked one way, Mr Lewis repeated that he hopes Dublin will implement a similar scheme to London, but the UK will respect whatever decision the Irish government makes.

Brandon Lewis said the government's new Covid-19 tracing app will become a UK-wide scheme

The Northern Ireland Secretary said that when the NHSX contact tracing app, currently being piloted in the Isle of Wight, is launched it will be a UK-wide scheme.

Mr Lewis said the full rollout is still a couple of weeks away.

The secretary of state told the BBC that UK officials are continuing to talk to the Irish government to deal with any compatibility issues with the different app expected to be adopted by the Irish authorities.

Border controls

Meanwhile, asked about a letter from the UK government confirming that border control posts will be installed at Northern Ireland's ports and airports to ensure food and other goods comply with EU regulations after the current Brexit transition period ends, Mr Lewis insisted there will be no new infrastructure.

He described the posts as administrative and said there should be no issue about "anything delaying anybody" when it comes to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

He insisted Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK single market and the government wants to keep the flow of goods and supplies as smooth as it has ever been.