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Nine out of 10 Irish people think holidays abroad should not be allowed
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Nine out of 10 Irish people think holidays abroad should not be allowed

THE VAST MAJORITY of Irish people believe that holidays abroad shouldn't be allowed, according to a survey.

With the country still in lockdown and having only just entered Phase Three of the reopening process, it was discovered that 90% of people in Ireland say that they would not choose to travel this year - even to countries that have established 'air-bridges' with Ireland.

The research, carried out by iReach, found that those aged 55 and over felt even stronger about this, with 96% of them believing that holidays shouldn't be permitted.

The figure, perhaps expectedly, begins to fall as age drops, as 59% those between the ages of 18 and 24 say they would be happy to travel abroad in 2020.

The study comes just a few days after Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan urged people to cancel any holidays they might have booked this summer, warning of a further spike in coronavirus cases.

Dr Shane Corr, a GP based in Co. Monaghan, said on Wednesday that it is "inevitable" that a second wave of Covid-19 will arrive on Irish shores if people begin going on overseas holidays.

"More and more people are starting to travel. As Tony Holohan and others are saying, this is really potentially dangerous," said Dr Corr.

"People will be coming and going and may be bringing infection in from abroad.

"It's probably going to be hard to stop individuals doing that but we really need to stop the infection from spreading.

"And the best way to do that is for people to report any symptoms as soon as possible to their doctor so we can arrange testing."