Varadkar issues positive update on holidays abroad for under 30s this summer

Leo Varadkar said that unvaccinated people under the age of 30 will be able to travel abroad this summer.

However, anyone who does so will need a Digital Covid Certificate and a negative PCR test before they return to Ireland. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan has previously said that people who aren’t fully vaccinated should not travel abroad and with the under 30s unlikely to have both vaccine doses until September at the earliest, it seemed that planning for a summer getaway would prove a fruitless exercise.

Speaking on RTÉ though, An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: “We are saying that people who aren’t fully vaccinated, including all those young people can travel abroad, but they will need to get a PCR test before they return and that is the protection that we’re looking for.”

He added that the CMO’s assessment is “totally right from scientific and medical grounds” but that there’s an element of “unfairness” to young people.

The Digital Cert will allow people to travel, as long as they are fully vaccinated, have fully recovered from Covid within the last nine months or undergo a negative PCR test in the 72 hours before travelling. More information can be found here.

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