Vaccinated people will begin to receive digital Covid certificates for travel in the European Union from Monday, but would-be holidaymakers who have not been vaccinated will have to pay to get a private PCR test if they wish to go abroad.

Up to 170,000 people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months will also be expected to contact a special call centre to get their certificate.

The Cabinet was updated on the plans for international travel yesterday amid continued concern over the impact of the Delta variant.

Hospital Report

Taoiseach Micheál Martin briefed colleagues on the current pandemic picture, saying case numbers were increasing but the number of hospitalisations and intensive care admissions remained stable.

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Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan last night noted “a small but concerning” increase in hospitalisations in recent days, which followed on from a rise in average daily case numbers over the last 10 to 14 days as the variant took hold.

Fifty-four people, including 16 in intensive care, were being treated in hospital for the disease yesterday, up from 39 a fortnight ago.

Public transport capacity

Ministers agreed to increase capacity on public transport from 50 per cent of the norm to 75 per cent from July 19th due to increasing demand. However, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said it would be likely be September before people were advised to return to offices and college campuses.

The Cabinet was also briefed on implementing the EU travel cert, which the Government has committed to doing by July 19th. The public health advice is not to travel abroad for non-essential reasons but Ireland will take part in the EU scheme. The Irish Times understands that Government is likely to say that while legally you do not have to be vaccinated to travel after July 19th, the health advice will be not to.

The prospect of adapting the cert as a means of reopening indoor hospitality is still under consideration, with another meeting between the Government and the hospitality industry due to take place tomorrow.

The option was said to be a “strong candidate” for a customer at a restaurant or pub to prove they have been vaccinated, but the Attorney General is still examining the legality of its use in this way.

There is a feeling among some Ministers that the reopening could be pushed out to end of July. Mr Martin told Ministers to maintain flexibility in their public answers on pubs until the Government arrives at position.

‘Spiral of fear’

More than 1.8 million people who have been fully vaccinated will start to receive their certs by post or email from Monday. Certificates for negative PCR tests will be issued through approved private operators, with a Government spokesman saying this would help to prevent the public system coming under strain from people seeking tests in order to travel.

People who have recovered from a recent Covid-19 infection will have to contact a call centre to request a travel cert. The spokesman could not give a date for the centre’s opening but indicated that the intention was for it to be in operation by July 19th.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar yesterday said that Irish people need to avoid falling back into a “spiral of fear” over the Delta wave.

He said he believed the British government’s plans to ease most Covid-19 restrictions in England from July 19th was “too risky”. “If things go wrong in England, it will have a spillover effect in Ireland and on our other neighbours,” he said.