LONDON – “A discriminatory act against the Italian community”. The Italian ambassador in Dublin Paolo Serpi does not mince words, in a video published last night on Twitter. The diplomat protests, harshly, against Ireland and the latest decision by the Dublin government to include Italy on the Covid blacklist, along with other European countries such as France, Belgium, Austria and Luxembourg, due to their levels of contagion and the spread of the coronavirus, judged excessive by the Irish authorities.
“It is a measure that hits us hard, that is in some ways discriminatory and that goes against the free and sacred European movement of people”, adds Serpi. “We cannot accept it. We ask the Irish government to clarify and make us understand when this measure can be lifted, as soon as possible”, continued the ambassador. But what does Italy’s inclusion on Ireland’s Covid blacklist entail, similar to the UK’s decision against South Africa, Brazil and other South American countries affected by dangerous variants of the coronavirus?
This is explained to us by a group of Italian residents in the Republic of Ireland, who together with the embassy in Dublin presented a formal protest to the Irish government but also to the Farnesina. Rita Verunelli, an Italian for some time in Ireland, tells us that “since yesterday, Thursday 15 April, the Italians arriving in Ireland have been escorted by the army to designated hotels (Covid Hotels) where they must remain in quarantine, at their own expense (and we are talking about 1900 euros per person), for 12 nights with the police at the door to check for any leaks. Obviously “, Verunelli stresses,” the Italians who find themselves having to endure this situation and the associated cost are not happy visiting tourists in Ireland, but belonging to the community of Italians residing on the emerald island. Community that numbers about 20 thousand people. The problem is very serious because the Italians living in Ireland have evident family and emotional ties in Italy. This measure effectively prevents the mostly family reunification (wife and husband, children at university, grandparents), visits or emergency help to elderly parents, participation in funerals “.
The “Covid Hotels” were established by the Irish government in March, following the example of the United Kingdom a few weeks ago, but until the other day the countries for which they were provided were all outside the European Union. Then Italy was also included. According to Verunelli and the other compatriots, “the official justification is the need to avoid the spread of the South African and Brazilian variants in the territory but the real reasons probably lie in a political conflict between two of the main governing parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, and in the growing discontent of the Irish population who have been subjected to more than 3 consecutive months of total lockdown with schools closed and only essential businesses open. Frustrated population complaining that the government has not been able to do more and better . Hence the narrow, facade, and the move to include European countries in the list of “Mandatory Hotel Quarantine.” Incorrect move because the epidemiological data do not support the Irish narrative, ie the claim that these European countries represent a higher risk of transmission variants “.
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