DUBLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Any travellers arriving in Ireland from Jan. 16 must provide a negative or not detected COVID-19 test from the previous 72 hours to be permitted entry, the government said on Tuesday.

Ireland had previously required a negative test for people travelling from Britain and South Africa. Arrivals from those two countries will still have to continue to isolate for 14 days, even if they take a second test after arrival.

Ireland has reported an increasing prevalence in the last three weeks of the new more transmissible COVID-19 variant first discovered in neighbouring Britain. Three cases have also been detected of the variant first found in South Africa. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Chris Reese)

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