Passengers arriving from Britain are advised by the government to perform daily antigen testing for five consecutive days, starting on the day of arrival.

The government issued the advisory last night after receiving an updated public health assessment of the Omicron variant.

There have now been six cases of the newly discovered variant identified here

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan added that a number of other probable cases were under investigation.

The latest travel advice was announced late last night and is meant to encourage people to take a cautious approach to international travel in light of the transmission of the new variant.

The government is urging people to consider their general health, vaccination status and the spread of the variant to other countries before deciding to travel.

In a statement, the government said anyone eligible for a booster vaccine should benefit from it wherever possible, if they consider international travel soon.

The current requirement for all overseas passengers to have a Covid test prior to departure will continue to apply.

Yesterday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he couldn’t say for sure that further restrictions would not be needed until Christmas.

The Fianna Fáil chief said the government should keep track of what is happening with the new variant in the UK and in Europe.

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Meanwhile, 4,022 new cases of the coronavirus were reported yesterday by the Department of Health.

Yesterday morning, 530 people with Covid-19 were hospitalized across the country, 115 of whom were treated in intensive care units.