Kiss your winter holiday plans goodbye, says OMT

Adjust your holiday expectations, the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) says it’s best to stay home this year.

If you were thinking of taking a nice ski trip or going on a beach getaway this year, the OMT wants you to think again. The risk of another wave of coronavirus is too high, according to the team.

In an advisory report to the Ministry of Health, the OMT writes, “During the summer holiday period and the months after that, many hundreds, mainly younger people, returned from a holiday abroad with COVID-19.”

Additional risks

The OMT also suggests that the coronavirus situation in some other countries may present additional risks. “It is expected that the epidemiological situation in the winter holiday period is not yet under control, not even in most countries in Europe and many countries out there.”

Further, the OMT says that only 27% of travellers have actually followed the government’s recommendations to quarantine after travel to “orange zones.” 

The OMT’s Advice

The OMT’s full list of advice for the cabinet regarding the winter holiday includes:

• The government should continue to assess the risk of other countries for travel;
• Holidays outside of one’s own household is advised against/the group size should be kept to a minimum;
• Family visits should be kept to a minimum and within the immediate family, respecting social distancing advice;
• Intensive risk group-oriented measures should be set and aimed at the elderly, with specific attention to wintering abroad;
• The EU should have coordination on the closure of catering establishments, the banning of parties and events, and the enforcement of measures.

At this stage, the advice is only for the cabinet to consider, and decisions have yet to be made. 

What do you make of the OMT’s advice? Does it affect your holiday plans?

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