Dublin, Aug 10 (IANS): Ireland has decided to include Kazakhstan in its mandatory hotel quarantine list due to the Covid-19 situation in the Central Asian country, the Department of Health said.

People who are not fully vaccinated having been in or transited through Kazakhstan in the previous 14 days will have to be quarantined upon their arrival in Ireland for 14 days at government-designated hotels at their own cost, Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying on Monday.

The average cost for the 14-day quarantine is about 2,000 euros ($2,350).

The decision will come into effect at 4 a.m. on Friday, the Department added.

People who refuse to be quarantined or leave the designated hotels earlier than they should will face a fine or imprisonment, or both, according to relevant rules.

Mandatory hotel quarantine was first introduced in the country in late March of this year.

Altogether, 30 countries and regions were on the mandatory hotel quarantine list.