Britain is set to make a decision this Friday on whether to impose a 14-day quarantine on arrivals from Portugal after cases of COVID-19 began to rise around the Central and Northern parts of the country, the UK’s health minister, Matt Hancock, said today.
Britain allowed holiday-makers to travel to Portugal without any restrictions less than two weeks ago but a rise in the levels coronavirus infection has prompted speculation that the country will be put back on a list of countries that require mandatory quarantine measures.
Updates to the UK quarantine lists have typically happened on Thursdays, however, this morning, Hancock said that the decision would only be communicated tomorrow, that is, Friday. "We are going to publish a decision tomorrow [Friday], based on the existing data, and I will not anticipate any certain judgment," said Matt Hancock, in an interview with Sky News.
So far this week no changes were made to the list of countries on England’s quarantine list, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps highlighted.
“We continue to keep the Travel Corridor list under constant review & won’t hesitate to remove countries if needed,” Shapps said on Twitter. “However, there are no English additions or removals today.”
In the same tweet, the British Transport Minister recalls that anyone who travels for a holiday in another country should be aware that restrictions, namely the 14-day quarantine, "can and do change in a very short time".
