Quarantine news – latest: Transport secretary admits travel corridor ‘confusion’ after Wales, Scotland and England all announce different rules
‘It would be far better to coordinate,’ says Grant Shapps
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Your support makes all the difference.The quarantine “hokey cokey” continues as all eyes are on the Department for Transport to see whether Greece and Portugal are next in line to be struck from the list of travel corridors.
Countries on this list are exempt from the blanket two-week quarantine inflicted on all arrivals into the UK, but eligible destinations are dropping like flies after coronavirus infection rates have been on the increase across Europe.
Scotland has now removed Greece and Portugal from its quarantine-exempt list after a surge of new Covid-19 cases, while Wales has imposed self-isolation restrictions on Portugal, Gibraltar and six Greek islands: Antiparos, Crete, Lesbos, Mykonos, Paros and Zante.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed both countries will remain on the travel corridors list for England for now; on 3 September he tweeted: “We continue to keep the Travel Corridor list under constant review and won’t hesitate to remove countries if needed. However, there are no English additions or removals today.”
Read all the latest quarantine news below.
The transport secretary has admitted that the rules governing travel are “confusing”.
Grant Shapps told Sky News: “I do realise it creates confusion for people not to have a single rule, but we do have this devolved approach throughout the United Kingdom and I can only be responsible for the English part of that.”
It comes after Wales imposed its own quarantine rules for Portugal, Gibraltar and six Greek islands, while Scotland said those entering the country from anywhere in Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores, will have to self-isolate for 14 days from 4am on Saturday.
Although travellers returning to England from Portugal or Greece don't have to worry about quarantining for now, the Welsh government has today made a different decision,
Wales has imposed almost immediate quarantine on Portugal, Gibraltar and six Greek islands: Mykonos, Zante, Lesvos, Paros, Antiparos and Crete.
Self-isolation two weeks awaits Welsh holidaymakers who do not return by 4am on Friday.
It is thought Scotland may also go against the UK government’s decision and impose quarantine for their citizens.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said there will be no changes to England's quarantine list today.
He tweeted: “We continue to keep the Travel Corridor list under constant review & won't hesitate to remove countries if needed. However, there are no English additions or removals today. Nonetheless, holidaymakers are reminded - 14-day quarantine countries can & do change at very short notice”.
He added: “Travel Corridor factors taken into account by JBC & Ministers inc: COVID-19 prevalence; level & rate of change; extent of in-country tests, regime & test positivity; extent of contained outbreak as opposed to general transmission; govt actions & other epidemiological information.”
Employers can legally force staff members to cancel their booked holidays if there’s a risk that they need to quarantine on return and they can’t work from home.
Workers could also struggle to get their money back if they’re left out of pocket.
Adam Pavey, employment solicitor at Poole Alcock, told The Independent that “employers are becoming increasingly concerned about how self-isolation... can affect staffing requirements.”
Pavey said that “many employers are wondering whether they can cancel pre-arranged annual leave” – and, under the law, they can.
The devolved nations of the UK have already introduced various travel restrictions when it comes to Greece. Scotland has imposed a two-week quarantine for all arrivals, while Wales has done the same but only for those entering the country from Zante, after around 30 new coronavirus cases were traced back to the Greek island.
The outbreak has prompted the Welsh health minister to suggest that Cardiff Airport could be the UK's first to bring in mandatory Covid-19 testing for all arrivals.
The list of countries where British holidaymakers can safely go without having quarantine on their arrival or return is growing ever smaller.
Here's The Independent's latest list of everywhere it's still possible to visit:
The Greek government has been accused of covering up the number of coronavirus cases in popular tourist destinations in the country following pressure from the tourism industry.
Senior health officials and MPs claim the government has falsely recorded the number of people returning from Greek islands who have tested positive for Covid-19 in major cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki as mainland, rather than as island infections, in an attempt to minimise the true number of cases at popular holiday destinations such as Mykonos, Santorini and Paros.
As the latest figures show Portugal's coronavirus cases have risen significantly above the UK threshold, holidaymakers anxiously await news of whether the country will go back on the 'high-risk' list requiring all returning travellers to quarantine for two weeks.
The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder assesses the likelihood of Portugal and Greece being ditched as approved travel corridors in the coming days.
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