Coronavirus: Croatia and Austria placed on UK’s quarantine list – Portugal cleared for travel

Travellers coming from Croatia and Austria to the UK will now have to self-isolate for two weeks – while those coming from Portugal no longer face restrictions.

Anyone returning to the UK from Trinidad and Tobago will also have to quarantine for 14 days after cases on the Caribbean islands more than doubled in a week.

The restrictions come into force at 4am on Saturday.

They also apply to travellers going to Scotland from those three countries, with the country’s justice minister announcing Switzerland is also on Scotland’s list.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps also announced travellers returning from Portugal to the UK from 4am on Saturday will no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks.

The Foreign Office has said it would look at putting any country with more than 20 cases per 100,000 people on its quarantine list.

Croatia’s average number of cases has risen to 29.5 cases per 100,000 people in the past week – compared to a rate of 13.54 per 100,000 a week ago.

A scramble to leave Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago is expected after France saw thousands of British holidaymakers trying to beat the same deadline last week after it was placed on the quarantine list last Thursday.

The Netherlands, Monaco, Malta and Turks and Caicos were also placed on the quarantine list at short notice last week.

Spain and Belgium were already on it.

Trinidad and Tobago’s cases have risen rapidly in the past week, with 25.81 cases per 100,000 people in the past week compared to 9.10 cases per 100,000 the previous week.

Austria’s rate has nearly doubled in the past week, with 20.31 cases per 100,000 in the past seven days, up from 10.45 cases per 100,000 the week before.

A Department of Transport (DoT) statement said: “The government has made consistently clear it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus, which includes removing countries from the travel corridors list rapidly, if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country without self-isolating becomes too high.”

People currently in Croatia, Trinidad and Tobago and Austria have been encouraged to follow local rules and check the Foreign Office’s travel advice for more information.

“The government is urging employers to be understanding of those returning from these destinations who now will need to self-isolate,” the DoT added.

Portugal’s government and tourist industry expressed anger when the country was placed on the quarantine list when it was created at the beginning of July.

The country’s number of cases dropped in the past week to 14.38 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 15 per 100,000 the week before – and has not been over 20 per 100,000 since the week of 15-22 July

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Croatia and Austria placed on UK’s quarantine list – Portugal cleared for travel