Coronavirus: Turkey and Poland added to UK’s COVID-19 quarantine list
Written by News on 01/10/2020
Turkey and Poland have been added to the UK’s coronavirus quarantine list, meaning travellers from the countries will have to self-isolate for two weeks.
People arriving from those destinations after 4am on Saturday will be required to quarantine, it has been announced.
The Caribbean islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba have also been added to the list.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also revealed that from Friday the penalties for people who refuse to self-isolate will be increased to a maximum of £10,000 for repeat offenders.
From this week, isolating is now a legal duty for anyone told to do so.
The quarantine system is meant to stop people from high-risk countries spreading coronavirus in the UK.
Countries with infection rates of 20 per 100,000 people are at particular risk of being added to the list.
The seven-day rate of new coronavirus cases in Poland stands at 25.9, up from 15.6 the previous week.
Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba also reported 142.4 new cases per 100,000, unchanged from the previous week.
Turkey’s rate has dropped to 12.9 cases, down from 14.2 the previous week.
But the Department for Transport said it had been added to the quarantine list in light of the country’s health ministry revealing it has been recording new cases in a different way to the definition used by a number of international organisations.
There was no mention of Italy in the announcement, despite its weekly rate increasing to 20.4 cases.
Last week, Denmark, Slovakia and Iceland were added to England and Wales’ quarantine lists.
As efforts continue to control imported cases, latest test and trace data for England showed a 61% increase in the numbers testing positive, as well as an increase in the overall proportion of positive tests to more than 5%.
More than 16 million people are also now living under enhanced local restrictions.
The latest will affect people in the Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough from 12:01am on Saturday.
It bans them from meeting people from other households indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.
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(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Turkey and Poland added to UK’s COVID-19 quarantine list
