Portugal had feared him for several weeks, and England have just buried their last hopes. Indeed, Portugal is once again joining the “black list” countries: all people who have stayed in Portugal will have to quarantine for two weeks upon their arrival in England. The measure will be implemented on Saturday 12th at 4 a.m. (UK time). Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the country’s new exclusion from the UK air corridor.
Portugal again excluded from the British air corridor, terrible news for tourism
Portugal was added to the British “black list”, leaving the list of safe countries and forcing passengers to quarantine after arriving in England, a decision which had already been taken by Scotland and Wales and which now extends to the entire territory of the United Kingdom.
In a decision that was already awaited, given the growing number of new cases in mainland Portugal, the British government therefore decided today to remove the country from the list of safe countries, with the exception of Madeira and the Azores.
Yet last week, the UK was divided over whether or not to impose quarantine on passengers arriving from Portugal, with Scotland and Wales opting for mandatory quarantine, but not England, which has now opted for the same preventive measure, considering that the risk of infection from the coronavirus has increased.
Mainland Portugal is not the only country to be removed from the British tourist corridor, with the British government announcing the same decision for Hungary, France, Polynesia and Reunion.
Therefore, starting on Saturday 12th at 4 a.m. (in England), passengers from Portugal who land in the UK will have to comply with a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Failure to comply with this quarantine may result in very heavy fines.
The UK government's move follows an increase in new cases recorded in the country since the end of August, with a higher incidence in recent days. Portugal indeed recorded the highest number of new cases yesterday (646) since April 20, and today 585 new infections have been reported.
