Portugal is on the brink of being put back on quarantine list, travel experts warn

PORTUGAL is likely to be added back to Britain’s quarantine red list, travel experts said yesterday after a rise in cases in the country.

Paul Charles, founder of travel consultancy PC Agency, said the country was on the “brink” and indicated a Government about-turn could come as soon as this week.

Latest infection rates showed Portugal had recorded 19.4 cases per 100,000 people over the previous seven days, a rise from 16.4 on Friday.

The UK has been imposing quarantine on countries where rates are above 20 per 100,000.

Portugal was added to the Government’s

travel corridor list on Aug 22 following a drop in cases, with only 14.4 per 100,000 people testing positive in the previous week.

Mr Charles told The Times that Portugal was “very likely to be added to UK quarantine from Sept 5”.

Separately, cases have also risen sharply in Italy, which on Saturday saw its biggest total in three months.

Ministers have warned that people booking holidays abroad risk having quarantine thrust upon them, a situation which has led to swathes of people trying to get home at the last minute.

The Government requires all arrivals into the UK to isolate for two weeks, although it has established quarantinefree “travel corridors” to countries with few cases of Covid-19.

Large numbers of cases in Portugal are said to be around Lisbon, as opposed to the Algarve coast where the majority of British holidaymakers have travelled to. A spokesman for the Department for Transport was approached for comment.

All passengers who were on a flight to Wales from the Greek island of Zante have been told to self-isolate. At least seven positive cases have been identified among three different parties on Tui flight 6215 to Cardiff last Tuesday, according to Public Health Wales.