Portugal poised to return to quarantine list days after ban lifted

PORTUGAL appeared to be on track to have quarantine reimposed yesterday after coronavirus cases passed the Government’s “red list” threshold.

Less than 10 days after the UK’S travel ban was lifted on the country, its coronavirus cases rose to 21.1 per 100,000 of the population. That is the “trigger” point most frequently used by the Government for reimposing the 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from

“high risk” countries. It is a sharp increase from the rate of 14.1 per 100,000 when quarantine was lifted on Thursday, Aug 20, and up from 19.4 in the seven days to Saturday, Aug 29.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, who compiles a daily list on countryby-country case rates, said: “It will be a tough call for the Government – will they want to add Portugal to the red list when they have just taken it off?

“I suspect they will be under pressure from Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish

First Minister, to add it because it is over 20 per 100,000, and she has taken a consistently tough line. On the face of it, Portugal will be added on the basis of those numbers.”

He said the “off-on” decisions on quarantine caused uncertainty for holidaymakers as well as the industry, and underlined the need for a comprehen- sive testing regime on arrival to allow travellers to sidestep the 14-day selfisolation. Searches for flights to Portugal soared after it was taken off the quarantine list, with easyjet flights sold out by the weekend of Aug 22. Jet2 added extra seats to Faro from Monday, Aug 24. Since then, cases have climbed particularly in the North including Porto and the Douro Valley, while the

Algarve this weekend reported 37 new cases, its worst daily result since lockdown, following an outbreak at a football club. The Portuguese Government accepted one reason was the opening of the country to tourists as it announced the country would return to a “state of contingency” from Sept 15 when it will reimpose restrictions, including limits on gatherings of more than 10 people.

Chris Sainty, the British ambassador to Portugal, hinted at the prospective change in tweets yesterday: “We worked closely with Portugal to ensure the situation here was fully understood by decision-makers in the United Kingdom. But things can change quickly.

“Travellers should consider their plans carefully and factor in the risks of travelling abroad in this fast-moving situation.”

Last week Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic were stripped from the “safe” travel list. The latest data shows Italy has continued to climb to 14.7 cases per 100,000 people, but Greece has dropped back to 13.7.