Quarantine could be back for Portugal

Portugal could be added back on to the UK’S quarantine list due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.

There were 21.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Portugal in the seven days to 30 August, up from 19.4 in the seven days to 29 August.

A seven-day rate of 20 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people is the threshold above which the UK government considers triggering quarantine conditions.

Searches for flights to Portugal soared after the country was removed from the UK’S quarantine list just over a week ago.

Passengers arriving in the UK from Portugal no longer had to self-isolate from 4am on 22 August after an approved travel corridor was confirmed.

Google search data showed a significant spike in searches for the term “flights to Portugal” by users in the UK around 6pm on 20 August – the day the news about Portugal was announced.

Jet 2 was among the airlines aiming to capitali se on the rush. Travellers returning from Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic were the latest to be told they must quarantine for 14 days