Quarantine comes in for Greece after major rise in Covid cases
● Portugal could also lose exemption as travellers scramble to return to Scotland
Travellers from Greece will be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days on arrival in Scotland from tomorrow.
The decision comes after a significant rise in cases of coronavirus being imported from the Mediterranean country, the Scottish Government said.
The measures will come into effect at 4am tomorrow.
Scottish justice secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are in the midst of a global pandemic and the situation in many countries can change suddenly. Therefore, people should think very hard before committing to non-essential travel abroad.
“With Scotland’ s relatively low infection rate, importation of new cases from Greece is a significant risk to public health.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation in all parts of the world and base the decisions we make on the scientific evidence available.
“Regular discussions continue with the other three governments in the UK.
“Requiring travellers arriving from a non-exempt country to quarantine for 14 days on arrival is vital to helping pre - vent transmission of the virus and to suppress it.”
The Scottish Government said evidence of virus importation, especially from the Greek islands, has led to the country being removed from the exemption list on public health grounds.
It is believed prevalence of Covid-19 in Greece remains lower than 20 per 100,000, but a number of cases in Scotland can be traced back to travel to the Mediterranean country.
Countries tend to be added to the quarantine list when the figure rises above 20 per 100,000.
Airline Tui had earlier confirmed that a passenger who flew to Glasgow from the Greek island Z an te on 23 August had subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.
Scotland’ s chief medical officer Greg or Smith said: “There is a compelling pub - lic health risk around importation of the virus, especially given the number of imported cases linked to the Greek islands.”
Holidaymakers were meanwhile scrambling to return from Portugal amid growing speculation the UK government could reimpose quarantine measures for arrivals from the country.
Easy Jet had sold out all its flights from Faro, which serves the Algarve, to airports in Britain for today, tomorrow and Friday.
British Airways is selling seats on a flight from Faro to Heathrow on Thursday for £554, while the same journey can be made seven days later for just £139.