Portugal removed and Austria, Croatia and Trinidad & Tobago added to UK quarantine list

The Government announced this afternoon that anyone returning to the UK from Austria, Croatia and Trinidad & Tobago will need to quarantine for 14 days.

The Scottish Parliament has also chosen to add Switzerland to its list.  This restriction does not apply elsewhere in the UK.

The quarantine requirement will kick in from 4am on Saturday morning.   As I wrote last week, it would arguably have been more sensible to impose quarantine from 4am on Sunday morning, allowing those whose holidays end on Saturday to return on their scheduled flights, trains and ferries.

The good news is that Portugal will be removed from the quarantine list at the same time.  If your holiday in Croatia is now no longer possible, you have a new alternative.  It isn’t clear why it isn’t safe to return from Portugal today or tomorrow but will be safe at 4am on Saturday.

The following countries had already been added to the quarantine list over the previous two weeks:

• Andorra
• The Bahamas
• Belgium
• Luxembourg
• France
• The Netherlands
• Monaco
• Malta
• Turks and Caicos
• Aruba

It is likely that these countries will also be added to the Foreign Office ‘do not travel’ list (click here), which is usually the trigger for being to abandon your holiday plans and make a successful travel insurance claim.

The official ‘travel corridor’ list – which is shrinking by the week – is on this page of the Government website.