(TAN): Travellers returning to the UK from Italy, Vatican City and San Marino will have to self isolate for 14 days, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced. The new arrangement will come into effect from October 18, reports said.
The announcement came after Italy reported its highest single-day rise in Covid-19 infections since the start of the outbreak. The addition of Italy to the quarantine list is seen as a blow to the UK travel industry, as Italy was one of the last major markets without a quarantine requirement for returning holidaymakers.
Shapps also added that travellers returning from the Greek island of Crete will now not need to self-isolate, said media reports, adding that Crete has been added to the travel corridor list following a decrease in confirmed cases of coronavirus.
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The Joint Biosecurity Centre’s latest risk assessment for Crete indicates that the risks to UK public health from travellers returning from there has decreased to an acceptable level.
The World Health Organisation said that a positive rate of less than 5%, at least for the last two weeks, is an indicator that the epidemic is under control.
