UK travel restrictions: Are Greece or Portugal on
the quarantine list?

People entering England from seven Greek islands will have to self-isolate for 14 days
from 04:00 BST on Wednesday. It marks the introduction of ''regional travel corridors'' -
where different quarantine rules may apply to the mainland and islands of the same
country, if their coronavirus rates are very different.

It comes after the UK nations were split over their travel quarantine policies, with
Wales and Scotland imposing restrictions on Greece and Portugal last week.
So, where can you go on holiday now without quarantining?

Which countries are now on the quarantine list?

People entering the UK from most countries have to quarantine.
Restrictions have recently been reapplied to several countries, or areas, which were
previously exempt:

• 9 September - Greek islands Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini
  and Zakynthos (Zante) (travellers to England and Northern Ireland)
• 5 September - Portugal and French Polynesia (travellers to Scotland)
• 4 September - Portugal, Gibraltar, French Polynesia and six Greek islands
  (travellers to Wales)
• 3 September - Greece (travellers to Scotland)
• 2 September -Zakynthos (travellers to Wales)
• 29 August - Czech Republic, Jamaica, Switzerland
• 22 August - Croatia, Austria, Trinidad and Tobago (plus Switzerland, for travellers
  to Scotland)
• 15 August - France, Netherlands, Malta, Monaco, Turks & Caicos, Aruba
• 8 August - Belgium, Andorra, Bahamas
• 31 July - Luxembourg
• 27 July - Spain
  
  

How is the quarantine list decided?
The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) - set up by the government to monitor
coronavirus - works with the chief medical officers of each UK nation and
advises on where should be on the list.
The decision is usually made when 20 or more people out of every 100,000
in a country, or island, are infected over seven days, but other factors are
also considered. These include:

• the estimated proportion of the population that is currently infectious
• trends in the number of cases and deaths
• information on a country's testing capacity
• how much the virus has spread, including clusters of cases and the level
  of transmission in the community
  
  

Why is England introducing regional travel corridors?

The government can take a targeted approach to setting quarantine rules now
that other countries can share robust data on their coronavirus rates, Transport
Minister Grant Shapps says.


Distinctions will only be made between islands and the mainland, as it is too
difficult to distinguish between inland regions, and people could travel too easily
between them.


To this effect, seven Greek islands where coronavirus rates pose ''a significant
risk to UK public health'' will go on England's quarantine list from the early
hours of 9 September. But travellers entering from the rest of Greece will not
face restrictions.

Further details are available here. : joker