Turkey and Poland are being removed from the UK’s travel corridor list, as people arriving from abroad who breach Covid-19 quarantine restrictions in England face tougher fines of up to £10,000.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said on Thursday that those arriving in England from the two countries – as well as the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba – after 4am on Saturday would have to isolate.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have devolved powers over quarantine restrictions, will remove the locations from their travel corridors at the same time.
Travellers arriving in England from countries subject to two-week quarantine restrictions can already be fined £1,000 for breaking isolation rules, but under measures that come into force on Friday, those who repeatedly breach quarantine restrictions after international travel could be fined up to £10,000.
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
(@grantshapps)
TRAVEL CORRIDOR UPDATE: The latest data indicates we need to remove Turkey, Poland, and Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba from the #TravelCorridor list this week.
This means if you arrive from these destinations from 4am Saturday 3 October, you will need to self-isolate.
October 1, 2020
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
(@grantshapps)
REMINDER: If you do travel, you must complete a Passenger Locator Form before returning to the UK. Do your bit to help keep everyone safe.
October 1, 2020
The new higher penalty for those who breach quarantine restrictions after travelling abroad mirrors more robust regulations which came into force on Monday for others who flout isolation rules after being contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
Turkey’s removal is another blow for holidaymakers. It was one of the few popular holiday destinations remaining on a dwindling list of locations from which people can arrive in England without having to quarantine. Spain and France are among countries that have already been removed from England’s travel corridor list.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said on Thursday that data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) and Public Health England indicated a shift in the “level and pace” of confirmed Covid cases in Poland and the three Caribbean islands which prompted ministers to act. Data indicated a 66% increase in weekly Covid cases per 100,000 people in Poland, rising from 14.7 on 23 September to 24.4 on September 30, the DfT said.
The government said Turkey’s health ministry had changed the way it had been defining the number of new Covid cases, noting it was different from both the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The DfT said “the JBC’s risk assessment for Turkey has been updated to reflect the likely impact of this on the data for incidence and test positivity rates”.
Turkey’s government has been accused of hiding the true scale of Covid-19 cases in the country after a minister admitted that daily published case figures only reflect patients with symptoms and not asymptomatic positive cases. The Turkish Medical Association, which has for months said the government has been underreporting cases, called for transparency.
The Scottish government also announced that arrivals from the Portuguese islands of the Azores and Madeira.
The country’s justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, said: “Although we are lifting quarantine restrictions on those travelling from the Azores or Madeira, in line with the public health data we have received, people should think long and hard before choosing to travel abroad, particularly during the forthcoming October break.
“At present all foreign travel carries a risk. Quarantine requirements could be imposed on those arriving on holiday abroad, just as we may make the decision to impose the same in Scotland.”
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