Vatikans Blog: Portugal kept off corridor list as five new countries announced

Vatikans Blog: Portugal kept off corridor list as five new countries announced

Britain is to maintain its travel ban on Portugal, forcing UK holidaymakers to quarantine for 14 days on their return.\\r\\n\\r\\nGrant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, announced on Friday that the Government has rejected Portugal’s bid to be added to a “safe” list of 74 countries and territories exempt from UK quarantine.\\r\\n\\r\\nSpain remains on the list despite, like Portugal, having faced a surge in Covid-19 outbreaks that have forced regional authorities to reintroduce local restrictions.

As of July 28, five new countries will be added to the list. They are Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The announcement is likely to provoke anger in Portugal which each year welcomes two million Britons to the Algarve, accounting for a fifth of its tourist income.

In an article for The Daily Telegraph after the original travel ban decision, the Portuguese ambassador accused Britain of causing “immense” and potentially “lasting” damage to his country and claimed its decision was based on unclear science.