When is the next quarantine update? Countries at risk of leaving the travel corridor list in today’s review

Rishi Sunak may have stolen the limelight this week with his announcement about new measures to help businesses under tier two lockdown restrictions, but the Government is still making announcements on countries that UK citizens can safely go on holiday to without having to quarantine for 14 days when they return.

The air bridge list is being regularly amended, with decisions being made on a number of factors, including infection rates, deaths and risk levels.

Ahead of the next announcement from the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, we take a look at which countries could be added to the quarantine list sooner rather than later.

Which countries are at risk?

Cyprus, Germany and Sweden are most at risk of being placed on the quarantine list this week.

The threshold for countries to be removed from the exemption list has been 20 people out of every 100,000 being infected with Covid-19, in a country or on an island, over seven days. Other factors taken into account include a nation’s testing capacity, the number of deaths recorded from Covid-19 and how the virus has transmitted.

According to figures released by the PC Agency travel consultancy and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, cases in Cyprus have shot up, and now stand at 90.4 in 100,000 over seven days. Cases in Sweden continue to remain high with a rate of 55.4, while Germany’s infection rate has shot up to 55.6.

However, all of these countries remained above the levels previously deemed to be quarantine-worthy last week, so simply analysing the latest Covid-19 infection rate data is becoming a less accurate way of determining which destinations are likely to be removed, and which are to stay – or indeed, whether the Government will continue with the same air bridge system at all as we edge away from summer and into a winter of further national restrictions and local lockdowns.

When is the next announcement?

Mr Shapps usually posts an announcement at around 5pm on Thursdays, so it is likely the next announcement will come on Thursday 22 October.

On 15 October, he posted on Twitter: “We are removing Italy, Vatican City state & San Marino from the travel corridor list. However, note that the implementation date is moved to 4am on Sunday 18 October and applies UK wide, if you arrive from these destinations you will need to self-isolate.

“We are adding Crete to the travel corridor list this week. From 4am Sunday 18 Oct, if you arrive from Crete, you will no longer need to self-isolate. Also this week, the whole of the UK is now aligned with our advice around all of the Greek islands.”

What happens if a country is added to the quarantine list?

Those returning to the UK after visiting or transiting through a country not on the air bridge list, will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Travellers who do not quarantine themselves after visiting a country that has been removed from the safe list could face a penalty of up to £10,000 in England.

People will also need to fill in a Government form before travelling to any country, including those not on the quarantine list. They will have to provide their personal and travel details, which the Government can later use to check that people are self-isolating.

Failure to fill in the form can result in a fine of £100 – or more for repeat offences.

Which countries remain on the air bridge list?

The Government’s list of travel corridors for people returning to England currently includes the following, but the list is being constantly updated so please check the Government’s website for the latest travel information.

At the time of writing, the following countries remain in the air bridge:

• Akrotiri and Dhekelia
• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• the Azores
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Brunei
• Cayman Islands
• the Channel Islands
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Dominica
• Estonia
• Falkland Islands
• Faroe Islands
• Fiji
• Finland
• Gibraltar
• Germany
• Greece (except the island of Mykonos – if you arrive in England from any of these islands you will need to self-isolate)
• Greenland
• Grenada
• Hong Kong
• Ireland
• the Isle of Man
• Japan
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Macao (Macau)
• Madeira
• Malaysia
• Mauritius
• Montserrat
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
• Seychelles
• Singapore (if you arrived in England from Singapore before 4am 19 September 2020 you will need to self-isolate)
• South Korea
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• St Barthélemy
• St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Pierre and Miquelon
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sweden
• Taiwan
• Thailand (if you arrived in England from Thailand before 4am 19 September 2020 you will need to self-isolate)
• Vietnam

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