Portugal to quarantine unvaccinated British tourists for 14 days

Passengers arriving in Portugal from Britain must quarantine for 14 days from Monday if they are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the Portuguese government said in a statement late on Sunday.

The new rule, which will remain in place until at least July 11, comes amid a surge in cases in Portugal, where the number of daily new COVID-19 infections is back to February levels, when the country of just over 10 million was still under a strict lockdown.

Daily positive cases have also been rising in Britain for a month.

Britons arriving in Portugal by air, land or sea must show proof they are fully vaccinated or self isolate for 14 days at “home or at a place indicated by health authorities,” the government said in a statement.

Britain, one Portugal’s biggest sources of foreign tourists, removed the southern European destination from its quarantine-free travel list earlier this month. Germany declared Portugal to be a “virus-variant zone” last week, a measure that will trigger severe restrictions on travel to and from the country.

Portugal, which faced its worst battle against the coronavirus earlier this year, is on Britain’s amber list, meaning holidaymakers must self-isolate for 10 days when they return home and take expensive COVID-19 tests.

Portuguese health authorities have blamed the more contagious Delta variant, first identified in India but rapidly spreading in Britain too, for the recent rise in infections. Over 70% of COVID-19 cases in the Lisbon area are from the Delta variant.

Meanwhile Spain will demand a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination from British tourists who want to enter Mallorca, Ibiza and other Balearic Islands, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.

“What we are going to do is apply to British tourists who go to the Balearic Islands the same requirements we make of other European citizens,” Sanchez told Cadena SER radio.

“They will need a full dose of vaccine or a negative PCR,” he added, referring to a type of test for the coronavirus.

The new rules will come into force within 72 hours, Sanchez said, without specifying a day.

The move was needed because of a worrying rise in infections in the United Kingdom, TVE quoted him as saying.

Spain had previously decided to lift the requirement for Britons to present a negative PCR test from May 20.

Authorities in Mallorca, a popular holiday destination for Spaniards and foreigners alike, are investigating a coronavirus outbreak involving more than 600 students.