Germany and France could be next on UK quarantine list
France and Germany could be put on the UK’s travel quarantine list alongside Spain, after seeing increases in coronavirus cases.
Analysis by The Telegraph shows that rates of Covid-19 infection are rising across Europe, and that ministers in France and Germany have warned that new lockdowns could be implemented.
Dominic Raab said yesterday that the government was prepared to act fast to implement travel restrictions on countries with increasing cases, after a 14-day quarantine was imposed on travellers coming from Spain.
The quarantine was criticised by some for giving people only hours to adjust to the new rules as it was announced on Saturday afternoon and to be implemented the next day.
A senior government source told the Telegraph that this could also happen to other countries if data shows spikes in those areas.
“It’s a fast-moving situation and what has happened with Spain has shown that wherever there are data changes we will act quickly and change the travel advice immediately,” they said.
“So it’s fair to say other countries could go back on the quarantine list. You can see the evidence of where spikes are happening and that does tend to be reflected in the travel advice.”
Stocks in airline companies fell after the new quarantine measures were implemented, with some airlines already cancelling flights from UK to Spain.
Airlines blasted the government’s decision, which means travellers to the UK from Spain must now self-isolate for two weeks.
And their share prices sank today, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) suffering an 8.6 per cent drop.
IAG is reportedly trying to raise €2.75bn by the end of summer after announcing 12,000 job cuts as a result of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Easyjet plunged 10.8 per cent to 524.8p – just a third of its value before coronavirus led to travel bans around the world.