From Today Arrivals in the UK from over 70 Countries No Longer Need to Quarantine – Including Spain!

Travellers arriving in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from many countries no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks.

The government has relaxed quarantine requirements for arrivals from 59 countries and 14 British overseas territories. Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the country will continue to quarantine passengers from countries with a higher prevalence of Covid-19 than its own. The UK and Spanish tourist industries have welcomed the move saying it will greatly benefit both countries. British expats in Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca can now at last visit family and friends in the UK without the worry of quarantine.

From Friday morning, people arriving from Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and 54 other countries will no longer have to spend 14 days in quarantine when they arrive in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. But people who arrived from those countries at an earlier point in the last two weeks will still be expected to complete their period of isolation.

Scotland, which from Friday has also made face coverings obligatory in shops, has however chosen a different list of exemptions featuring 57 countries and 14 UK overseas territories. It means people arriving in Scotland from places such as Spain and Serbia will still face quarantine rules.

Foreign Office advice against taking a cruise holiday still remains in place though, the ports of Malaga and Barcelona are ready and waiting for the return of the giant passenger vessels that used to frequent the coasts of Spain every year, bringing hundreds of thousands of tourists that would disembark and fuel the local economies. Royal Caribbean, MSC, P&O, and Carnival cruise liners to name a few are docked and sitting idle all over the world – the cruise industry has taken a battering just like the airline industry and many say cruising may never be the same again after the crisis.