Covid-19: UK quarantines travellers from Spain in sudden blow to Europe’s tourism revival

Cases of coronavirus have been on the rise again in recent weeks in Spain, prompting concern in several European countries.

Britain’s government is set to announce all travellers from Spain arriving after midnight (2300 GMT) on Saturday will need to spend two weeks in quarantine in case they are infected with coronavirus, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

“Second wave of Covid-19 there has prompted decision to kick Spain off the safe country list,” the newspaper’s political editor, Tim Shipman, said on Twitter.

Britain’s health ministry had no immediate comment on the report.

If true, the reported announcement would deal a heavy blow to Spain, which is trying to recoup its tourism season after the sector took a battering from coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions earlier in the year.

There was no immediate comment from Spanish government officials.

Cases of coronavirus have been on the rise again in recent weeks in Spain, prompting concern in several European countries.

Spain had been on a list of countries that the British government had said were safe for travellers to visit - meaning tourists returning home would not have to go into quarantine.

The Catalonia region reported 1,493 new coronavirus cases and three deaths on Saturday. The regional government has urged residents of Barcelona to stay at home, and ordered all discos to shut from Saturday for the next 15 days.

The safe country list referred to by Shipman is a list of countries that the UK government has said are safe for travellers to visit - meaning people do not have to go into quarantine on return home.

Such quarantines are likely to put people off taking a holiday in “non-safe” countries.

The rules apply to travellers arriving in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own quarantine rules.

Britons make a big contribution to Spain’s tourism sector. The British move will affect not just Spain’s tourism sector but airlines and travel companies struggling to get back to business.

Last year 83.7 million tourists travelled to Spain, of which 18.08 million were British, making them the largest group by nationality, according to Spanish National Statistics Office.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter