UK Adds Four Destinations to Quarantine-Free List

Aruba, the Pacific Islands, Bhutan, Timor-Leste and Mongolia have all been added to the UK quarantine-free travel list. Guests arriving from the countries will no longer be expected to self-isolate for two weeks from Saturday. The Pacific Islands include Samoa, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.

Having reviewed the latest scientific evidence, the chief medical officer has also advised that the travel ban on Denmark introduced should be lifted.

The Covid-19 mink variant in Denmark is receding with the Danish health authorities now considering it most likely extinct. However, Denmark will not be added to the travel corridors list to further mitigate any potential risk to the UK and ensure that the UK public is protected.

Passengers arriving into the UK directly or indirectly from Denmark from 04:00 on Saturday will therefore need to self-isolate for 14 days, before then following domestic rules. At the same time, both Latvia and Estonia have been added to the quarantine list.

Data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England (PHE) has indicated a significant change in both the level and pace of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in both Baltic states, leading to ministers removing these from the current list of travel corridors.

There has been a consistent increase in Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of the population in Estonia over the past week, with a 25 per cent increase in total cases over this time period. In Latvia, new cases per week have increased by 16 per cent over the same time period.

At the same time, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to Estonia and Latvia, and to no longer advise against all but essential travel to Aruba and Bhutan.

These changes reflect the latest assessments by PHE of the risk to travellers in these destinations. The FCDO continues to advise against all but essential travel to Denmark, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.