UK Writes Italy Off the List of Quarantine-Free Nations

Caribbean News…
18 October 2020 7:04am
Italian town by the sea

People arriving in England from Italy, San Marino and Vatican City State will be expected to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning this week, as those nations have been removed from the UK quarantine safe list.

Data has indicated the weekly cases and test positivity are increasing in Italy and so ministers have taken the decision to remove the destinations. However, the Greek island of Crete has been added to the travel corridor list following a decrease in confirmed cases of coronavirus.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to Italy and San Marino. The island of Crete is now exempt from the global advisory against non-essential travel.

Penalties for those breaching the self-isolation rules when returning from non-exempt countries have increased from £1,000 for first offence up to £10,000 for subsequent offences.

The decision to remove Italy, in particular, from the safe list has been greeted with dismay in the travel sector as it was one of the free remaining major tourism destinations on offer to British travellers. Authorities in Italy also raised concerns about what the decision might mean for the local tourism sector.

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