Dubai goes on the quarantine list: Tourists returning from the United Arab Emirates will have to quarantine from 4am tomorrow
- Travellers returning to the UK from the UAE will have to self-isolate for 10 days
- Countries have been removed from Travel Corridors List following rise in cases
- Passengers will be required to present negative Covid-19 test before arrival
Travellers returning to the UK from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will have to quarantine from 4am tomorrow following a 52 per cent surge in the number of coronavirus cases, Grant Shapps today announced.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al-Quwain, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah have been removed from the UK’s list of Travel Corridors.
People coming to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from the UAE are now required to self-isolate for 10 days following a significant increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past week, the Transport Secretary said.
Passengers arriving from all international destinations, including the UAE, will be required to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken up to three days before departing for England or Scotland to help protect against new strains of coronavirus.
They will also need to present this proof to carriers, along with their passenger locator form. The UK Border Force will conduct spot checks on arrival into England to ensure that passengers are fully compliant.
At the same time, the Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to UAE.
Mr Shapps tweeted: ‘The LATEST data indicates we need to immediately remove the #UAE from the #TRAVELCORRIDOR list.
‘From 0400 Tuesday 12 Jan anyone arriving from the UAE will need to SELF-ISOLATE.’
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it will ‘take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus, including if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country without self-isolating becomes too high’.
Lockdown measures remain in place, meaning everyone must stay at home unless travelling for a very limited set of reasons, including for work.
This means people can no longer travel to take holidays or travel internationally unless for work or other legally permitted reasons. Those in breach of the rules face penalties starting at £200, rising to a maximum of £6,400.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.