Travelers arriving from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Jamaica will have to quarantine from 4 am on Saturday, the UK government has announced.
The new restrictions are coming into force in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, confirmed the move in a series of tweets on Thursday, warning that quarantining on arrival from countries not on the corridor list is a legal requirement and that rule-breakers risk being fined and receiving a criminal record.
Data shows we need to remove the Czech Republic, Jamaica and Switzerland from our list of #Coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN. If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 27, 2020
The UK travel corridor list is updated using data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre, an organization set up by the government to help make policy decisions in the fight against coronavirus.
The Czech Republic has seen a 25% increase in cases in the last week and Jamaica’s infections have shot up from 4.3 per 100,000 people to 20.8 in the past seven days, according to data cited by the Department for Transport.
The UK government says countries which see infections rise above 20 per 100,000 people in a week are of particular concern.
