Travellers entering the UK from Luxembourg must quarantine for 14 days, the Government has announced.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office now advises against “all but essential travel to Luxembourg”.
The travel advice was updated for the whole of the UK on Thursday evening, following an earlier decision by the Scottish Government, and came into effect at midnight.
A rise in Covid-19 cases means Luxembourg has been taken off the list of countries exempt from quarantine measures, the UK Government said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a tweet: “Unfortunately the latest Luxembourg data shows an increase in #COVID19 cases meaning the country will be removed from the travel exemptions list.
“Anyone arriving to any part of the UK from midnight tonight will therefore need to quarantine.”
The Government said data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England indicates a “significant change in both the level and pace of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Luxembourg”.
The small landlocked European country has seen a “consistent increase in Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of the population since the end of June, with over a tenfold increase in total cases over this time period”.
The imposition of quarantine measures follows a similar decision to remove the so-called “air bridge” travel corridor with Spain on Saturday night.
The Scottish Government’s Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This decision is based on the latest available data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and it gives another clear indication that the virus is active and still spreading.
“We have always maintained that we are closely monitoring the pandemic situation in all countries and we will impose quarantine requirements as necessary in a bid to protect the public.
“This virus is showing a resurgence in areas and it should not be forgotten how deadly it remains.
“Our priority to is suppress the virus, prevent it from being transmitted and protecting public health.”
