Boris Johnson has said signs of a second wave of coronavirus wave Europe meant it was his duty to impose quarantine rules on people arriving in the UK from Spain.
The decision has affected thousands of British holidaymakers, who will have to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to the UK, including those who visited the Canary and Balearic Islands where rates of the illness are low.
Johnson’s comments came after Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, described the decision as unfair and asked the UK to urgently review it, adding that 64.5% of the new cases in his country were in only two regions, Catalonia and Aragon.
But in an interview on Tuesday Johnson repeated his request for people arriving from Spain to self-isolate at short notice.
“What we have to do is take swift and decisive action where we think that the risks are starting to bubble up again,” Johnson told Sky News.
“Let’s be absolutely clear about what’s happening in Europe: amongst some of our European friends, I’m afraid you are starting to see in some places the signs of a second wave of the pandemic.”
He said it was up to individuals to decide whether they wanted to take the risk of foreign travel in the present circumstances.
Asked about reports that the 14-day quarantine period could be reduced to 10 days, he said: “We are always looking at ways in which we can mitigate the impact of the quarantine, try to help people, try to make sure that the science is working to help travellers and holidaymakers.
“At the moment you have got to stick with the guidance that we are giving, we have given the guidance now about Spain and about some other places around the world.
“I’m afraid if we do see signs of a second wave in other countries it is really our job, our duty, to act swiftly and decisively to stop ... travellers coming back from those places seeding the disease here in the UK.”
The Daily Telegraph suggested ministers were considering shortening the 14-day period to 10 days if people had a negative Covid-19 test.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, is reported to be behind the plan, which would involve people being tested eight days after arriving in the UK, with their results determining whether they can come out of self-isolation early. The idea is intended to stop people losing two full weeks at work, and in some cases missing out on pay.
In an interview with the Telecinco TV network on Monday night, the Spanish prime minister said: “We are talking with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider a measure that, in our opinion, is not well adjusted if we consider epidemiological criteria of Spain, particularly in some tourist destinations in our country.”
Sánchez also said British tourists would be safer in Spain than in some parts of the UK in terms of coronavirus prevalence.
On Tuesday morning the UK’s local government minister Simon Clark said the decision had been made because of a 75% increase in cases reported in Spain between the middle of last week and the end of last week.
Meanwhile, the government has added five more countries to the quarantine exemption list: Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Anyone who arrived in England from these countries before Tuesday would still need to self-isolate, the government said.
