The United Arab Emirates has been added to the UK’s travel quarantine list.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that anyone who arrives in England from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after 4am on Tuesday will need to self-isolate.
Travellers who are heading to England, Northern Ireland, and Wales from the UAE on or after 4am on January 12 will have to self-isolate on their return, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website states.
Scotland has already announced that similar measures will be imposed for anyone arriving from the UAE on or after 4am on January 12.
It had already confirmed that anyone returning to Scotland from Dubai on or after 4am on January 11 would have to self-isolate.
Scotland Transport Secretary Michael Matheson described imposing quarantine on those arriving in the UK as “our first defence in managing the risk of imported cases from communities with high risks of transmission”.
Dubai has recently come under the spotlight after a number of UK-based athletes tested positive for the virus following trips there.
Celtic’s decision to fly to Dubai for a training camp is set to come under further scrutiny after an unnamed player tested positive for coronavirus.
The squad and staff were tested on arrival back in Scotland on Friday.
Foreign training camps are within the rules for professional sports, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week questioned whether Celtic had been adhering to social-distancing guidelines after seeing photos from their hotel.
Earlier this month, Formula One McLaren driver Lando Norris tested positive for coronavirus while on holiday in Dubai.
Manchester United boss Casey Stoney told BBC News she is “sincerely sorry” for giving her players permission to travel to Dubai over the festive period.
Her side’s Women’s Super League (WSL) game at Everton on Sunday was postponed because of Covid-19 cases and injuries in the hosts’ camp.
Stoney, whose side were covered by Tier 3 rules at the time, said the trip was within Government guidelines and at least one of her players had been to Dubai.
Players from other WSL teams who had also visited Dubai, including from Manchester City and Arsenal, had matches called off after positive coronavirus tests.
Reality show stars who have uploaded photos which appear to show them in the city in recent weeks include Geordie Shore’s Chloe Ferry and The Only Way Is Essex’s James Lock.
Love Island stars Georgia Steel, Laura Anderson and Jess Gale also appear to have recently been in Dubai.
Last month Lock said in an Instagram post he was heading to the city because “some amazing opportunities have come up”.
