In a swift overturn, British tourists who travel to Spain will now have to quarantine for two weeks on their return to the UK.
The decision was made after Spain saw a dangerous spike in COVID-19 cases – with 900 new cases reported on Friday as the country appears to enter its second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, the Department of Transport said, “Protecting public health is our absolute priority and we have taken this decision to limit any potential spread to the UK. We’ve always been clear that we would act immediately to remove a country from quarantine exemptions list where necessary.”
The advice from the Foreign Office tells Brits to avoid all non-essential travel to mainland Spain which renders certain travel insurance policies invalid if individuals go against the advice and travel anyway for tourism purposes.
This quarantine rules still apply however to the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands which includes Palma and Ibiza.
Anyone already in Spain and planning to return to the UK will have to adhere to the quarantine rules on their return.
For more travel news, take in the new laws in Mallorca and Ibiza which aim to eradicate “drunken tourism”.