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Reuters
Portugal’s foreign minister said excluding his country from a list of countries for which quarantine will not apply to people returning to England is “absurd”.
Augusto Santos Silva told the BBC that not including Portugal was “foolish and unfair.”
The list of quarantine-exempt countries was released on Friday.
Boris Johnson said the 14-day quarantines would remain for countries where the virus was not under control.
Other countries excluded from the list, which will take effect on July 10, include the United States, China, the Maldives and Sweden.
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Santos Silva told BBC Radio 4’s PM program: “We are very disappointed with the decision of the British authorities. We believe that it makes no sense and is unfair.”
“It is quite absurd that the UK has seven times as many Covid-19 cases as Portugal, so we believe this is not the way allies and friends are treated.”
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa tweeted comparing the number of coronavirus cases in the UK with that of the Algarve, saying: “You can have a safe vacation in the Algarve.”
Labor Transport Minister Jim McMahon said people across the country were interested in quarantine measures being reduced, but said “this is a disaster.”
“First we had the quarantine that they took to implement, then they said they would make air bridges,” he said.
“We now see a plan to allow residents of 60 or more countries to enter England without any reciprocal agreement.”
Scotland and Wales have yet to decide whether to reduce travel restrictions and described the changes as “shady”.
Quarantine rules will also remain in force in Northern Ireland for visitors arriving from outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Some of those on the list include popular short-distance destinations such as Turkey and Cyprus, as well as long-distance locations that include Australia, Barbados, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Vietnam.
However, some countries will require visitors to isolate themselves upon arrival or prevent them from entering.
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A list of countries that will be exempt from Foreign Ministry advice against “anything but essential travel” as of Saturday has also been released.
The introduction of the quarantine on June 8 was met with criticism from the travel, tourism and hospitality industries, and the lowering of restrictions on arrivals in some countries was welcomed.
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