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From 4:00 am on SaturdayMainland Portugal will once again be among the countries considered unsafe in the context of a pandemic for England, announced British Transport Minister Grant Shapps. Thus, Anyone traveling to England from Portugal after that time will have to isolate themselves.
The measure was announced by Grant Shapps this Thursday on Twitter, where he made it clear that both the Azores and Madeira are still considered safe by England and, as such, are not included in the quarantine order for whoever arrives. England of those archipelagos.
The data shows we need to remove PORTUGAL (minus AZORES and MADEIRA), HUNGARY, FRENCH POLYNESIA and REUNION from the Travel Corridor list to keep everyone safe. If you arrive in England from these destinations after 4am on Saturday, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
– Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) September 10, 2020
“The data show that we have to get Portugal out (except Azores and Madeira), Hungary, French Polynesia and Reunion off the airway roster to keep everyone safe. Anyone arriving in England from these destinations after 4:00 am on Saturday will have to go into self-isolation for 14 days, “wrote Grant Shapps on Twitter.
On the exclusion of the Azores and Madeira in the measure announced this Thursday, which had not been the exception when the entire Portuguese territory was placed at the beginning of July, the British ruler allows the existence of better data to allow this distinction.
“Through improved data, it is now possible for us to assess islands separately from the mainland of their countries,” he said, to reinforce: “If you come to England from the Azores or Madeira, you will not have to isolate yourself for 14 days.”
Grant Shapps added that Sweden was removed from England’s “blacklist” and thus became a country considered safe in the context of a pandemic.
Despite being a minister to the whole of the UK, Grant Shapps’ announced decision only has effect in England. The remaining nations of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) have the power to make similar decisions on their part. Otherwise, on 3 September Scotland and Wales had already returned to Portugal (including islands in the case of the first; excluding islands in the case of the second) on the list countries from which all passengers arriving from there would have to be quarantined for 14 days.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, reacted to the news from London saying that there is a “A feeling of injustice” on Portugal’s return to the UK “black list” for travel in a pandemic context.
“We always see a certain sense of injustice, since we do not close the entrance to countries that have much more difficult and complicated situations than ours. And also a feeling of injustice because it cannot be said that the entire continental territory is in the same situation, ”he said. “It is compensated when we see the joy of seeing that the Azores and the Madeiras are not affected, but there really is not an equal situation in terms of numbers between the large metropolitan areas and the rest of the territory.”
Marecelo Rebelo de Sousa also said that “The Algarve is very punished for this decision”, adding that it is “unfairly”.
“Now we hope that with time it will be possible, as soon as possible, even in view of the measures announced by the Government, and their application and understanding by the Portuguese, that this situation can be overcome,” he added.
On the part of the Portuguese Government, the first reaction came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE). On its official Twitter account, the MNE published a note in which it regrets the announced measure – but, in line with what was said shortly after by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, it highlighted the fact that the islands are not included in this exclusion.
“We regret the British decision to exclude mainland Portugal from the list of countries exempt from quarantine, but we value the maintenance of the Azores and Madeira”It reads in that note, where the MNE also states that the “health standards” and the “effectiveness” of the NHS “have undoubtedly made it possible to control the effects of the pandemic.”
We regret the British decision to exclude mainland Portugal from the list of countries exempt from quarantine, but we value the maintenance of the Azores and Madeira. It is true that our health rules and the effectiveness of our SNS have allowed us to control the effects of the pandemic.
– N Foreigners PT (@nestrangeiro_pt) September 10, 2020
In a second cheep, the MNE guaranteed that “Portugal will continue to send all the information on the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the spirit of total transparency that characterizes our dialogue with the United Kingdom.” In addition, he left a note in which he says that countries must keep the fight against Covid-19 “united, firmly, balanced and predictable.”
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