Britain could lift quarantine measures on Balearic and Canary Islands

3 August 2020, 14:19

Britain could lift quarantine measures on travellers returning from the Balearic and Canary Islands as soon as today, a Spanish minister has said.

Spain's tourism minister Reyes Maroto said the measures could be lifted later this afternoon after the Spanish government sent new data to London which she “hoped would prompt the British government to revise its quarantine measures.”

President of the Canaries, Ángel Víctor Torres, also said the country was “confident” that the two-week quarantine would be removed.

He said: “The government of the Canaries is confident that the negotiations with the United Kingdom will bear fruit and that this week the quarantine for travellers returning from the Islands can be lifted.”

The Government was criticised for including the two archipelagoes in the measures imposed on mainland Spain, where the air bridge was removed on July 25.

A two-week quarantine was imposed on tourists returning to the UK after a spike in cases, particularly in the north east of the country.

Spanish PM: UK quarantine rule disproportionate

Last week it was reported the quarantine period could be reduced to ten days after thousands of Brits' holidays were thrown into chaos.

Under the reported plans returned travellers would need to quarantine for eight days before being tested, and then only remain in quarantine for another two days should they test negative, according to the newspaper.

It was also reported Government is also considering instructing everyone who has returned from Spain since July 23 to get tested.

The decision to impose a two-week quarantine on everyone arriving from Spain is "unjust", the country's prime minister has said.

Pedro Sanchez said tourists in most Spanish regions would be safer from coronavirus than in the UK, and he was hoping Britain would rethink its move.