Government issues statement over fears Croatia and Greece could join UK quarantine list

The news comes after it was announced travellers arriving from France after 4am on Saturday will be required to quarantine for 14 days due to fears over rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the country.

The move came after Boris Johnson said ministers would be “absolutely ruthless” in deciding on whether to impose the self-isolation requirement.

The Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos and Aruba have also been added to the quarantine list from 4am on Saturday.

The decision to add France will cause dismay for thousands of British holidaymakers currently in the country.

It was made in response to the spread of the virus, with the latest 14-day cumulative figures showing 32.1 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in France, compared with 18.5 in the UK.

A No 10 spokesman said: “We continue to keep these rules under constant review and we publish a list of the countries and territories that we are concerned about. You’ll have seen the last update as of last week.”

Asked whether Greece and its islands would count as one country for quarantine rule purposes, he added: “As I say, we will continue to keep data for all countries and territories under constant review. We update the list on a weekly basis.”

Pushed on the limited time between new quarantine measures being announced and their implementation, the No 10 spokesman said: “We’ve always said that protecting public health remains our top priority, which is why it is important that when we make changes to the exemptions list we do so in a swift way.

Returning travellers who must quarantine for 14 days should not do a supermarket shop on their way home, the Government has said.

Asked whether travellers returning from countries which are not exempt from the 14-day quarantine are able to do a big supermarket shop on their way home before isolating, a No 10 spokesman said: “The guidance is published and clearly sets out what you can and can’t do when you are quarantining.

“It specifically says you should not go shopping. If you require help to buy groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, you should ask friends or relatives or a delivery.”

“While these changes we understand can be disruptive, it is right that we take quick action to prevent cases being important into the UK.”