Holidaymakers heading to Portugal warned ‘things can change quickly’

The government have warned holidaymakers heading to Portugal that “you take a risk” at the moment when travelling as “things can change quickly.”

All travellers are being told to check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) for travel advice as quarantine measures can be put in place whilst people are overseas.

Speaking to Sky News, the government Minister Nick Gibb warned all travellers, “You take a risk at the moment travelling.

“We are in the middle of a global pandemic and if people do go abroad on holiday, they do need to look at the advice before they go.

“But also bear in mind that things can change and we do monitor very closely the infection rates in other countries and those countries that are in the corridors that we allow people to go to and return without quarantine and these matters will change if infection rates rise.

“We cannot undo all the great work that we have done as a nation to reduce the infection rate in this country simply to see it rise because of importing it from other countries.”

Searches for flights to Portugal have soared since the country was removed from the list just under two-weeks ago.

In the seven days to 30 August Portugal had 21.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 population, which is up from 19.4 in the seven-days to 29 August.

The British government place countries into the UK’s mandatory two-week quarantine period as soon as the numbers rise above 20 cases per 100,000 population.