MP warns more countries could be added to quarantine list

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has warned that more countries could be added to the quarantine list “straight away,” which happened over the weekend with Spain.

Dowden told Sky News should coronavirus “run out of control” in other countries then they will be added to the governments list immediately.

He said, “It would be foolhardy of the government not to those impose restrictions if we think there is a risk and we will impose those restrictions as soon as we think the risk has materialised.

“We cannot risk importing it again from other countries where incidences are rising.”

He said that decisions to announce new restrictions are undertaken by the Biosecurity Centre and England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.

Dowden added, “We are at a very risky moment with this pandemic.

“It’s rising around the world and it may be the case we have to impose quarantine measures to stop the virus spreading.

“So long as you’re aware of that risk and comfortable with that risk, go ahead and take your break.

“If we know that risk is there, we will impose those restrictions straight away.”

On Tuesday the British government added five more countries to the 14-mandatory quarantine list. These being, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Estonia, Lativia, Slovenia and Slovakia, and the quarantine list “remains under constant review.”

A government spokesperson said, “Protecting public health is our absolute priority and we have taken this decision to limit any potential spread to the UK.

“We’ve always been clear that we would act immediately to remove a country where necessary.”