Corona: – Creates «coronakaos» in Portugal

Three weeks ago, happy British tourists told BBC that it felt “unreal” to land in Portugal, after the travel restrictions were eased.

They could travel to Portugal, without being quarantined when they returned home.

But the joy would be short-lived. Last Thursday, it was announced that Portugal would be downgraded from Britain’s “green list”.

Going home

Tomorrow, Tuesday, a requirement for a ten-day quarantine on the way home will be reintroduced.

This ensures that many Britons this weekend have thrown themselves around to get home, in addition to getting tested before leaving, hoping to escape quarantine.

The Telegraph reports “coronakaos” at airports in Portugal.

On Saturday, around 10,000 Britons left Faro Airport. At the same time, 2,500 arrived, said João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourist Association, to the news agency Portuguese.

He acknowledged that there were “some specific restrictions” at Faro airport due to increased traffic to the UK. This has caused a large number of people in the check-in area, but Fernandes noted that it was calmer Sunday.

The rush to get home has also increased ticket prices. The day after the change in travel restrictions became known, the three-hour flight was around 1000 dollars, ie over 8000 Norwegian kroner, wrote Bloomberg.

– Extremely tense

Everyone who flies home must have proof of a negative coronate test, which must not be older than three days before departure. Otherwise there will be a fine of 500 pounds, ie 5800 kroner.

The sudden demand for tests is said to have overwhelmed test centers in Portugal. On June 4, Portugal News reported long test queues at Faro Airport.

A Briton tells The Telegraph that Faro airport struggled to cope with the extra flights and test requirements.

– It was extremely tense. There was no way to keep distance, he said.

Passengers were warned about waiting times of up to four hours at the test center at the airport, while other test sites in the Algarve were closed on Sunday or struggling with delays after a public holiday on Thursday, the newspaper writes.

The authorities have now increased the capacity for corona testing at the airport.

Red, orange and green

British authorities use the lists red, orange and green to distinguish which rules apply upon entry. Britons who have visited countries on the red list must take a corona test before entry, book quarantine hotels and two corona tests.

Entry from land on the orange list requires a coronate test in advance, in addition to two tests after arrival. The quarantine can be taken at home or at another place of residence.

Then there is the green list, where Portugal is listed until 04 o’clock Tuesday local time. Here you have to go through a test before and a test after entry, but you do not have to quarantine.

Father died: Must be in quarantine hotel

It has provoked reactions both among British tourists and in the aviation industry when Portugal was abruptly relocated, just a few weeks after the authorities opened for quarantine-free travel to the holiday favorite.

“The authorities have torn apart their own rulebook and ignored the research, throwing people’s plans into chaos,” EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told Bloomberg.

– We have a “sort of” traffic light system, says Tim Alderslade at UK Airlines.

He believes the authorities have ignored their own recommendations.

– It is clear that many in the government do not want international travel this summer. They should have the decency to tell us so we and our passengers can plan better.

– Can you spit in my Red Bull?

Concerned about the Delta variant

Neither Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is happy. In another statement Portugal News he says Boris Johnson’s approach is “inexplicable and unjustified when 75 per cent of the British population have received a covid vaccine.”

“There is no reason, either medically or in terms of public health, to move Portugal from the green to the orange list, when its corona cases are as low as the UK, at 50 per 100,000,” he said, adding that the country’s vaccine program worked. up against UK levels.

“Britons who have already booked a trip to Portugal deserve an explanation as to why vaccinated British citizens must be quarantined after returning from a country that has had the same infection pressure as the United Kingdom,” he says.

In a statement On Thursday last week, the British government wrote that Portugal is being moved from the green list to ensure public health against worrying variants of the virus.

The reopening plan is threatened

– The decision comes after concerns about the spread of variants of the coronavirus, including a mutation of the Delta variant, and the risk of bringing these back to the UK if one does not have to be quarantined. The situation in Portugal has called for swift action to protect the progress of the vaccine program. There has been almost a doubling of the proportion of positive tests in Portugal since the first review of traffic light distribution, which exceeds the estimated national rate in the UK.

It is also reported that 68 cases of the Delta variant have been identified in Portugal, including cases with the additional, potentially harmful, mutation.

– The government’s priority is to protect public health, and has therefore decided to act quickly to make this change.

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