The President of the Republic regretted this Thursday the exclusion of mainland Portugal from the air corridor of the United Kingdom, despite the fact that Madeira and the Azores were kept between the territories considered safe by the British Government. Measure goes into effect at four in the morning this Saturday
Mainland Portugal was placed on the list of unsafe countries by the United Kingdom, with Madeira and Azores remaining on the list of destinations whose return will not require a quarantine period, according to a government announcement led by Boris Johnson .
“I hope that this situation can be overcome, we have a feeling of injustice in relation to some areas of the continental territory. it takes resilience and resistance ”, stressed Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in statements to the media.
The head of state also left a few words about the measures that will be included in the State of Contingency and that will enter into force on September 15. “Portuguese people must realize that with a little help they can make their own lives easier, if there is such an effort, an evolution is easier. The solution is containment and not confinement ”, concluded the President of the Republic.
It is recalled that on August 20 the British Government decided to include Portugal in the air corridor, which meant that citizens residing in the United Kingdom flying from Portugal would no longer have to comply with a quarantine period.
The Portuguese Government has been active in lobbying the British authorities to open an “air corridor” for Portugal, the destination of more than 2.5 million Britons every year, which accounted for almost 20% of overnight stays from foreigners in 2019.
Since 8 June, all people arriving from abroad to the UK, including Britons, have been forced to remain in isolation for 14 days to reduce the likelihood of contagion from covid-19.
Transgressions will be punishable by fines of one thousand pounds (1,100 euros), exempting persons from Ireland, freight transport drivers, doctors who are involved in fighting the covid-19 pandemic and seasonal agricultural workers.
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