Luxembourg has been removed from the ‘safe list’ of destinations exempt from quarantine restrictions following a “significant change in confirmed cases”.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is also advising against all but essential travel to the country.
From midnight on Thursday (July 30) all arrivals from Luxembourg will need to self-isolate for two weeks.
It follows the removal of Spain from the list of ‘safe’ destinations on July 25.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted last night: “Unfortunately the latest Luxembourg data shows an increase in Covid-19 cases meaning the country will be removed from the travel exemptions list. Anyone arriving to ant part of the UK from midnight will therefore need to quarantine.”
A statement from the Department for Transport said: “People arriving in the UK from Luxembourg from midnight tonight (Thursday, 30 July 2020) will need to self-isolate for 2 weeks as the country is removed from the travel exemptions list.
“Data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England has indicated a significant change in both the level and pace of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Luxembourg.
“There has been a consistent increase in coronavirus (Covid-19) cases per 100,000 of the population in Luxembourg since the end of June, with over a tenfold increase in total cases over this time period.
“As a result, ministers took the decision to remove Luxembourg from the travel corridor list of countries from which people arriving in the UK do not have to self-isolate.
“At the same time, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has also updated its travel advice for Luxembourg to advise against all but essential travel to the country.”
The statement added: “The government has made consistently clear it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus, including removing countries rapidly if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country and not self-isolating becomes too high.”
People currently in Luxembourg are encouraged to follow the local rules and check the FCO travel advice pages for further information.
The decision by the UK government has been mirrored by the devolved administrations.
