Travellers from Greece to Scotland will be required to self-isolate for 14 days as of 4am Thursday morning (September 3).
The Scottish government made the announcement on Tuesday evening, saying “a number of cases of the virus in Scotland can be traced back to travel to Greece”.
Quarantine restrictions were also applied by the Welsh government on arrivals to Wales from the Greek island of Zante.
And Tui has pulled its holidays to the resort of Laganas on the island of Zante from Thursday.
The UK’s largest tour operator made the move after it investigated the enforcement of social distancing measures on board a flight that took place on August 25. Sixteen passengers tested positive for the virus.
Scotland’s devolved government said it believes prevalence of Covid-19 in Greece currently remains lower than 20 per 100,000
Scottish Justice secretary Humza Yousaf said “the situation in many countries can change suddenly” and warned: “People should think very hard before committing to non-essential travel abroad.”
He urged those who had returned to Scotland from Greece in the last few days to “be particularly careful”, adding: “With Scotland’s relatively low infection rate, importation of new cases from Greece is a significant risk to public health.”
Yousaf said Scotland will “continue to closely monitor the situation”, make decisions based on science and continue with “regular discussions” with other UK governments.
“Requiring travellers arriving from a non-exempt country to quarantine for 14 days on arrival is vital to helping prevent transmission of the virus and to suppress it,” he added – stressing the legal requirement to complete a Passenger Locator Form, regardless of which country people arrive from.
Mike Tibbert, vice-president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, which represents more than 120 agencies, said: “Although the Scottish government has warned that the so-called safe list is fluid and flexible and can change at any time, we’re extremely concerned about the workload that is being put on our travel agent members with each change.
“Travellers naturally do not want to lose out on a holiday they have paid for and many have made multiple changes to their destinations and dates throughout the safe list/quarantine changes. Our members have made these changes for clients often with very little notice, sometimes overnight and always under extreme pressure. Our members receive no income for making these changes.
“The removal of Greece in this ongoing hokey cokey of countries which are ‘in or out’ means it is impossible for Scots to plan or reorganise a holiday which they have already paid for. And equally impossible for our members to run a business.”
In Wales, the 14-day isolation only applies to those returning from the island of Zante, from where a Tui flight which saw 16 people test positive for Covid-19 returned.
The NHS Wales Test Trace Protect service has identified multiple separate clusters linked to the Greek island.
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething said: “There are currently six clusters amounting to over 30 cases in the last week from four flights, of which two of these flights landed in England.”
He said there were “concerns” control measures for returning travellers were “insufficient” and that there were examples of Covid-19 positive travellers who have not self-isolated on return to Wales.
Gething said Public Health Wales has “direct concerns about the public health risk” posed by passengers returning to Cardiff on Tuesday evening from Zante – and said it was “almost certain” travellers returning to Wales from areas of higher Covid-19 incidence will lead to further infections within Wales.
All passengers returning on a Tui flight from Zante to Cardiff on Tuesday night were given a letter at the airport requesting they self-isolate for 14 days.
They have been offered a Covid-19 test within 48 hours of their return and a repeat test eight days after returning home.
The minister also asked travellers returning to Wales from Zante via airports outside Wales to self-isolate for 14 days and request tests and asked for a meeting on Wednesday with the UK government.
“There is an obvious need for us to consider the potential for changes to the regulations in Wales which would require travellers arriving in the UK from Greece and possibly elsewhere to self-isolate on their return,” he added.
Tui’s move to stop holidays to Laganas, on Zante, follows a spate of positive cases of the disease linked to holidaymakers returning from the Greek island and an investigation into the enforcement of social distancing measures on board a flight that took place on August 25, after which 16 passengers tested positive for the virus.
Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said: “Laganas is a popular resort with young people who traditionally holiday in large groups of friends.
“The health and safety of our colleagues and customers is our primary concern and recent cases shows that some customers are not following social distancing and Covid safety measures.
“It is therefore the right thing to do to protect and reduce a now identified potential risk to others by no longer offering holidays to this specific resort.
“The recent cases in Wales have highlighted a demographic of customers that have recently returned from Zante and subsequently tested positive.
“As the only airline that flies between Cardiff and Zante it has allowed us to understand trends that may also be seen in other areas of the UK.
“We believe that with good track and trace processes, testing at airports and a nuanced approach to regional travel corridors, customers can continue to travel safety.”
Tui holidays to other resorts in Zante will continue as normal and affected customers will be offered a full cash refund.
