Coronavirus: UK brings back 14-day quarantine for people returning from Spain

Image source, EPA

Image caption, Some Britons have homes in Spain - and it is also popular with tourists

Travellers returning to the UK from Spain will have to quarantine for 14 days, the government says.

The decision - made over the weekend - came following a spike in coronavirus cases in Spain, with more than 900 new cases of the virus reported on Friday.

"Protecting public health is our absolute priority and we have taken this decision to limit any potential spread to the UK," a spokesperson from the Department of Transport said.

On Monday, the Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain.

Image source, PA Media

The government spokesperson said people currently on holiday in Spain should follow the local rules, return home as normal, and check the Foreign Office's travel advice website for further information.

The quarantine rules will apply to those returning from mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, such as Ibiza.

But after pressure from the air transport and travel industries, the government and devolved administrations published lists of countries excused from the rules.

What has the reaction been?

Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds - who is a member of the Labour party, the main opposition group in the UK parliament - called for the government to explain in detail how it would support those affected, adding that the news would be "deeply concerning for families who are in caught in Spain or are planning travel".

The Airport Operators Association said the new measures would "further damage what is already a fragile restart of the aviation sector which continues to face the biggest challenge in its history".

A spokesperson for the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said the government's quarantine rule change was "disappointing".

Spain's foreign minister said: "Spain is safe for Spaniards and for tourists," adding that the country had the virus under control.