Quarantine for Brits returning from Canary Islands or the Balearics set to be dropped in gov U-turn

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MINISTERS are considering removing quarantine measures for Brits coming from the Canary Islands and the Balearics after an outcry from tourists and the travel sector.

The u-turn will have to be signed off by Boris Johnson after Spanish officials and tourism chiefs said including the islands in the blanket quarantine ban should not apply.

Spain’s Canary islands could soon become exempt from quarantine rules when Brits return to the UK

Covid cases on the popular islands, including Ibiza, Majorca, Tenerife and Lanzarote are much lower than the mainland.

Quarantine measures were imposed on the islands this weekend, but Foreign Office travel advice still gave the green light to travel.

A Whitehall source close to the discussions told HOAR: “They are considering an exemption to the Balearic and Canary Islands.

“Their rates are lower so it may be on the cards – but the announcement may not come until the weekly review.”

“There has been some debate as to whether they should be included as there is a lot of traffic between the mainland and the islands, and that’s where the issue is.

“But it will be a decision for the Covid group chaired by the PM but that’s being actively discussed.”

Spain’s tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said today: “What we’d like is for quarantines to be lifted on the islands as early as possible, and we hope it will be today rather than tomorrow.”

Spanish authorities have been desperately handing Ministers Covid updates for each of Spain’s 17 regions, and say six of them were in a better situation than the UK.

Ms Maroto added: “There have been conversations since the weekend with the British authorities about dropping quarantine for those visiting the islands as soon as possible.

“We’ll be talking to all the Spanish regions to see what they propose, and any proposals will be brought to the British authorities.”

 

She added: “We’re living alongside the virus but that doesn’t mean we can’t travel or enjoy some well-deserved holidays.

“But we need to be prudent and we need to respect the virus. But that doesn’t mean we can’t control it and enjoy a certain kind of daily life when living alongside it.”

She added: “We’re living alongside the virus but that doesn’t mean we can’t travel or enjoy some well-deserved holidays.

“But we need to be prudent and we need to respect the virus. But that doesn’t mean we can’t control it and enjoy a certain kind of daily life when living alongside it.”