Turkey and Poland removed from quarantine exemption list

Turkey, Poland and three Caribbean islands have been removed from the UK’s quarantine exemption list, the Transport Secretary has said.

Grant Shapps announced on Thursday that travellers arriving from all five destinations after 4am on Saturday October 3 will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Along with Turkey and Poland, the islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba have been removed from the Government’s list of safe travel corridors.

The seven-day rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Poland is now at 25.9, increasing from 15.6 in the previous week.

Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba also reported 142.4 new cases per 100,000, unchanged from 142.4 in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s rate has dropped to 12.9 cases, down from 14.2 in the week prior.

A seven-day rate of 20 new cases per 100,000 people is the threshold above which the UK Government considers triggering quarantine conditions.

Despite Italy’s weekly rate increasing to 20.4 cases, up from 18.4, it was not mentioned in the announcement.

Figures have been calculated by the PA news agency, based on data collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Mr Shapps tweeted: “The latest data indicates we need to remove Turkey, Poland, and Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba from the #TravelCorridor list this week.

“This means if you arrive from these destinations from 4am Saturday October 3, you will need to self-isolate.

“You must self-isolate if you enter the UK from a non-exempt country – from tomorrow, we’re increasing the penalties for people who refuse to do so to a maximum of £10,000 for repeat offenders.”

He added: “Data from Poland shows that test positivity has nearly doubled increasing from 3.9% to 5.8% alongside a rapid increase in weekly cases, causing the Joint Biosecurity Centre to update their recommendation.”

Last Thursday Mr Shapps announced that passengers returning from Denmark, Iceland, Slovakia and the Caribbean island of Curacao would also have to self-isolate on their return.