These are the latest countries to be removed from the UK's ‘safe travel’ list

These are the latest countries to be removed from the UK's ‘safe travel’ list (Photo: Shutterstock)These are the latest countries to be removed from the UK's ‘safe travel’ list (Photo: Shutterstock)
These are the latest countries to be removed from the UK's ‘safe travel’ list (Photo: Shutterstock)

Four more countries have been removed from the UK government’s ‘travel corridor’ list, as the rate of infections in each has risen considerably in recent weeks.

Travellers who return from Iceland, Denmark, Slovakia and Curaçao after 4am this Saturday (26 September) will now be required to self-isolate for 14 days, or face fines of up to £1,000.

In an announcement made on Twitter by Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, the MP for Welwyn Hatfield confirmed the removal of these four destinations from the approved travel locations and said that the government “will not be adding any destinations to the Travel Corridor list this week.”

He wrote, “Data shows we need to remove DENMARK, SLOVAKIA, ICELAND, and CURACAO from the Travel Corridor list. If you arrive in the UK from these destinations after 4am this Saturday, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

“We will not be adding any destinations to the Travel Corridor list this week. Remember: You MUST complete a Passenger Locator Form by law if you enter the UK. This protects public health and ensures those who need to are complying with self-isolation rules.”

“Also please don't forget that you MUST self-isolate (quarantine) when returning from a non-exempt country, or face fines which start at £1,000.”

The Foreign Office has also updated its guidance to advise against all but essential travel from the UK to these four destinations.

Why were the countries removed?

The decision to remove these countries from the Travel Corridors list comes after major and consistent increases in coronavirus cases in each of the nations.

In Iceland, which has seen consistent increases recently, the number of newly reported cases in the last week increased by 921 per cent.

In Denmark, newly reported cases rose by 508 per cent over the last four weeks.

Between 2 and 23 September, the weekly increase in cases per 100,000 people was 115 per cent in Slovakia. And the small Dutch-Carribean island of Curaçao has seen the number of weekly cases per 100,00 people rise by 481 per cent over the same period.

The full list of countries on the government’s Travel Corridor list can be found here.