London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 11, 2026

Coronavirus: Travellers from Belgium, Andorra, and the Bahamas must quarantine in UK

Coronavirus: Travellers from Belgium, Andorra, and the Bahamas must quarantine in UK

People arriving into the UK from Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra will have to quarantine for 14 days.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes start at 04:00 BST on Saturday except in Wales, where they start midnight Thursday.

The countries are the latest to have a change in rules, after quarantines were reimposed for Spain and Luxembourg.

But travellers from Brunei and Malaysia arriving in England and Wales will no longer need to self-isolate.

The transport secretary has previously said he "cannot rule out" other countries being included on the list as the travel advice is kept under review.

People who do not self-isolate when required can be fined up to £1,000 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and those returning to Scotland could be fined £480, with fines up to £5,000 for persistent offenders.

Up to 1.8 million British nationals visit Belgium every year, while 150,000 visit Andorra. The Bahamas, meanwhile, saw more than 36,000 visits from the UK in 2018.

According to figures on Thursday, Belgium has a rate of 49.2 new cases per 100,000 people, above the UK's latest rate of 14.3. For comparison, Spain's rate was 27.4 around the time it was removed from the UK's travel corridor list.

Last week, Belgium introduced new restrictions which mean that people can only meet the same five people outside their household in a month.

Meanwhile, Belgium's neighbour, France, is also seeing a surge in cases.

Coronavirus: How to fly during a global pandemic



Mr Shapps tweeted: "Data shows we need to remove Andorra, Belgium and the Bahamas from our list of [coronavirus] travel corridors in order to keep infection rates DOWN.

"If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days."

Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the governments of all four UK nations agreed to the changes "based on a shared understanding of the data".

"Imposing quarantine requirements on those arriving from another country is not a decision made lightly - but suppressing the virus and protecting public health remains our priority," he said

Analysis


by Helen Catt, political correspondent

These changes are not going to cause quite the same disruption as we saw when Spain was removed from the exemptions list.

Far fewer Brits head to these destinations; just a few tens of thousands go to the Bahamas each year and it currently has a nationwide lockdown in force.

But the change to Belgium's status will have a knock-on effect for people planning to head to other European destinations too.

Anyone travelling through Belgium will now find they have to quarantine when they get back.

It's also likely to make things a bit nervy for people planning a trip to other, more popular, holiday destinations where Covid rates have been on the rise.

All in all, it looks like the summer getaway is set to stay pretty unpredictable for a while yet.





The UK introduced the compulsory 14-day quarantine for arrivals from overseas in early June.

But the following month, the four UK nations unveiled lists of "travel corridors", dozens of countries which were exempt from the rule, including France, Italy and Germany.

Since then, a few more countries have been added but Spain and Luxembourg have been removed.

It comes as figures showed that demand for the Eurotunnel - which takes people between the UK and France with their vehicles - is recovering to pre-coronavirus levels quicker than air travel.

The tunnel's passenger numbers were down 21% in July compared to July last year - whereas the UK's biggest airlines are operating at less than half their capacities last month.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
English Councils to Gain Power to Introduce Tourist Taxes by 2028
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Shadow Cabinet
Firefighters Make Progress Containing Major Wildfires in South Wales
John Lewis Partnership Reports £124 Million Loss
Study Says UK AI Data Centres Will Create Only a Quarter of Forecast Jobs
UK Government Considers Higher Industrial Water Prices Amid Supply Pressures
Andy Burnham Holds First Call With Donald Trump as UK Prime Minister
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record as Heatwaves Drive Hospital Admissions
Home Secretary Orders Police Crackdown on Far-Right Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
UK Supreme Court Rules Northern Ireland Religious Education Curriculum Breaches Human Rights Standards
Markets Price in Four Bank of England Rate Rises by Next Summer
House of Commons Prepares Free Vote on Assisted Dying Bill
UK Government Bans Trade With Israeli Settlements in Occupied Territories
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Artificial Intelligence Investment Supports Expansion
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister After Keir Starmer Resigns
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Metropolitan Police Investigate Alleged Illegal Donations to Reform UK
UK Charges Wiltshire Man With Assisting Russian Intelligence
UK Orders Urgent Review After Air Traffic Failure Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
King Charles Confirms Prince Harry and Meghan Will Remain Private Citizens
Labour Selects Former Child Refugee for By-Election in Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Foreign Private Equity Accelerates Takeovers of London-Listed Industrial Companies
NHS Maternity Care Faces Scrutiny Over Support for Mothers After Caesarean Births
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Likely Amid Job Cuts and Programme Cancellations
English Housing Affordability Improves to Best Level in More Than a Decade
UK Health Commission Proposes Framework for Wider AI Adoption Across NHS
Labour Faces Pressure for Wealth Tax Ahead of Autumn Budget
Metropolitan Police Open Criminal Investigation Into Alleged Foreign Donations to Reform UK
UK Police Deploy Riot Officers After Anti-Immigration Unrest in Portsmouth and Dover
UK Defends Sanctions on Israeli Settlements Despite Diplomatic Retaliation
UK Air Traffic Control Failure Cancels More Than 1,000 Flights and Disrupts 65,000 Passengers
Compass Urges £10 Million Wealth Tax and Public Ownership Ahead of UK Autumn Budget
UK Government’s Devolution Plans Face House of Lords Scrutiny
Maldives Seeks New Chagos Sovereignty Talks With UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham
×