Express & Star

Barbados places UK in ‘high risk’ category

New restrictions will be implemented from October 1 after a surge in coronavirus cases in the UK.

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Barbados has added the UK to its list of “high risk” countries, meaning arriving holidaymakers will be quarantined for up to a week.

New restrictions will be implemented from October 1 after a surge in coronavirus cases in the UK.

Tourists will be required on arrival to show evidence of a negative Covid-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction), or risk being refused entry to the Caribbean country.

They will be quarantined and monitored for up to seven days at a designated “holding hotel or approved villa” at their own expense, or at a government facility free of charge.

After four or five days, they will be retested and can leave quarantine if they receive a negative result.

Other “high risk” countries include France, Ireland, Switzerland and the US.

Barbados is a popular winter sun destination for UK holidaymakers.

It reopened its borders to international travel on July 12.

The country’s tourism authorities have issued a message to visitors which states: “As we welcome you back to our beautiful island there are a number of precautions and safeguards being implemented to protect both locals and visitors.”

Barbados is currently recording a seven-day rate of 1.4 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people, while the UK is on 52.1.

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

Travellers arriving in the UK from Barbados are exempt from the UK’s own coronavirus quarantine policy.

But the 14-day self-isolation requirement will be reimposed on travellers from Denmark, Iceland, Slovakia and the Caribbean island of Curacao from 4am on Saturday due to a rise in cases.

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