Travellers arriving in England from seven Greek islands will need to self-isolate upon their return.

Grant Shapps, UK transport secretary, said holidaymakers returning from Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos will need to self-isolate for 14 days due to a rise in coronavirus cases.

“Data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England has indicated a significant risk to UK public health from those islands, leading to Ministers removing them from the current list of travel corridors,” the transport department said in a press release.

Mainland Greece will remain on England’s travel exemption list.

Euronews reports Shapps also addressed questions about testing in airports potentially replacing quarantine policies, explaining that “it sounds completely logical and yet… it simply will not capture most of those who are asymptomatic” due to the incubation period of COVID-19.

“Quarantine combined with testing is more promising. So we are working actively on the practicality of releasing people earlier than 14 days,” he said.

According to the World Health Organisation’s latest statistics, Greece has had 11,663 COVID-19 cases, with 289 deaths reported, while the UK has had a total of 350,000 infections and 41,554 coronavirus-related deaths.

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