The decision to make travellers from Portugal quarantine may be politically motivated, an infection expert has said.
Portugal will be moved from the green to amber travel list, requiring visitors to the UK and holidaymakers returning after 4am on Tuesday to quarantine. Grant Shapps, the UK transport secretary, blamed a rising infection rate and the apparent detection of a “Nepal mutation” for concerns about the risk level.
However, Christine Tait-Burkard, a research fellow in the department of infection and immunity at the University of Edinburgh, said the decision may be retaliation in response to European countries requiring Britons to quarantine on arrival. Asked whether it was a necessary measure, Tait-Burkard said: “Not necessarily in terms of case levels.
“Portugal is still very similar to the