Covid-19: NI ministers agree to remove Portugal from travel green list

Holidaymakers travelling to Portugal will have to self-isolate for 10 days on their return to Northern Ireland, ministers have agreed.

The executive has decided to remove the country from its so-called green list of destinations after the UK goverment also opted to do so.

It has now been placed on the amber list.

The key difference is the self-isolation requirement. The move comes into force after 04:00 BST on Tuesday.

The Northern Ireland Executive announced its green list of 12 countries, including Portugal, just two weeks ago.

Travel to countries on the green list means you do not have to isolate on return.

If travelling to Northern Ireland from an amber country, either directly or via another country, you must provide proof of a negative Coved test result taken up to three days before departure, book post arrival testing and also self-isolate for 10 days.

• What are Northern Ireland's Covid travel rules?

• Where is on the green list for holiday travel?

The UK government says you should not holiday in red or amber destinations, which means most countries.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Portugal has seen a doubling of infection rates since the previous travel review.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Trinidad and Tobago will also be added to the red list from 04:00 on Tuesday.

There have been no additions to the green list.

'I'm not letting it affect us'

Elaine Mallon from Londonderry is due to travel back to Northern Ireland from Portugal on Wednesday, a day after rules change.

"It is not good, we kind of knew the consequences were always there, although we were desperate to get away," she told BBC Newsline.

"It was a little bit disappointing, but I'm not letting it affect us - I mean I'm certainly not going back early.

"I'm staying my full week and if we have to do 10 days [quarantine], we have to do 10 days when we go home and it is as simple as that."

Different Covid tests are needed to travel to different countries - the PCR and lateral flow tests required to travel to Portugal can cost anything from £150 to £300 per person.

Elaine and her husband paid £450 in total for their tests.

"We are having a beautiful holiday, a beautiful hotel, but the extra £450, you feel you are getting nothing for it," she added.

"But we have had our holiday, so we feel very lucky that we have got away."

Belfast International Airport said in a statement that the decision to remove Portugal from the green list was "incredibly disappointing for everyone affected".

"We understand and appreciate that safety comes first but this news is another devastating blow for our industry.

"As we continue to ease lockdown measures and the vaccination programme is progressing well we remain optimistic that summer holidays to Europe will be a reality."

Sandra Corkin of Oasis Travel said uncertainty was not helpful for the industry and added it would be "really great" to have "a start date for international travel".

"Even if that's a bit in the future, just give us a date that people can make firm arrangements from and be confident that that is going to happen."

Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Executive has also agreed to change the rules on table service in some hospitality venues.

Ministers met on Thursday to discuss the remaining coronavirus restrictions.

Industry leaders had raised concerns that rules requiring all venues to operate table service would make it difficult for some businesses to trade.

The executive has now agreed to relax this for the likes of coffee shops and carveries.

Table service is still required for licensed premises but not for a buffet or carvery.

'Beleaguered sector'

It followed a proposal from Economy Minister Diane Dodds.

Mrs Dodds said the hospitality industry had worked "incredibly hard to put in place safety measures and mitigations to keep customers safe."

She said she would do all she could to help the "beleaguered sector to recover".

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said it was a welcome decision.

"These regulations would have been unworkable for our members and extremely difficult to enforce," he added.

Ministers also discussed the prospect of allowing live music to return to venues across Northern Ireland, following a paper brought by arts minister Deirdre Hargey.

But it is understood a decision has been deferred until the executive's final review, which is scheduled to happen next Thursday, 10 June.

Restaurants, cafes, bars and other hospitality venues have been allowed to operate indoors since 24 May in another sign of a return to normality, while hotels and B&Bs have also reopened.

Meanwhile, the current R number for new positive tests has fallen slightly - now 0.8 to 1.0 compared to 0.8 to 1.1 last week.