Passengers arriving in the UK from Germany and Sweden will need to self-isolate for two weeks before then following domestic rules after changes in government Covid-19 restrictions.

Arrivals from the two countries will need to self-isolate from 04:00 on Saturday.

Germany and Sweden have been removed from the travel corridor list following an increase in confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England has indicated a significant change in both the level and pace of confirmed cases of coronavirus in both destinations, leading to ministers removing these from the current list of travel corridors.

There has been a consistent increase in Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of the population in Germany over the past four weeks, with a 75 per cent increase in total cases over this time period.

In Sweden, new cases per week have increased by 34 per cent over the same time period.

People currently in Germany and Sweden are encouraged to finish their trip as usual, following the local rules and checking the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice pages for further information.

In England, everyone must currently stay at home, and may leave only for a very limited set of reasons, including for work or education.

This means people can no longer travel to take holidays, or travel internationally – unless for work or other legally permitted reasons.

The FCDO has updated its travel advice to reflect this.

Denmark

At the same time, Denmark has been immediately added to the quarantine list, with passengers arriving from the country expected to stay at home for two weeks from today.

“I understand that this will be concerning for both people currently in Denmark and the wider UK public, which is why we have moved quickly to protect our country and prevent the spread of the virus to the UK,” explained minister for transport, Grant Shapps.

“Health authorities in Denmark have reported widespread outbreaks of coronavirus (Covid-19) in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities.

“The chief medical officer has therefore recommended that, as precautionary measure, all those returning from Denmark should self-isolate for 14 days.”