Cyprus put on UK quarantine list from Sunday morning

CYPRUS was tonight put on the UK’s travel quarantine list – meaning Brits coming back from Sunday morning will have to isolate for two weeks.

It means there will no longer be a travel corridor between Britain and Cyprus, dashing thousands of people’s holiday hopes over the coming months.

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Tourists were permitted to travel to Cyprus, but they need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result on arrival, obtained within 72 hours before travel.

They can’t get an NHS test and have to pay for a private one themselves to go.

Lithuania was also removed from the travel corridor list, meaning people should isolate when they return from there too.

No countries were added to the safe list as cases continue to spiral up around the world.

The criteria for assessing whether a country should be removed from a corridor list has recently changed, according to travel expert Paul Charles.

Mr Charles told Sun Online Travel: “My understanding is that in light of the increase in infection rates in many countries, the government is looking at things differently when determining whether a country should be added to quarantine or not.

“They have moved the seven day criteria from 20 up to 100, although that isn’t the only criteria – it also includes positive testing rates which signals high transmission rate, as well as the numbers in intensive care and the pressure on health care systems.”

The Canary Islands were the latest holiday destination to be given an air corridor, along with the Maldives and Denmark last week.

But as cases go up around the world it’s unlikely that many more destinations will be added over the winter.

Boots has launched a 12-minute coronavirus test which can be used for travel purchases, but will set you back £120.

If you’re travelling from Heathrow, you can stay the night at a hotel and get a negative coronavirus test for £179 with a new ‘Test and Rest’ package.