{"id":41101,"date":"2021-06-03T08:05:03","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T07:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/?p=41101"},"modified":"2021-06-06T08:25:13","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T07:25:13","slug":"portugal-could-lose-green-list-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/portugal-could-lose-green-list-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Portugal could lose &#8220;green list&#8221; status","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shock announcement tonight?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/06\/green-list-360x203.jpg\" alt=\"Airport photo when Portugal was one of the first &quot;green list&quot; destinations\n\" class=\"wp-image-41102 lazyload\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/06\/green-list-360x203.jpg\" alt=\"Airport photo when Portugal was one of the first &quot;green list&quot; destinations\n\" class=\"wp-image-41102\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/green-list-360x203.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/green-list-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/green-list-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/green-list.jpg 976w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In what could be a huge setback to tourism in Madeira and Portugal as a whole, the Telegraph reports this morning that Boris Johnson has warned that the Government &#8220;will not hesitate&#8221; to&nbsp;axe countries from the green list for travel&nbsp;amid growing concern that Portugal could be removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ministers and their medical advisers will meet on Thursday to decide whether Portugal should be dropped from the green list and instead&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/travel\/advice\/confused-overseas-travel-guide-latest-rules-advice-amber-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rated amber<\/a>, requiring holidaymakers to quarantine for 10 days on their return and pay for two PCR tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists from the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) are concerned about&nbsp;rising infection rates and the emergence of variants in Portugal, which was the first of 12 countries and territories to appear on the first &#8220;green list&#8221; just three weeks ago. It is not clear if Madeira and the Azores would be bracketed with Portugal as a whole if its status is changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-heading\">Possible move to &#8220;watch list&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Telegraph reports that JBC experts were crunching the data before a final decision later today, but a switch to amber or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/05\/31\/countries-added-red-list-amid-concerns-increasing-variant-rates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a precursor &#8220;watch list&#8221;<\/a>&nbsp;was thought likely on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked about the green list on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got to wait and see what the JBC says and what the recommendations are about travel. We&#8217;re going to try to allow people to travel, as I know that many people want to, but we&#8217;ve got to be cautious and we&#8217;ve got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary.<\/p><p>&#8220;I want you to know we will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list to the red list, if we have to do so. The priority is to continue to protect the people of this country.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate-500x279.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41104 lazyload\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"279\" src=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate-500x279.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41104\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate-500x279.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate-360x201.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/portugal-rate.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any decision to switch Portugal from green to amber&nbsp;would send shockwaves through the travel sector and leave thousands of holidaymakers in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">British visitors currently in Portugal would have to decide whether to cut trips short or face quarantine on return. People with flights booked in the coming weeks would have to negotiate new dates or refunds. It could be complicated if the Foreign Office also bans non-essential travel to Portugal, thereby invalidating insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was not clear on last night how long the Government would allow before any changes to the &#8220;green list&#8221; took effect, but in the past there have previously been delays of between three days and a week, allowing people time to return without facing quarantine on arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other alternative would be to put Portugal on the &#8220;watch list&#8221;, designed to warn travellers that a green destination may soon turn amber. But a source said: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/05\/31\/countries-added-red-list-amid-concerns-increasing-variant-rates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The watch list is an ideal<\/a>&nbsp;and things could change more quickly if, for example, a super-variant was found in a country. We won&#8217;t take any chances with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More countries to be added to &#8220;red list&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government sources warned that more countries could be added to&nbsp;the red list&nbsp;than to the green list on Thursday.&nbsp; Countries touted as potential new red list destinations are Bahrain, Costa Rica and Vietnam. Anyone arriving from red destinations has to&nbsp;quarantine in a hotel&nbsp;at a cost of \u00a31,750 per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only Malta is thought a strong contender to join the green list&nbsp;from amber when the updated list is published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others previously been identified as on the cusp of green are the Cayman Islands, Grenada, British Virgin Islands, Finland and some Caribbean islands \u2013 but that will depend on ministers&#8217; appetite for risk as well as data on infection rates, variants, vaccinations and capacity for genome sequencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Major tourist destinations including Spain, Italy, France and Greece are expected to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/05\/19\/almost-300000-will-fly-amber-list-countries-sunday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remain amber<\/a>, with ministers saying they are six to eight weeks behind the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">A new tab has been added to the top of each page with a link to resources dealing with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/covid-19\/\">COVID-19 in Madeira<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 this covers the latest government regulations on travel to the island, how to get a PCR test, and many other links that will be useful to people wanting to travel to and from Madeira<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>COVID-19 in Madeira:&nbsp;<\/strong>daily updates can be found&nbsp;on&nbsp;an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/covid-19-just-one-case\/\">earlier post<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vaccinations in Madeira:&nbsp;<\/strong>updates can be found&nbsp;on&nbsp;an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/another-10000-vaccines-arrive\/\">&nbsp;earlier post.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shock announcement tonight? In what could be a huge setback to tourism in Madeira and Portugal as a whole, the Telegraph reports this morning that Boris Johnson has warned that the Government &#8220;will not hesitate&#8221; to&nbsp;axe countries from the green list for travel&nbsp;amid growing concern that Portugal could be removed. Ministers and their medical advisers will meet on Thursday to decide whether Portugal should be dropped from the green list and instead&nbsp;rated amber, requiring holidaymakers to quarantine for 10 days on their return and pay for two PCR tests. Scientists from the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) are concerned about&nbsp;rising infection rates and the emergence of variants in Portugal, which was the first of 12 countries and territories to appear on the first &#8220;green list&#8221; just three weeks ago. It is not clear if Madeira and the Azores would be bracketed with Portugal as a whole if its status is changed. Possible move to &#8220;watch list&#8221; The Telegraph reports that JBC experts were crunching the data before a final decision later today, but a switch to amber or&nbsp;a precursor &#8220;watch list&#8221;&nbsp;was thought likely on Wednesday night. Asked about the green list on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said: &#8220;You&#8217;ve got to wait and see what the JBC says and what the recommendations are about travel. We&#8217;re going to try to allow people to travel, as I know that many people want to, but we&#8217;ve got to be cautious and we&#8217;ve got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary. &#8220;I want you to know we will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list to the red list, if we have to do so. The priority is to continue to protect the people of this country.&#8221; Any decision to switch Portugal from green to amber&nbsp;would send shockwaves through the travel sector and leave thousands of holidaymakers in limbo. British visitors currently in Portugal would have to decide whether to cut trips short or face quarantine on return. People with flights booked in the coming weeks would have to negotiate new dates or refunds. It could be complicated if the Foreign Office also bans non-essential travel to Portugal, thereby invalidating insurance. It was not clear on last night how long the Government would allow before any changes to the &#8220;green list&#8221; took effect, but in the past there have &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Portugal could lose &#8220;green list&#8221; status\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/portugal-could-lose-green-list-status\/#more-41101\" aria-label=\"Read more about Portugal could lose &#8220;green list&#8221; status\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-island-regional-people-headlines","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeiraislanddirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}