UK orders 14-day quarantine for Spain arrivals | ABC News

Travellers from Spain arriving in the UK will be required to quarantine for two weeks as a surge of cases marks the reopening of Europe to tourism after months of lockdown.

The quarantine requirement will take effect from Saturday midnight (local time), making it impossible for travellers to avoid it by rushing home.

The British Foreign Ministry also announced it was recommending against all but essential travel to mainland Spain, a move likely to prompt tour operators to cancel package holidays and trigger claims against insurers.

Spain's Canary and Balearic Islands were not covered by the advice to avoid travel to the mainland, but holidaymakers returning to Britain from the islands will still be subject to quarantine on return.

Britain's Government urged employers to be "understanding" towards staff unable to return to their place of work for two weeks after they returned from holiday.

The UK move follows the lead of other countries like Norway and Spain, who have imposed similar quarantine requirements.