santaanita

Portugal’s inclusion on the UK’s green list for ‘quarantine free’ travel from May 17 is golden. The country is one of only three ‘popular summer short haul destinations on the list’ – and the other two are Israel and Gibraltar.

It doesn’t take much to realise Portugal is in pole position


is their anyone out there that thinks we wont nave a new spike here in about october

riv

Isn't it up to Portugal to now specify that it will admit only those UK nationals who have received at least one dose of vaccine ?

If they do so I would have thought that the increase in transmissions from UK visitors would be minimal. Not zero perhaps, but not so large as to create a new wave.

It is up to the Portuguese Government to balance the pros and cons.............the main pro being the benefit to their tourist industry. Not to mention an opportunity to steal a march on competing warm countries like Spain ( if indeed they wish to maximise the numbers of visitors ).

The main driver of Covid affected numbers within Portugal must be the high percentage of persons awaiting their first vaccine........that is a problem created by Portugal being content to have its vaccine procurement 'sorted' by the EU.

santaanita

vaccine does not stop you catching it and then spreading it while you are tranciting thru planes trains and automobiles

chislenko

To be honest I don't share the desire for the great rush to get away whilst the faff / expense of all the testing is still with us.

RichardHenshall

So that would rule out families with children ...

Red Eric

I don't know so much about this one.

I see a lot of criticism of the EU over it but with the possible exception of Israel, are there many non-EU nations comparable to Portugal in terms of population and economic clout that are a lot more advanced? Given the shortage of supply, one nation's "success" in securing vaccines is to the detriment of others. I dread to think what the situation would have been had all 27 EU member states been vying with each other for supplies and what political capital would have been made of variations between them in terms of ratios of populations vaccinated.

chislenko

But to be fair many EU nations had plentiful supply but wouldn't use certain products.

Fredbargate

Gibraltar has a very limited amount of hotel beds

borisface

Actually the main driver of Portuguese cases this year has been the Johnson variant of the virus imported from the UK around Christmas. So there is a precedent for variants to be imported from the UK as the government there is lax and incompetent with regard to lockdowns and the management of the spread of the virus. But really whilst PT might be on the green list for the UK, PT gets a say as to who can enter it's borders particularly from a 3rd country outside of the EU where there is no longer an automatic right of entry. Obviously, parts of PT are heavily dependent on the tourist euro and will welcome tourists. Let's just hope history doesn't repeat itself and we can escape. Only allowing vaccinated tourists with negative pcr tests would do as much as possible to mitigate the risks.

scrubbedexpat142

As do many of the Islands on that list!

Red Eric

I don't recall that.

From what I remember, the use of one of the vaccines was restricted to certain age groups and at one point paused, briefly, while the EMA reviewed evidence about adverse post-vaccine events. Within a matter of days, the EMA made its pronouncement and the vaccine was back in use by all countries except Denmark. Given the brevity of the suspension and the fact that other vaccines were in use, it wouldn't have made any significant difference to the number of doses administered.

I'm not aware of countries building up stockpiles of unused vaccines - just doing what's necessary, I think, in terms of holding back enough doses for 2nd jabs.

bons

Great news for flying, but not for driving as neither France nor Spain are on the green list.

Annetje

Is Portugal open to NON EU people for holiday ?
I believe France and Belgium are still closed to non essential travel coming from non EU countries.

Fredbargate

According to Gibraltar's chief minister on the BBC News this morning Gibraltar has 758 hotel rooms

barlaventoexpert

Personally, I hope that Portugal does NOT open to UK tourists to soon as the lax control or travellers from the sub-continent seems to be presaging the arrival of the Indian mutation. Whether it's the Tandoori, Madras or Vindaloo variant, it is likely that, despite lessons learnt from previous waves, the English NHS will be unable to control it's spread. Makes it more likely to arrive here if the UK tourist floodgates are opened.

I only hope Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast can manage outbreaks on their turfs!

Better to continue to support the travel industry for another year, than risk another January 2021.