The UK's transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced that arrivals from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela are banned from entering the UK from Friday 15 January at 4am following the emergence of a new variant of Covid in Brazil.
The transport secretary also banned arrivals from Portugal “given its strong travel links with Brazil, acting as another way to reduce the risk of importing infections”, Shapps said in a tweet.
There is an exemption for hauliers travelling from Portugal (only) to allow transport of essential goods.
The new measure does not apply to British and Irish nationals and third country nationals with residence rights in the UK but passengers returning from these destinations must self-isolate for ten days along with their households.