Portugal Says It Regrets U.K. Decision to Keep Quarantine Rules

(Bloomberg) -- Portugal said it regrets the U.K.’s decision to keep in place a requirement for travelers to self-isolate when they return to England from the Iberian nation.

“The government regrets the decision taken by British authorities, which isn’t based on the facts that are known,” Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on television channel RTP3. Portugal has shown that the number of coronavirus cases has been falling and hopes the U.K. decision will be reviewed, he said.

Santos Silva on July 3 described the U.K. decision to leave Portugal out of the list of countries exempt from quarantine rules as “absurd.”

Tourism accounts for about 15% of Portugal’s economy and 9% of employment. The British rank as the biggest group of visitors. About 2.5 million British nationals visited Portugal last year, according to the U.K. government.

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