Canary Islands OFF the travel corridor list with Brits forced to quarantine from Saturday

THE Canary Islands have been removed from the travel corridor list, the government has announced.

Anyone returning from the islands, which include Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, will be forced to quarantine from Saturday.

The islands were the only destination in Spain still open to Brits, with the rest of the country on the quarantine list.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on Twitter: "Data indicates weekly cases and positive tests are increasing in the CANARY ISLANDS and so we are REMOVING them from the #TravelCorridor list to reduce the risk of importing COVID-19."

"From 4am Sat 12 Dec, if you arrive from these islands you WILL need to self-isolate."

Spain has reported more than 1.7m cases of coronavirus overall, with nearly 5,000 new cases yesterday and 186 deaths.

The news is a blow for Canary Islands tourism, after the islands eased their entry restrictions for Brits - local authorities no longer enforce negative PCR tests and instead require a much cheaper negative antigen test alternative.

Botswana and Saudi Arabia are the only two countries to be added to the UK's air bridge list this week by the government.

Mr Shapps added: "BOTSWANA and SAUDI ARABIA have been ADDED to the list. If you arrive from these places after 4am Sat 12 Dec you do NOT need to self-isolate."

He also confirmed that the 'Test to Release' programme will start from December 15, which will reduce quarantine restrictions from 14 days to just five days.

The Transport Secretary added: "From Tues 15th, the new 'Test to Release' service for passengers arriving in England starts.

"This means that all passengers from any location NOT in a Travel Corridor may “opt-in” to shorten self-isolation to 5 days with a negative COVID-19 test result from specific providers."

However, travellers will have to pay for the additional tests on both day one and day five to be able to leave quarantine, which can cost between £65 and £125.

He previously explained: "Taking a privately provided Covid test on day five & receiving a negative result will end self-isolation.

"Our new testing strategy will allow us to travel more freely to see loved ones again and to drive international business."

Last week, the government didn't add or remove any travel corridors, although Estonia and Latvia were removed the previous week.

Aruba, Bhutan were added to the safe list along with six of the Pacific Islands, Timor-Leste and Mongolia.

Families are able to go on holiday again if they are in tier 2 or tier 1, with the lockdown restrictions ending earlier this month.

Tier 3 residents are not allowed to travel abroad, due to being in the high risk category.

However, countries are introducing their own travel restrictions, with Greece and Italy having their own mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival during Christmas and the New Year.

Many countries also enforce a negative coronavirus test to enter - Spain, Greece and Italy require the test along with the Maldives and Cuba.

Here is everything you need to know about getting a negative coronavirus test for your holiday.

They cannot be done on the NHS and can cost between £100 and £200, although airlines and tour operators are offering prices from £60.