Malta accuses Britain of choosing politics over flag as an island with no new case on the UK’s orange list

Speaking to Facebook on Tuesday, the island’s foreign minister, Evarist Bartolo, said he believed the UK Department of Health did not want British tourists to travel to other countries for holidays this year due to concerns about the Indian alternative to the virus. He added that although ” very slow “ Infection rate in Malta, the United Kingdom has not opened travel to the country.

Bartolo cited recommendations from the UK’s Joint Biosecurity Center (JBC) – which provides scientific advice to the government regarding Covid-19 – to allow travel to Malta. The Sunday Times reported last week that the BBC said Malta and other islands should be added to the Green List, ensuring people can travel there without being quarantined.

However, the latest UK review of ‘green list“The countries saw no new additions, and Malta, which saw no new infections on Monday, was kept in.”Amber ListThe UK government advises against travel to the countries on this list and requires arriving passengers to self-quarantine for 10 days and to pass two tests for Covid upon arrival.

« The British government does not want Britons to travel to other countries for their holidays. Not based on scientific advice,Happy FM Bartolo.

He made a political decision not to clear the way for travel despite pressure from airlines, tour operators and citizens themselves to do so.

Reuters says British tourists traditionally make up a third of all tourists to the Mediterranean island, and the Maltese government has been criticized by opposition politicians for failing to convince London that Malta is a safe destination.

Bartolo added that 74% of the island’s population was vaccinated with one dose of the vaccine and 51% received two doses, making Malta one of the most immunized countries in the world.

Britain’s decision to allow travel was also criticized last week, as the government removed Portugal from the green list. As of Tuesday, the country is also on the orange list, which means that tourists from the country must be quarantined for 10 days. Travel to Portugal for leisure was allowed three weeks ago, and tens of thousands of tourists flocked there to find that their holidays had been cut short and had to hurry home to avoid quarantine.

The number of new infections with the Covid virus in Portugal is relatively low, with 388 cases and two deaths recorded in the last day.

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