GREECE and Italy are likely to escape being placed on the UK quarantine list, despite their daily coronavirus cases continuing to rise.
Countries that have more than 20 new cases per day, per 100,000 people over seven days, are at risk of facing quarantine restrictions enforced by the UK government.
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The government usually announces the new restrictions on Thursday evenings, which are then in place by Saturday at 4am.
Here is everything you need to know about the two countries and the risk they face in tonight’s announcement.
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Will Greece be put on to the UK quarantine list?
Greece is currently at 20.5 new cases, which puts it in the red zone by the UK government and at risk of quarantine.
Seven of the islands are already on the quarantine list, having been added earlier in September, and include Zante, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini.
The whole of Greece is on the quarantine list for Scotland.
Holidaymakers had been concerned that the rest of Greece could now follow suit for England due to the spike in cases, but travel expert Paul Charles from the PC Agency believes it is safe for now.
He told Sun Online Travel: “There is low chance of Greece being added to the quarantine list [despite daily infections], as cases haven’t risen sharply unlike destinations like Slovakia.
“I’m sure the government will be adding Iceland and Denmark to the list today too, due to their cases, while Turkey is staying safe this week.”
Will Italy be put on to the UK quarantine list?
While Italy remains in the medium risk zone, with a cumulative figure of 18.1 per day it is creeping up towards the red high risk zone.
If it continues to climb, there is a risk of the country being added to the quarantine list.
The country is one of the few remaining for Brits which has no travel restrictions.
Only some of the islands have rules in place – Sardinia requires incoming arrivals to register before travelling.
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What if I have a holiday booked?
If you currently have flights or a holiday booked, it will remain unaffected until the changes are announced.
Even if you no longer want to travel, it is unlikely you will be able to get a refund as the country has not been placed on the UK’s travel advisory list.
Some airlines are letting passengers move their flights for free, so it is worth getting in touch if you no longer want to travel.
If either country does eventually go on the quarantine list, tour operators and airlines will most likely cancel holidays.
You will then be entitled to a full refund, or be able to move your holiday plans to a later date.
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However, it is feared that thousands of Brits have been ignoring the quarantine restrictions when returning to the UK.
The Met Police received more than 1,000 tips to carry out quarantine checks to make sure holidaymakers are sticking to their two week isolation.
The travel industry is calling for an end to the quarantine rules, and instead offer testing on arrival.