'Britain has 28x more deaths than us': Portugal brands UK's quarantine plans 'absurd'

Several of the UK's European neighbours were on the list, including Spain, France, Italy and Greece, but Portugal was not on the list. Credit: AP

Portugal's foreign affairs minister has branded the UK's quarantine plans for its citizens as "absurd", claiming Britain has "28 times more deaths".

A tweet was posted from Augusto Santos Silva's official Twitter account after the UK published a list of 73 countries and territories from which people can arrive on British soil without a mandatory 14-day period of quarantine.

Several of the UK's European neighbours were on the list, including Spain, France, Italy and Greece, but Portugal was not on the list.

It means anyone arriving in the UK from the country must isolate for 14 days.

A translation of the Portuguese tweet reads: "It is absurd that a country, the United Kingdom, which has 28 times more deaths than Portugal, due to #COVIDー19, imposes quarantine on passengers from Portugal."

Portugese media has quoted Mr Santos Silva as saying he hopes the British government “corrects” its decision “very soon”.

Other countries absent from the list include the US, China and Thailand.

Approved destinations pose “a reduced risk to the public health of UK citizens” but the list will be kept “under constant review”, the Department for Transport said.

It means people who depart on Saturday and spend at least six days in one of the listed locations will not need to self-isolate on their return.