United Arab Emirates added to travel quarantine list

The United Arab Emirates has been added to the UK’s travel quarantine list.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that anyone who arrives in England from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after 4am on Tuesday will need to self-isolate.

Travellers who are heading to England, Northern Ireland, and Wales from the UAE on or after 4am on January 12 will have to self-isolate on their return, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website states.

Scotland has already announced that similar measures will be imposed for anyone arriving from the UAE on or after 4am on January 12.

It had already confirmed that anyone returning to Scotland from Dubai on or after 4am on January 11 would have to self-isolate.

Scotland Transport Secretary Michael Matheson described imposing quarantine on those arriving in the UK as “our first defence in managing the risk of imported cases from communities with high risks of transmission”.

Dubai has recently come under the spotlight after a number of UK-based athletes tested positive for the virus following trips there.

Celtic’s decision to fly to Dubai for a training camp is set to come under further scrutiny after an unnamed player tested positive for coronavirus.

The squad and staff were tested on arrival back in Scotland on Friday.

Foreign training camps are within the rules for professional sports, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week questioned whether Celtic had been adhering to social-distancing guidelines after seeing photos from their hotel.