Talk about turning the knife in the wound; the removal of Portugal from the green list will be a real blow both to the British and the Portuguese.
It isn’t just the fact that one country is removed from the green list; the real story is that no other countries are being added and the tide is definitely swinging against ease of travel. Indeed seven countries have been moved from the amber to the red list.
Portgual has been responding reasonably well to the covid-19 statistics, 3828 new cases over the past week which is a rise of 21% and on the deaths front, just 4 representing a reduction of 56%. And yet it is losing its favoured green list status. I bet the footballers who went there are thanking their lucky stars that this is happening after the match!
A glance at the Johns Hopkins schedule makes somewhat depressing reading. Yesterday there were world-wide 491000 new cases with India and Brazil romping away ahead but loads of countries where there are significant new cases. Take a look for yourself here:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table
It looks as if the prospects of a foreign holiday this year continue to recede at quite a pace.
Adrian Leopard 03-06-21
Photo Daniel Sessler