MINISTERS in Britain and Northern Ireland have removed Spain from a list of countries deemed safe for travel after fears it is experiencing a second wave of coronavirus. Here's what it means:
Which travellers have to self-isolate?
Since midnight on Saturday, all travellers returning from Spain to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland have to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
Those flying into Dublin are already expected to self-isolation as Spain was excluded from a 'green list' safe countries published by the Irish government last week.
NHS chiefs have said a negative test result after returning home will not exempt people from quarantine.
Why is it being brought in now?
Spain has reported more than 900 new daily infections for the past two days. Catalonia - home to Barcelona - became the latest region to crack down on nightlife, trying to halt new infection clusters.
The quarantine currently applies to all parts of mainland Spain and its islands including the Canaries and Balearics, although these destinations are not included in the UK's new general warning to avoid all but essential travel to mainland Spain.
What should people do if they are already in Spain?
Those on holiday have been encouraged to follow the local rules, return home as normal and check government travel advice pages for further information.
Passenger arriving yesterday were asked to fill in an online tracing form including their name, address, passport number and flight and contact details.
What should holidaymakers do if they have a trip to Spain booked?
Abta - the UK's travel trade association - has advised customers due to travel to the country imminently to contact their travel provider.
Tui has cancelled all planned holidays to mainland Spain for two weeks but not to its islands. Customers will be entitled to cancel trips and get refunds.
Airline easyJet said it planned to operate its full schedule in the coming days and Jet2 also advised customers to arrive for flights as normal. Customers seeking to cancel should contact the operators.
What will happen with travel insurance?
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said it is "likely" that travel insurance will remain in place for holidaymakers already in Spain until they return home.
However, those attempting to travel to countries against government advice would invalidate their insurance.
The ABI said people who booked a trip or took out travel insurance after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic may not be covered for travel disruption or cancellation. In either circumstance, travellers should check with their insurer.
What about employers whose workers now have to go into quarantine?
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said no worker following quarantine guidance should be penalised by employers, including by being put onto sick pay.
The conciliation service Acas has advised employees returning from Spain to talk to their employer as soon as possible.
It said unless employees are actually ill, they are unlikely to qualify for statutory sick pay - although an employer could still offer to pay this if it wanted to.
If they have previously been furloughed, they could agree to a further period of furlough to cover the isolation period. Or they could agree a further period of annual leave, unpaid leave or a mix of the two.
