MHRA 'surprised' by UK decision to exclude Malta from safe travel list

The UK’s decision to omit Malta from a list of COVID-safe countries for travel from England has perplexed Malta's hotel and restaurant lobby, which said that the decision "is not justified by the data or the science." In a statement on Saturday, the Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association said the omission dealt a blow to a good start to the summer season and urged local authorities to intervene. To the surprise of many, and contrary to what the British media had predicted, Malta was left out the UK list of countries that English tourists can freely travel to without having to quarantine on their return. Commercial travel for UK citizens will resume on May 17. The 12 that made it are Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Israel.  Malta has been rated amber instead, meaning arrivals must self-isolate at home for 10 days, or fewer if they record a negative COVID-19 test after five days. The list will be reviewed every three weeks, meaning Malta could still be included before the end of May. While English tourists will have to quarantine upon their return if they visit Malta, German ones will not:...