A travel band has been imposed between the UK and Denmark to stop the spread of a mutated Covid virus from mink reared in the Scandinavian country.
Visitors arriving from 4am on Saturday were denied entry in the first UK flights clampdown since the start of the pandemic.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “The decision to act quickly follows on from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms.”
A variant strain of the virus is spreading to some local communities.
As a result, the Home Office is implementing immigration powers meaning visitors arriving into the UK from Denmark will not be permitted entry.
This follows Denmark abruptly being removed from the UK’s travel corridors list on Friday.
The quarantine restrictions have been expanded meaning that anyone returning directly or indirectly from Denmark will need to self-isolate along with all other members of their household until two weeks have passed since they were last in the country.
“Unlike other travel to the UK, there will be no exemptions from this quarantine policy,” the Department for Transport said.
The travel ban and expanded self-isolation restrictions will be reviewed after a week.
The DoT added: “For those who arrived before 4am on 7 November, we are also asking anyone who has been in Denmark in the last 14 days, to self-isolate along with their households.
“The length of that self-isolation will depend on when travellers were last in Denmark, and those affected will be contacted with advice via the means detailed on their passenger locator forms completed on arrival to the UK.
“Anyone who has returned from Denmark within the last two weeks will be contacted to ensure they complete the self-isolation needed to ensure the virus does not spread across the UK.
“The UK government is working closely with international partners to understand the changes in the virus that have been reported in Denmark and we are conducting a programme of further research here in the UK to inform our risk assessments.
“All travellers, including British Nationals and residents who are returning from Denmark, will be required to show a complete passenger locator form on arrival into the UK.
“This is critical in being able to track the virus in case of any local outbreaks.
“Yesterday the Home Office announced they would step up Border Force presence to ensure that those arriving to the UK from Denmark were compliant with the new restrictions.”
The Foreign Office is not advising those already travelling in Denmark to leave “at this time”.
The FCDO said: “Travellers should follow the advice of the local authorities on how best to protect themselves and others, including any measures that they bring in to control the virus. You should contact your tour operator or airline if you have any questions about your return journey.”
The mutated strain of the virus has reportedly been discovered in 11 people living in North Jutland, which has been placed in lockdown, and one person living in neighbouring Zealand.
Denmark, the world’s largest producer of mink fur, is culling 17 million of the animals after the Covid outbreaks on farms.