Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores, is being removed from England’s COVID travel red list – meaning returning Britons no longer have to quarantine when they come home.

Mauritius is also being taken off the list, in a move that could open the way for tourists to go to those two countries after the government allows international travel again.

After Friday, anyone coming from those two countries will be required to self-isolate for ten days on arrival to the UK at home and take COVID-19 tests at home.

The flight and maritime ban from Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) is also being removed.

The government says this comes after “evidence that shows the risk of importing a variant of concern from these destinations has reduced”.

A statement added: “Portugal has put steps in place to mitigate the risk from its links with countries where variants have become a concern, and now has genomic surveillance in place.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar are being added to the red list from Friday.

Anyone who is not a British or Irish citizen, or does not have residence rights (including long-term visa holders), who has departed from or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England.

Commercial and private planes travelling to the UK from Oman, Ethiopia and Qatar will also be banned from Friday, which the government says is “to reduce the risk of importing variants of concern”.

Qatar is a significant hub for east-west travel between destinations in Asia and the UK.

The ban does not affect cargo and freight without passengers.

The changes increases the number of countries on the red list to 35.

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