‘Everyone Is Panicking’ Over Quarantine, Says UK Tourist in Spain

British tourists returning to the UK, check in their luggage, as Britain imposed a two-week quarantine on all travellers arriving from Spain following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Gran Canaria Airport, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on July 25, 2020. Borja Suarez/Reuters

MADRID—British tourists flying home on Sunday after a holiday in Spain angrily reacted to an abrupt decision by their government to make everyone arriving from the Mediterranean country spend 14 days in quarantine.

Britain’s decision late on Saturday to take Spain off a safe-travel list over a rise in coronavirus cases took effect from midnight (2300 GMT on Saturday), leaving travellers with no time to dodge it, and with major concerns about their returns, tourists at Madrid’s Barajas airport said.