Shapps said it was a “difficult decision to make” and Portugal was being moved to the amber list due to a rise in the country’s Covid-19 positivity rate in the past few weeks and also the emergence of a “Nepal mutation” of the so-called Indian or Delta variant.
“The positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other thing is there’s a Nepal mutation which has been detected and we just don’t know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation,” he told BBC News.
Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores, will be moved to the amber list from 4am on Tuesday (8 June).
