Malta says UK decision to keep island off safe travel list was 'political'

Valleta: Britain ignored scientific advice and instead took a political decision when it failed to put Malta on its list of safe travel destinations, Malta Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo said on Tuesday.

Britain last week revised its so-called Green List of countries, that do not require quarantine on return, choosing not to put any new country on it, while removing Portugal. Britons traditionally account for a third of all arrivals on the small Mediterranean island, and opposition politicians criticised the government for failing to convince London that Malta was a safe tourist destination.