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* UK imposed 14-day quarantine on arrivals from Spain
* Minister: same could apply to other countries within days
* Says France has higher number of cases per day than UK
* Looking at ways to shorten Spain quarantine through
testing
(Adds details and quotes)
By Estelle Shirbon
LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - The British authorities are
worried about a second wave of coronavirus infections in Europe
and will not hesitate to bring back more quarantine measures,
possibly within the next few days, Health Secretary Matt Hancock
said on Thursday.
Britain last week re-imposed a 14-day quarantine period on
people arriving from Spain, a move that caused havoc to plans to
reopen the continent for tourism in the summer high season.
Hancock stopped short of naming other European countries
that might also end up back on the UK quarantine list, but cited
France as an example of one where infections have lately risen.
"I am worried about a second wave. I think you can see a
second wave starting to roll across Europe, and we've got to do
everything we can to prevent it from reaching these shores, and
to tackle it," Hancock said during an interview on Sky News.
"We have significant concerns about the second wave that is
coming across Europe. And it's not just Spain ... but there are
other countries too where the number of cases is rising. And we
are absolutely determined to do everything that we can to keep
this country safe," he said.
When asked whether Britons should be prepared for more
measures to be announced within the next few days, he said yes.
"The number of cases have gone up sharply in some countries
in Europe ... France now has more cases than we do, per day, and
in Spain we saw the numbers shoot up which is why we had to take
the rapid action that we did," he said on Talk Radio.
France reported almost 1,400 new cases on Wednesday, the
highest daily increase in more than a month.
Hancock said the British authorities were working on
possible ways to shorten the quarantine period for people coming
from Spain, but no change was imminent.
"We are working on whether by testing people during that
quarantine it is safe to then be able to release them earlier
... But we are not imminently making an announcement on it," he
said in a BBC television interview.
He said that in Britain, the number of cases had stopped
falling and was at best flat, which was a result of increased
social contact as lockdown measures have gradually been eased.
He urged people to keep following social distancing guidelines.
(Writing by Estelle Shirbon
Editing by Costas Pitas, Guy Faulconbridge and Peter Graff)
