Britain calls for isolation of fans who went to the final of the Champions

The UK government has ordered hundreds of Chelsea and Manchester City fans who traveled to Portugal for the Champions League final to self-isolate for ten days.

It is estimated that 12,000 people left England and went to Porto for the match on the 29th, which Chelsea won 1-0. The fear is that they may spread the Nepalese variant of Covid-19.

Passengers on a Ryanair flight that arrived in London the day after the decision received messages or calls from NHS officials (National Health Service, SUS English) warning them that they should self-isolate.

The same thing happened with fans who boarded five charter flights and made the flight on the same day.

The British government has not disclosed how many travelers have been diagnosed with Covid-19 or whether this is a precautionary measure. Portugal was on the list of countries that were allowed air traffic, but was withdrawn due to concerns about the new alternative.

Sportsbreaks, which operated the flights that took fans to the match, said it was not aware of any positive Covid-19 tests on the way back.

A Chelsea fan posted on the club’s forum “It looks like someone on my flight has taken the test and tested positive,” according to the Daily Mail.

Others said they had been asked to self-isolate even though they had already been vaccinated. The requests were made through phone calls from the NHS or messages sent by a mobile app that traces contacts between people diagnosed with Covid-19.

The UK project aims to end restrictions caused by the pandemic and the distance between people in the next 21st day. The fear is that new variables, such as Nepali, could prevent this.