London, Aug 7 (IANS): UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that travellers returning from Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra will have to quarantine at home for 14 days, due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the three countries.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Shapps said the measures will come into effect on Saturday except in Wales, where it has already begun, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Data shows we need to remove Andorra, Belgium and the Bahamas from our list of Icoronavirus) travel corridors in order to keep infection rates down.

"If you arrive in the UK after Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days," he said in the tweet.

The Foreign Office is also warning against "all but essential travel" to the three countries.

People who do not self-isolate when required can be fined up to 1,000 pounds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and those returning to Scotland could be fined 480 pounds, with fines up to 5,000 pounds for persistent offenders, the BBC reported.

Up to 1.8 million British nationals visit Belgium every year, while 150,000 visit Andorra.

The Bahamas, meanwhile, saw more than 36,000 visits from the UK in 2018.

The countries are the latest to have a change in rules, after quarantines were reimposed for Spain and Luxembourg.