The Dutch government is advising everyone returning from Malta to self-quarantine for 14 days following a surge of cases on the island.

Malta is now listed on the country’s orange list, which advises against non-essential travel.

“The number of COVID infections is increasing throughout Malta. That is why the colour of the travel advice has been changed from ‘yellow’ (note: safety risks) to ‘orange’ (only necessary trips). If you have visited Malta and are returning to the Netherlands, it is urgent advice to go into home quarantine for 14 days,” the Dutch government said.

On Tuesday, the Health Authorities recorded 29 new COVID-19 cases, while four patients recovered. The new cases and recoveries push the total number of active cases to 440.

Due to the surge in cases, Malta has been removed from a number of travel safe lists with various countries imposing a mandatory quarantine period for all those returning from Malta.

On Tuesday, Italian media reported that all people returning to the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy from Malta will need to undergo a swab test within 24 hours from arrival.

Meanwhile, Slovenia also removed Malta from its travel green-list, joining Ireland and the three Baltic countries in this regard.

Furthermore, one requires a negative Covid-19 swab test to travel from Malta to Greece, with that negative test result having to be a maximum of 72 hours before departure to the Mediterranean destination.