According to the regional government: "In the letter sent to the government official, Miguel Albuquerque assures Johnson that the island of Madeira is a safe destination and recalls that, despite the difficulties, since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been considered the safest destination in Europe".

Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds were married on 29 May, in a small private ceremony in London.

Madeira's president also highlighted that former British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, also enjoyed her honeymoon on the island in 1951.

Miguel Albuquerque stated that he is certain that the results of the measures implemented by the Regional Government demonstrate the "effectiveness in controlling the pandemic crisis" and emphasised the "careful health measures" and the carrying out of PCR tests on arrival, as well as the implementation of the health manual and good practices for the tourism sector.

"The letter recalls the screening operation at the airports of Madeira and Porto Santo to control arrivals with a negative PCR test for SARS-Cov-2 already completed, or for those who do not have the test they can do it upon landing,” says the statement, which also points to the creation of the online platform for travellers "Madeira Safe", an app that allows the monitoring of the health status of passengers.

"Another point highlighted in the letter is the intensive testing work which has been carried out in the region and that an intense vaccination campaign has been implemented, covering more than 40 percent of the population with at least one dose of the vaccine", says the regional government.

The Madeiran official's letter was sent to Boris Johnson the day before Portugal, including the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, left the British Government's green list of international travel.

At the time of going to press, the most recent data from the Regional Health Directorate of Madeira, which covers around 260,000 inhabitants on the island, had 118 active cases of Covid-19 and in total, since the beginning of the pandemic, had recorded 72 deaths from the disease.