By Ben Kerrigan-
Holidaymakers from England travelling to amber list countries will have to provide evidence of full vaccination via an Nhs app or certificate to avoid quarantine on return.
The rule change to take effect from 19 July is expected to facilitate travel to European tourist destinations such as France, Spain, Portugal and Greece to travellers, though countries could impose their own quarantine rules on arrivals from England.
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Children under the age of 18 will not have to isolate when returning to England. While the recommendation that people should not travel to amber countries is being removed, children aged 4 and under will continue to be exempt from any travel testing. Children aged 5 to 10 will only need to do a day 2 PCR and 11 to 18 year old’s will need to take both a pre-departure test and a day 2 PCR – as is the case for arrivals from green list countries.
Travellers will still have to take pre-departure tests and will be required to take a PCR test on day two of their return but will no longer need to take a day eight test. It will mean the requirements for green and amber list countries are the same for fully vaccinated people.
Sharp said the changes would “prioritize those vaccinated in the United Kingdom”, adding: “We want to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important markets and holiday destinations later this summer, such as the United States and the EU.”
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Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said:
‘Thanks to our successful vaccine rollout, we’re now able to widen quarantine-free travel to NHS administered fully vaccinated adults and children under the age of 18, and take another step towards fully reopening international travel.
As we continue with the domestic unlocking, it’s only right we get people travelling again – whether that’s for business to help create jobs, overdue holidays or reconnecting family and friends. However, protecting public health still remains our priority and we will act swiftly if action is needed.
Health Secretary, Sajid Javid said:
‘Vaccinations have severely weakened the link between COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths, building a wall of protection across the country.
As we learn to live with this virus, due to the tremendous progress of the vaccine programme – with more than 3 in 5 people now double jabbed – we can safely take steps to ease restrictions on travel, as we are doing at home. Allowing quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated people means they can be reunited with loved ones overseas and we can return to normality as quickly as possible.
The Department Of Transport said ” travel continues to be different from usual, and while some restrictions remain in place passengers should expect their experience to be different and may face longer wait times than they are used to – although the government is making every effort to speed up queues safely. We will continue to rollout e-gates over the summer, with many already in operation across airports and more to be added over the coming months”
Carriers will have a critical role in carrying out primary checks on all passengers before boarding, checking people have the right COVID-19 certification documents to ensure we can continue to safeguard against new variants. Anyone not complying with health measures could face
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