When is the next travel update? Date of next green list review

Croatia, Bulgaria, Hong Kong and Taiwan were all added to the green list on the final journey assessment.

On Wednesday 14 July, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed this might come into impact from 4am on Monday 19 July.

Fully vaccinated people are also now allowed to visit amber list countries with out having to quarantine upon their return.

However in much less encouraging information, the Balearic Islands and British Virgin Islands have been moved from the inexperienced listing again to the amber listing.

When is the following journey assessment?

The Authorities is reviewing the traffic-light system every three weeks.

This implies the following assessment ought to both be on Wednesday 4 or Thursday 5 August.

The bulletins have usually been on Thursdays, however the Transport Secretary moved the most recent update forward by a day.

The Division for Transport mentioned: “These common assessment factors will enable the Authorities to stability serving to the general public to grasp Covid necessities when travelling to England whereas permitting us to always consider the danger for various nations.”

How the traffic-light system works

The lists are determined based mostly on the next standards:

• The proportion of a rustic’s inhabitants which were vaccinated
• The speed of an infection
• The prevalence of variants of concern
• The nation’s entry to dependable scientific information and genomic sequencing

Listed below are the foundations for every listing of the visitors gentle system:

• Inexperienced: Arrivals might want to take a pre-departure check in addition to a polymerase chain response (PCR) check on or earlier than day two of their arrival again into the UK – however won’t have to quarantine on return (except they obtain a constructive outcome) or take any extra assessments
• Amber: Arrivals might want to quarantine for a interval of 10 days and take a pre-departure check, in addition to a PCR check on day two and day eight. There would be the choice to take a further check on day 5 to finish self-isolation early
• Crimson: Arrivals will probably be topic to restrictions at the moment in place for “red-list” nations which embody a 10-day keep in a managed quarantine lodge, pre-departure testing and necessary PCR testing on day two and eight

The Authorities has advised folks to not journey to nations not on the “inexperienced listing”, apart from for important causes.

PCR tests should be booked by means of one of the Government’s approved providers.

The Authorities has been methods to scale back the worth of testing, with PCR tests generally costing around £120-160, whereas some journey suppliers have closely subsidised the prices.

What ought to we count on?

Eyes will as soon as once more be on mainstream holidays destinations like Spain, France and Italy, within the hope they could flip inexperienced.

There have been hopes Turkey could also be added to the amber listing at the newest assessment, however these turned out to be in useless.

Many will even be hoping for positive news about the United States – travellers from the UK are nonetheless unable to enter the US on account of an government order handed final 12 months.

New guidelines for amber listing journey

The amber list accounts for almost 150 overseas nations, together with most of the UK’s favorite vacation locations like France, Spain and Greece.

Beforehand, anyone arriving within the UK from a nation on the amber list needed to quarantine for 10 days (though they might take a “check to launch” on day 5), in addition to taking PCR assessments on days two and eight.

Nevertheless, beneath new rules, from 19 July travellers arriving in England and Scotland from these destinations don’t have to quarantine in the event that they have had both doses of the Covid vaccine, or if they are under 18.

Individuals should have acquired their second dose no less than 14 days previous to arriving within the UK.

Of their present type, the brand new guidelines solely apply to UK residents (and individuals who have acquired their vaccines from the NHS), though Mr Shapps has mentioned it’s hoped this will probably be prolonged to the US and EU nations “later this summer season”.

Individuals getting back from holidays in amber locations, similar to France, Spain and Portugal, will nonetheless be required to take a Covid-19 check three days earlier than returning.

Arrivals will even need to take a check on or earlier than the second day of their return, as per the earlier restrictions, however will probably be exempted from the day-eight check.

Though the adjustments widen the choices for British holidaymakers, you will need to test the entry requirements for your desired destination (obtainable by way of the Overseas Workplace’s journey recommendation) and be sure that it’s welcoming guests from the UK, and what certification they require. 

Travellers should additionally contemplate the Authorities’s steerage on non-essential journey, which operates individually to the traffic-light system, and may have severe ramifications for travel insurance.