Health News at Your Fingertips

Commenting on the updated green list, Airport Operators Association chief executive Karen Dee said: “Any extension of the green list is welcome, however small, but we also have to be realistic: this is not yet the meaningful restart the aviation industry needs to be able to recover from the pandemic.

“While this is not yet the vaccine dividend people in the UK had hoped for, it is welcome that Government intends to exempt fully vaccinated travellers from quarantine.

“We urge the Government to publish details on its plans and implement them as soon as possible to save what remains of the summer season.

“In the meantime, the overly cautious approach continues to have major financial impacts for airports.

“The Government should recompense aviation for the impact of that approach through significant sector-specific support. Unless more support is put in place, many jobs in aviation and travel will continue to be at risk.”

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the government’s announcement of an expanded travel green list “fails to go far enough”.

“The Government’s own evidence shows that the US is low risk and should be added to the green list now,” he added.

“Whilst the transatlantic corridor is closed, 23 million in economic value each day is restricted. We urge the UK Government to move the US to the UK’s ‘green list’ and for the Biden administration to repeal the 212F proclamation for UK travellers.

“Successful vaccination programmes are key to unlocking international travel.

“The Government must now remove quarantine for fully vaccinated passengers returning from both ‘amber’ and ‘green’ countries, no later than the domestic reopening on the 19th July. The UK has already fallen behind the EU’s reopening and a continued overly cautious approach will further impact economic recovery and the 500,000 UK jobs that are at stake.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we’re now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries – showing a real sign of progress.

“It’s right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable.”

The Department for Transport said: “In recognition of our successful domestic vaccination programme, and as part of the Global Travel Taskforce’s checkpoint review, our intention is that later in the summer, arrivals who are fully vaccinated will not have to quarantine when travelling from amber list countries.

“We expect this to occur in phases, starting with UK residents.

“They will still be required to take a pre-departure test and a test on Day 2, and any positive results will be sequenced to continue to manage the risk of importing variants.

“At the same time, we intend to remove the guidance that people should not travel to amber countries. Pending decisions on whether under-18s should routinely be offered vaccination, we will also take clinical advice on whether regular testing can provide a safe alternative to quarantine for children accompanied by vaccinated adults.

“Further detail will be set out next month including the rules which will apply to children and those unable to be vaccinated, how we will operationalise this approach at the border, and the dates on which these changes will come into effect.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said later in the summer the government’s intention is fully vaccinated UK residents will not need to isolate when travelling from amber list countries.

Six countries including Tunisia and Haiti will be put on the red list All these changes will come into effect from Weds 30 June at 4am.

Here is the full list:

The UK government has announced Malta is being added to the green list and green watch list from June 30 along with Madeira, the Balearic Islands, several UK Overseas Territories and Caribbean Islands including Barbados.

Israel and Jerusalem are also added to the green watchlist.

Scotland has moved 16 countries in total to the green travel list.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Michael Matheson, said: “From the outset we have said caution is required regarding international travel and people should think very carefully about travelling abroad as situations can suddenly change.

“We continue to work closely with the other home nations and are cautiously supportive of exploring options for the easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from countries on the amber list – but only if the clinical advice supports it and if systems are in place to ensure the wider safety of the Scottish population.”

The Scottish government has announced that Malta, Madeira, Barbados and the Balearic Islands are among the countries that will be added to the green list from 30 June.

It said that all of the same countries are being moved around its travel list as those announced by Northern Ireland in the past hour.

Those being added to the red list are the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda.

Following the announced changes to Northern Ireland’s travel green list in the past hour, Huw Merriman, chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, said: “These changes are a move in the right direction. The additions to the green list offer more potential for quarantine-free holidays for UK travellers.

“But like an oasis just out of reach – travel to more than 150 countries on the amber list is still unnecessarily difficult.

“In the latest analysis of figures from NHS Test and Trace, only 0.4% of passengers to amber list destinations between May and June tested positive for coronavirus. For 151 of the previous 167 amber list countries, there were no positive cases at all.

“The Government must apply its own logic of using the data to admit going abroad is safe for those who have had both jabs. They must consider this in time for the start of the July summer holidays.”

Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise across every region in England but health leaders have said that vaccines are breaking the chain from infections to hospital admissions and deaths.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said that with more than nine million people in their 20s and 30s having had a first jab, the country is “well on track” for July 19 when Covid restrictions could be eased.

Sir Simon said: “It’s now clear that the NHS vaccination campaign is clearly breaking the link between Covid infections on the one hand, and hospitalisations – and it appears deaths – on the other.

“Nine-and-a-half million people in their 20s and 30s have now already had their first Covid jab, and since we’re now open to all adults, this weekend we’ll be having another ‘GrabAJab’ campaign.

“So we are well on track in the sprint to July 19 and the summer freedoms we all hope to see.”

He also said that next week the NHS will be “firing the starting gun” on planning for autumn Covid boosters and the flu campaign, PA reports.

PA has this summary of what we know about the expanded green list via the Northern Ireland Executive:

Travellers arriving in Northern Ireland from several popular holiday destinations, including the Balearic Islands, will no longer need to self-isolate.

The popular Spanish islands include Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca.

A number of other hotspots added have been added to Northern Ireland’s green list – such as Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, Madeira and Malta.

Those destinations were all previously on Northern Ireland’s amber list, which involves returning travellers having to quarantine at home for 10 days.
The change in status comes into effect at 4am on June 30.

The Westminster government is also expected to update England’s travel lists on Thursday. The UK nations’ lists are closely linked.

The Northern Ireland Executive confirmed that anyone travelling from a country on the Green list must:

• provide proof of a negative Covid test result taken up to three days before departure
• book and pay for a day two PCR tests
• complete a UK passenger locator form 48 hours before departure

It also confirmed that six countries will be added to the red list: Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda.

There have been no additions to the Amber list.

The Northern Ireland Executive has the full details of the expanded Green list of countries deemed safe for travel from next Wednesday morning.

These are destinations that have been added:

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Balearic Islands
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• British Antartic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Maderia
• Malta
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn Islands
• Turks and Caicos Islands

Officials in Northern Ireland appear to have jumped the gun.

Politics For All has a list of the destinations added to Northern Ireland’s green list: