The word on the ground is that holidaymakers who have had both doses of the vaccination may no longer need to quarantine when returning home from an amber list country.
In terms of timing, there may be some weeks to wait. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told BBC Breakfast:
“We’re not ready to be able to take that step yet, but it’s something that I want to see and we will introduce, subject to clinical advice, as soon as it’s reasonable to do so.”
At the same time, Boris Johnson dampened down hopes by warning that there are still likely to be delays and “hassle” for holidaymakers. He said:
“I want to stress that this is going to be, whatever happens, a difficult year for travel.
“There will be hassle, there will be delays, I am afraid, because the priority has got to be to keep the country safe and stop the virus coming back in.”
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) says it will cost the UK £19.8 billion in lost revenue if most international travellers are barred from entering the UK for the whole of July.
Virginia Messina, senior vice president at the WTTC, said:
“We simply can’t afford any further delay. We are running out of time, with many businesses facing going bust if international travel doesn’t resume in July.”
Currently, travellers returning from amber list countries must isolate at home for ten days and take two PCR tests, one on the second day and another on the eighth day.
Will the green list be expanded?
The government is due to announce new travel restrictions plans on Thursday which could include expanding the green list.
Though scientists are saying that some countries, including Barbados, Malta, Germany Croatia and the US, with low incidences of Covid-19, and a good rollout of vaccinations are good contenders, there are still those in government who want to remain cautious.
Credit: Source link