UK Travel Restrictions May Ease for Fully Vaccinated Travelers

Fully vaccinated Britons could be allowed to travel to countries on the government’s ‘amber list’ without quarantining when they return home, The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

Under the current traffic light system, travellers returning from green list countries take COVID-19 tests but do not need to quarantine. Amber country arrivals require a period of self-isolation at home or in a hotel as well as the tests, and red country arrivals must quarantine in a managed hotel plus tests.

Countries on the amber list include Spain, France, Italy and the United States.

Under the new government plans, people who have had both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to avoid quarantine on their return from amber list countries, although they will still have to be tested, the newspaper said.

According to The Telegraph, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who wants tougher border restrictions, is “open” to the change.

Officials are still working on whether any new regime would be limited to returning Britons or apply to all arrivals, what exemptions could be made for those who could not be vaccinated, and whether children under 18 should be exempted, the report added.

“Recognising the strong strategic rationale and success of the vaccine programme, we have commenced work to consider the role of vaccinations in shaping a different set of health and testing measures for inbound travel,” the paper quoted a government spokesman as saying.

Britain allowed international travel to resume last month, but nearly all major destinations were left off its list of countries open for quarantine-free holidays.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Rosalba O’Brien)

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