Holidays are 'pawns' in government 'power struggle' says Calder

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The Government will update their green, amber and red travel lists later this week. Many hope Pakistan will finally be moved to the amber list allowing Brits to visit friends and family there. All travel to the country stopped in April when Pakistan was put onto the red list due to concerns over the Delta variant.

The country’s position on the red list means many have been unable to visit the country.

Red list countries present the highest Covid risk and should not be visited “except in the most extreme of circumstances” the Government say.

Those hoping to travel to Pakistan today face the toughest travel restrictions.

Travellers would have to stay in a quarantine managed hotel for 10 days upon their arrival back into England.

But travel experts say it could soon return to the amber list.

This would allow fully vaccinated Brits to travel there without the need to quarantine.

Paul Charles, the CEO of the travel consultancy firm the PC Agency, told i news he predicts Pakistan, India, Kenya and Bahrain will leave the red list soon.

Covid cases in Pakistan have been steadily rising since late June.

But they are still quite low just 3582 new cases were recorded on August 2.

This is well below the number of cases the majority of amber list destinations are recording.

Concerns over travel to Pakistan centre primarily on the Delta variant there and the country’s poor vaccination programme.

Less than three percent of the population have been fully vaccinated.

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But the country’s low infection rates mean it could still make the amber list in the next update.

When will the travel lists be updated?

The traffic light system is reviewed every three weeks, with countries moving between the lists according to the latest Covid data.

Those countries with low infection rates and high levels of vaccination can be moved “up” a list, easing rules around travel there.

While countries that have seen a spike in cases may be moved to a list where there are tougher travel restrictions such and the red list.

The lists were last updated on Wednesday, July 14, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps breaking the news in a press conference.

This broke with tradition as previous announcements had been made on Thursdays.

The latest announcement is expected to be made on either Wednesday, August 4 or Thursday, August 5.

The updates will then come into effect on the following Monday, August 9.

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