UK travel industry 'furious' at green list update says Calder
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The Government’s traffic light system dictates which countries are considered safe enough for Brits to go on holiday to without the need to quarantine after they touch back down in the UK. With internal restrictions set to be eased on so-called freedom day on July 19, will the Government change its restrictions on international travel as well?
The Government’s traffic light system ranks each country according to its Covid risk level and is reviewed every three weeks.
Under current travel restrictions trips to countries with an amber listing can only be undertaken for essential work, family or compassionate reasons.
While trips to and from red list countries are banned unless the person has an exceptional reason to travel.
This will set Brits back £1,750 per person, as all arrivals from red list destinations must stay in a government-mandated quarantine hotel for 10 days.
Non-essential trips such as holidays are not allowed to either amber or red list countries.
Only a limited number of countries on the green list are allowed to be travelled for a holiday.
With Boris Johnson assuring the public England is on track to remove all Covid restrictions on July 19, will travel restrictions be lifted as well?
Aviation consultant and former chief strategist for British Airways Robert Boyle told The Telegraph some 22 countries could be moved onto the green list soon.
He said they meet the threshold the Government uses to decide whether or not to move a country from the amber to the green list.
Those 22 countries are:
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Hungary
Italy
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Moldova
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Taiwan
Vietnam
Mr Boyle said he has used the same algorithm the UK Government uses to decide where a country sits within the traffic light system.
The Government’s criteria state infection rates must be lower than 20 cases per 100,000 and have a positive Covid testing rate of less than 1.5 percent.
They also look at the success of a countries vaccine programme to determine whether to upgrade the country to a green list status.
Mr Boyle said: “There seems to be nothing in the data the government says it is using that explains why they are languishing on the amber list at this point.
He added: “there doesn’t even seem to be any obvious political logic for why two apparently similar countries get classified differently.”
If Mr Boyle is right popular tourist destinations such as Italy and France as well as countries outside Europe could be added to the green list soon.
Which countries are currently on the green list?
The following countries are currently on the UK’s green list:
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Balearic Islands (including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca)
Barbados
Bermuda
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Gibraltar
Grenada
Iceland
Israel and Jerusalem
Madeira
Malta
Montserrat
New Zealand
Pitcairn Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Singapore
Turks and Caicos Islands
Brits eager to jet off to one of these holiday destinations should be warned many of these are on the green “watch list”.
The watch list means that a country is in danger of being moved to amber at short notice.
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