No quarantine for vaccinated Britons arriving from amber list nations

UK transport secretary Grant Shapps on Thursday said that fully vaccinated Britons and children under the age of 18 will no longer have to quarantine when they arrive home from July 19. The change in rules will be a huge boost to airlines and the tourism industry which has been reeling under months of restrictions. Currently, people travelling to the UK from countries and territories on the “amber list” are required to quarantine at home or at the place of their stay for at least 10 days. They also need to take a Covid-19 test on or before the second day and on or after the eighth day of their quarantine period. Destinations like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States are on the amber list.

While the quarantine is no longer required from travellers from amber list countries, they still have to take a Covid-19 test before they arrive home, followed by another test on or before the second day of their arrival, said Shapps. Children under the age of 18 will also need to take tests. "We're working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important markets and holiday destinations, later this summer, such as the United States and the EU," he added. Airlines including British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have been repeatedly calling for an end to mandatory 10-day quarantine, a rule that discouraged people from travelling abroad. Britain has vaccinated about 65% of its population which has given authorities the confidence to further relax the coronavirus-induced restrictions. However, non-Britons have to wait longer to be exempt from quarantine, said Shapps.