UK will require travellers from Thailand to self-isolate

>>LONDON: Travellers from Thailand arriving in England will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days, according to revised guidelines.

The updated guidelines published late on Friday on the United Kingdom’s government website lists 59 countries and territories for which no quarantine will apply, starting from July 10.

The United States and China are not on the “travel corridors exemption list”, but neither is Thailand, despite earlier reports that it would be and despite the country’s success in limiting local transmission of the coronavirus. The country has reported no new local cases of Covid-19 for 40 days.

“If you have been to or stopped in a country that is not on the travel corridors exemption list you will have to selfisolate until 14 days have passed since you left that country,” the announcement says. The list will be subject to regular reviews based on conditions in various countries.

Asian countries on the UK exemption list include Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, all of whom have managed to bring Covid-19 transmission under control, though there have been some scattered outbreaks of new cases in Japan and South Korea.

Meanwhile, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will each announce their own separate quarantine rules depending on how they cooperate with England.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the change, which reverses a twoweek quarantine policy imposed in June, would lead to the “reopening of the nation”.

Under the new rules, a traffic-light system — red, amber and green — will be used for different countries depending on their prevalence of the coronavirus. Amber countries will have reciprocal arrangements in place with England while green countries, such as New Zealand, are deemed to be safer than England.

The amber countries include France, Italy and Spain, which are among the most popular summer holiday destinations for Britons. But the US and Greece, another popular travel destination, will be designated with red, requiring visitors to self-isolate for 14 days.