END OF T As final 7 countries removed: THE RED LIST
THE final countries still on the foreign travel red list were removed from it yesterday, in a boost for holidaymakers and the industry.
It will be the first time since February that travellers can go anywhere in the world without the threat of costly hotel quarantine on return.
Just seven destinations – Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela – had remained on the ‘No-Go’ list.
But ministers removed them yesterday amid growing confidence in the wall of defence provided by vaccines and their ability to tackle different Covid variants. The changes will take effect at 4am on Monday.
The travel industry last night hailed the move but stepped up calls for remaining testing requirements for the double-jabbed to be scrapped.
The red list system is not being scrapped entirely, however, and countries could be added again at short notice if any new mutant strains emerge.
Quarantine hotels will be kept on standby, with contracts in place until at least the end of the year. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said last night: ‘This is another step in the right direction for international travel with more good news today for passengers, businesses and the travel sector.
‘We’re continuing to make great progress as we recover from the pandemic and today is another example of how far we have come.
‘Whether it’s reuniting family members or making it easier for businesses to trade, the success of the vaccine rollout both at home and abroad has allowed us to reach this milestone.’
He said that the option of adding countries to the red list was being kept in place ‘as a precautionary measure to protect public health.’
And he said ministers were ‘prepared to add countries and territories back [on to the red list] if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence’.
The red list was reduced from 54 to seven countries earlier this month.
Mr Shapps’s department said the move to clear the list entirely had been taken because the Delta variant is now the most dominant in most countries around the world, including the UK.
It means the risk posed by other strains entering the country has significantly reduced. The decision was taken following guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. South Africa was effectively the first country to be red-listed when direct flights were banned from there in December last year due to a variant which emerged there.
The rule on staying in a quarantine hotel for eleven nights – which currently costs £2,285 – upon return from red list countries was then introduced in February. The amber list was scrapped altogether earlier this month. The remaining restrictions mean double-jabbed travellers must take a lateral flow test by day two of arrival in the UK. If this is positive, a free NHS confirmatory PCR swab must be taken.
Non-fully vaccinated arrivals must take a pre-return rapid test in the country they’re in and two post-arrival PCR swabs on days two and eight while self-isolating at home for ten days.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: ‘This is welcome progress that should provide further reassurance to passengers as we get closer to the key Christmas and January booking window.
‘We now need to go further by removing testing altogether for the fully vaccinated and committing to reviewing all restrictions by the end of the year, to provide as much clarity to consumers, as early as possible.’ Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: ‘This is a welcomed and significant step forward to normalising international travel and should give people confidence to book.
‘Ultimately, we need to return to a situation similar to prior to the pandemic, in which people can travel without further tests or forms to fill out. The UK and devolved governments should aim for this as soon as is safely possible.’
Heathrow Airport chief John Holland-Kaye said: ‘Most of the world is now getting up to high vaccination levels so we should rely on the vaccinations and remove this additional burden of testing.’