Quarantine traffic light system could save summer holidays
MINISTERS are considering a “quarantine” traffic light system in an attempt to save overseas summer holidays for millions of British families, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Boris Johnson’s global travel taskforce is studying a blueprint for a fourtier “traffic light” scheme with an “amber” option of a customised threeday quarantine and testing regime designed to combat the threat from new
Covid variants. The plan also proposes that an amber alert would be triggered where a “variant of concern” was identified in a country and there was uncertainty among scientists about the risk it posed to the UK.
Travellers from amber-rated countries would have to undergo tests within 72 hours of departure, as well as tests after arrival in the UK with release from quarantine if they provided a negative result on day three.
The plan, produced by Heathrow Airport, is one of several being considered by the government taskforce, which is due to report on April 12 to set out a tiered approach to resuming foreign travel from May 17, with countries placed in different tiers according to their Covid vaccination rates, variant risk, prevalence of the virus in-country and testing capacity.
Another suggestion under consideration is for taxpayers to underwrite the cost of holidays that have to be cancelled because of fresh restrictions.
Heathrow’s proposal maintains the Government’s red list of countries from which travel is banned. Red list countries would be those with high rates of infection and low vaccination rates and would include anyone who travelled indirectly to the UK from them.
Below that is the amber list, followed by the yellow list of countries where there is “medium” risk but “strong surveillance” through testing. Travel from these would include tests before and/or on arrival and/or vaccination certificates, but no quarantine. Travellers from green list countries with low Covid rates, good vaccination rollouts and no variants could transit at will.
The taskforce, which is chaired by
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, is looking at ways to encourage people to book flights now despite the uncertainty about when restrictions might ease overseas. One source described it as a “price guarantee” plan to restore confidence among holidaymakers and stop travel companies and airlines hiking up prices months later when routes reopen fully.
The risk of importing variants – such as the South African and Brazilian versions spreading in mainland Europe – is regarded by government scientists and Mr Johnson as the biggest hurdle to restarting international travel on May 17 and saving summer holidays. Yesterday the Prime Minister warned of a “third wave” in parts of Europe and said “bitter experience” had taught him that this could hit the UK “three weeks later”.
“Is it going to be, this time, as bad as it has been in the past? Or have we sufficiently mitigated, muffled, blunted the impact by the vaccine rollout?” he asked Tory members at a conference.
It comes as a shipment of more than 500,000 Moderna jabs is expected to arrive in the UK in weeks. The US-made jabs will bolster the rollout to the under50s, the Mail on Sunday reports.
Hauliers entering the UK will no longer be exempt from restrictions and will have to have Covid tests if they are here for more than 48 hours.
Heathrow’s scientific experts believe its nuanced approach could unlock travel to save holidays, boost trade and protect the travel industry. It is backed by Oxera and Edge Health, research specialists that have advised the NHS and found that a pre-departure test and three-day quarantine regime screened out 87 per cent of potential infections.
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: “The UK’s progress in the global vaccine race coupled with advances in testing, means that ministers no longer need to choose between public health and the economy – a riskbased approach to international travel will allow us to protect them both.”