The UK government's Global Travel Taskforce
- says it will announce in early May which countries will fall into red, amber or green categories in new traffic-light system based on covid risk
- says it will confirm in early May whether international travel can resume from May 17
- says restrictions for inbound passengers such as 10-day hotel quarantine, home quarantine and testing will apply differently for arrivals from red, amber or green countries
- says there will be a "green watchlist" identifying countries most at risk of moving from green to amber, to warn travellers of potential changes in advance
- says key factors in assessing countries will include percentage of population vaccinated, rate of infection, prevalence of variants of concern
- recommends removing "permission to travel form", meaning passengers would no longer need to prove valid reason for leaving country
- says it will work with travel industry and private covid testing providers to try and reduce the cost of travel while ensuring travel is safe
- says efforts to reduce costs could include cheaper tests when holidaymakers return home, and looking at whether government could provide pre-departure tests
- says UK will play a leading role in developing international standards around a digital travel certification system
- says UK government working on certification for outbound as well as inbound international trave
Headlines via Reuters
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The pressure is on to move towards more normal heading into the northern summer. That'd be good for the economy, good for everyone if it can be done as safely as possible. International travel will be one of the dividends of the UK's competent vaccine rollout.
