Covid Travel: Shapps warns vaccine passports to remain a ‘fixed item’ on foreign holidays

[ad_1]

The Minister of Transport has warned that passports for vaccines will remain a “permanent” component of international travel for the “foreseeable future”.

Under the current system, the vast majority of travelers outside the UK have to prove they have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus if they want to return without having to be quarantined.

Dozens of countries around the world are also requiring foreign tourists to receive two doses of the Corona virus vaccine in order to cross their borders without being quarantined.

“My view is that this will always, for the foreseeable future, become a staple of international travel,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told ITV News.

“I have chaired meetings with my transportation peers [in other countries], when I talk to them, it is quite clear that double vaccination will be a requirement, we are already seeing it in almost every country in the world.”

“If you haven’t had your vaccination yet, please get it, unless you are medically exempt, you will need it so you can travel in the future,” he added.

He was speaking after he announced on Wednesday a raft of changes to the UK’s traffic light system that will remain unchanged for three weeks.

Quarantine requirements for returnees from France for travelers arrested will be lifted in full from Sunday at 4 a.m. as they go to the amber list — and seven countries in Europe will join the green list for unrestricted travel, regardless of their vaccination status.

He said that this summer’s strategy to review the traffic light system every three weeks rather than weekly should give people the opportunity to travel abroad.

“My simple message is that we want people to be able to leave, take a well-deserved vacation and know that’s the system we have in place, barring any unforeseen circumstances, for the rest of August,” he told ITV News.

“We have certainly lived with the coronavirus long enough to know that it is unpredictable. However, we have lived with it long enough to vaccinate the majority of the population, and other countries are doing the same.”

“This means that this summer we are able to put in place a three-week program instead of a one-week program as was the case last year.

“I hope people can leave under this simplified system, enjoy their breaks and not look over their shoulders all the time, and as long as they’re following operations, they can have a good time and hopefully they’ll be able to enjoy their vacations.”

The countries added to the green list are Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway.

Along with France, India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have joined the amber list, allowing fully vaccinated returnees to travel without restrictions.

But the government said Georgia, Mexico, Reunion and Mayotte had all been added to the red list in order to “protect domestic vaccine deployment”.

La Reunion and Mayotte have been added to the Red List due to the high risk of spreading the more dangerous Beta variant, which was first discovered in South Africa.

This alternative also causes ministers to worry about Spain and its islands.

Green and Amber Travel List: What you need to know What countries are on the green list?

As of 4 a.m. on Sunday, August 8, Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia will be added to the green list, these are the other countries already on the list:

Australia

Brunei

Bulgaria,

Caribbean Islands (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, Barbados, Dominica, Granada, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands)

Croatia

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

Tarek mountain

Hong Kong

Iceland

Israel and Jerusalem

Malta

Madeira

New Zealand

Singapore

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Taiwan

Back to top What does a country on the Green List mean?

It is important to note that just because a country is on the UK Green List, it does not necessarily mean that the country accepts UK citizens – Australia is one example – so check the relevant country’s government website for their latest rules for incoming tourists.

People traveling to Green Listed countries will need to take a Covid test up to 72 hours before they return to the UK and one PCR test on or before the second day they arrive in the UK – but you don’t need to quarantine unless the test result Positive, and children age four and under are exempt from the test.

Back to top What countries are included in the amber list?

From 4am on Sunday, August 8, India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will all be moved from the red list to the amber list. France will move from ‘Amber Plus’ to the amber list, which means that those who have been fully vaccinated no longer need to be quarantined for 10 days after returning from France, the above countries join more than 130 other countries on the amber list, including Including popular holiday destinations like Spain, Portugal and Italy. The full list of amber list countries can be found on the UK government website.

What does having a country on the amber list mean?

If you are over 18 and have not had two Covid vaccines, when you arrive in the UK from the Amber List countries, you need to:

However, if you have been fully vaccinated in the UK or under 18, you will not need to be quarantined or tested on the eighth day after you return, but you will still need to be tested on or before the second day after your arrival. You must have received your final dose of the vaccine at least 14 days before your date of arrival in England to be considered fully immune under the rules of the amber list.

Separately from these rules for UK nationals, since 2 August, people who have been fully vaccinated in the US or most European countries will not need to be quarantined if they have been in one of the Amber List countries in the 10 days prior to arrival. They will still need to take a test on or before the second day after their arrival.

back to top

Anyone returning from there is advised to take a PCR test as a pre-departure test so that more data can be collected on variables of concern.

The Prime Minister dodged a question about whether he would book a holiday in Spain for the time being.

Boris Johnson told reporters: “I think people should, of course, look at the guidance. We try to make it as simple as possible, we’ve lengthened the interval between changes to guidance.

“We want people to walk away if they can, we’re just saying this year is obviously going to be more complicated, we’re just asking for a little bit of patience but we have to balance the two goals.

“We want people to be able to travel, we want the travel industry to get back in business again, and we want to see tourists come back to our country – which is a very important part of our economy – but you have to balance that against the need to protect ourselves from the pandemic.”

Shapps said he “can’t say there’s a zero chance” travelers from Spain and other popular holiday destinations will not have to quarantine again in the future.

Asked by Sky News if Spain could return to the red list of travel destinations in the future, he replied: “With the Corona virus, you can’t say that there is never a chance.

“But having said that, vaccination levels, what we know now about the virus and what our scientists have been able to do in the last year means that people should be able to leave and enjoy their vacations without looking over their shoulders. All the time and as I said, the next set of changes is not For another three weeks.”

Labor has attacked the government for having what it says is a confusing system of travel, saying it should be simplified further until the amber is abolished, leaving only the red and green categories.

Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said: “Workers are listening to the international travel industry who wants more consistency and clarity about what is happening.

“A lot of people don’t really understand what amber means, the situation has to be ‘can I or can’t travel to this country,’ which means red or green, stop or leave.

“Amber is very confusing because people interpret it differently.”

He added: “The government has to tell people you can or can’t go to a particular country, and publish all the data so that the sector itself, the international travel sector, can plan with full knowledge about the level of risk. It really is.”

Listen to the coronavirus podcast:

[ad_2]