Reports suggest that more countries could be added to the Government’s “Green List” later this week, which would allow unvaccinated Brits to holiday abroad without needing to quarantine when back in the U.K. The MailOnline has the story.
Italy, Austria and Germany are among the potential destinations that appear to pose a low enough risk to be downgraded in a review due on Thursday.
The move could make life easier for Brits who are desperate to get away, but have yet to receive both doses.
People who are double-jabbed are due to be exempted from having to self-isolate on return to “Amber List” countries from “Freedom Day” next Monday.
But they will have to prove they are fully vaccinated, and there fears of huge delays as the rules are eased. …
Meanwhile, Britons will still need to consider the restrictions that are being imposed by other countries – with many trying to stop the Delta – or Indian – variant being imported from the U.K. …
Experts have predicted that a dozen more countries could be added to the Green List – where vaccine status is not an issue for the restrictions in England – in a review on Thursday.
Former BA strategist Robert Boyle told the Telegraph that Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Canada, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan now meet the criteria for the loosest controls.
That would bring the total on the Green List to 39, with any changes expected to take effect from next week. …
Under the new arrangements, travellers will still be required to fill out a passenger locator form with details of their home address.
They will also need to confirm they have booked a day two PCR coronavirus test. Border Force agents must insect [sic] the documents for passengers at passport control. However, airlines will be responsible for checking vaccination status.
Border officers have warned that the huge rise in bookings since the loosening was announced will mean long queues.
Before Covid, three-quarters of people who passed through the U.K.’s border did not require any documentation checks other than verifying that their identity matched their passport.
Lucy Moreton, Professional Officer for the ISU Immigration Union, representing frontline border staff, told the Times: “This decision will open up foreign travel to a large number of new travellers. But we are not set up to cope with that sort of demand.
“There is no way that the border can maintain that level of checks as the number of travellers increase.
“We’ve got away with it so far because the number of travellers are so low. But even at this point we’re seeing queues of one to two hours.
“From the number of bookings we’ve seen already, we’ll easily see three, four-hour queues when people start returning from their holidays.”
Worth reading in full.
