The UK’s rules on foreign travel are set to be reviewed later, after industry bosses united during a desperate plea for the green list to be widened.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will face MPs this morning, with an update on the traffic signal system expected within the afternoon.
Travel bosses are calling for an exemption to quarantine for fully-vaccinated people from amber countries.
Mr Shapps has said ministers “need to seem at what the science says”.
But the prospect of European holidays could face another hurdle, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested all EU countries should make British travellers quarantine on arrival to slow the spread of the Delta variant.
She told Germany’s parliament: “In our country, if you come from Great Britain, you’ve got to travel into quarantine – and that is not the case in every European country , and that is what i might wish to see.”
Currently, people travelling from the united kingdom to Greece, Spain and Portugal aren’t required to quarantine. Those getting to Italy need to self-isolate for five days then take a test, while fully-vaccinated UK visitors to France can enter without quarantining.
By contrast, when returning to the united kingdom from most holiday hotspots on the amber list, travellers need to self-isolate for 10 days, also as buy tests.
What are the green, amber and red rules?
How am i able to prove I’ve had both my Covid jabs?
What’s happening with foreign travel?
Just 11 destinations are on the green list – including Gibraltar, Israel and Australia. Travellers don’t got to quarantine once they revisit from these countries, but they are doing need to buy tests.
Countries on the red list are considered the very best risk, and travel from those nations is more strictly limited.
The UK government reviews which countries are on which list every three weeks, and therefore the last update – when Portugal was stripped from the green list – was three weeks ago on 3 June.
As well as today’s review, the govt has also said there’ll be a “checkpoint” review of the principles for every category on Monday 28 June. that would be when ministers decide whether to relax quarantine for fully-vaccinated travellers.
On Wednesday, Mr Shapps told the BBC: “If you have been double vaccinated then in fact we’d like to seem at what the science says. We’ve said that Monday is that the point to review that data, so we are arising to having a glance at it.
“We’re watching it within the next few days and I’ll have more to mention .”
The UK government’s traffic signal system applies to England, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ready to make their own rules. However, the principles are broadly an equivalent and former changes to the lists are adopted by all four nations.
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Analysis box by Caroline Davies, transport correspondent
The travel industry is nervous.
The school summer holidays, an important time for the world to form much of its income, are looming and most holiday destinations are on the amber list, meaning arrivals from there to the united kingdom need to quarantine reception and buy a minimum of three Covid tests.
Few are feeling optimistic that today’s expected announcement will see many destinations added to the green list.
But the industry is more hopeful that there might be news about removing the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated passengers from amber list countries – though there’s no guarantee whether or when this might be introduced.
Ministers have always said that their international travel policy are going to be guided by protecting public health.
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Earlier in the week , Health Secretary Matt Hancock said ministers were “working on” plans for fully-vaccinated people to be exempt from quarantine if they returned from amber-list countries.
More than 60% of UK adults have now been fully vaccinated, while 82.5% have had their first jab.
The latest daily Covid figures for the united kingdom also showed an extra 16,135 confirmed cases and 19 further deaths.
Hospital admission data isn’t updated as frequently as cases, deaths and vaccinations, but the foremost recent data – from 21 June – showed there have been 1,508 people being treated for Covid in hospital.