No Quarantine for Vaccinated Travelers From Amber List Countries?

Ministers are considering making some changes in England’s quarantine protocols. According to reports, fully vaccinated travelers from the amber list countries headed to England may no longer have to quarantine once these changes take place.

The COVID operations committee chaired by Michael Grove is said to make the change in rules by July 19. Transport secretary Grant Shapps is then expected to announce once the decision has been finalized. This rule change will apply to England, but travel rules are usually aligned with the rest of the UK.

However, the protocol will only apply to travelers who completed their vaccination at least 10 days before their travel to England.

10 Day Quarantine

The current protocol for visitors from the amber list traveling to the UK is to quarantine for 10 days. This includes surrounding countries in Europe including Portugal, France, Italy, and mainland Portugal. The same goes for the US. There are only a few countries listed on the green list. This includes Portugal’s island Madeira and Malta.

Changing Protocols

Aside from changing the quarantine protocols in the coming days, other policies on fully vaccinated also changed. On Tuesday, health secretary Sajid Javid announced that by August 16, fully vaccinated individuals and individuals under 18 don’t have to quarantine in case they come in contact with someone who had COVID19.

The pressure to make the necessary changes mostly comes from Conservative MPs and the travel industry that want to see changes happen before the English school holidays. However, these changes will not affect British travelers who traveled overseas for their summer trips. Those returning to the UK will have to take multiple COVID19 tests—one before they travel, and another on days 2 and 8 once they return.

Despite the relaxed rules that are most likely going to be implemented in the coming days, there is still concern regarding the spread of COVID especially the variants.