‘Freedom Day’ has been and gone in England – and so now people are hoping that they will get to jet off on their summer holidays without any problems.
But the constant changing of quarantine restrictions and movement of countries between the green, amber, and red lists are wreaking havoc with people’s travel plans.
Ibiza, Majorca, and Menorca were taken off the green list and put on amber as of 4am on Monday, July 19.
That prompted some desperate holidaymakers to splash out up to £1,000 to rush back and avoid having to stay at home for 10 days or risk a £1,000 fine.
If the travel traffic light system wasn’t confusing enough, there is now such a thing as ‘amber plus’.
But what does this new category mean, and which countries could be placed on it?
What is the amber plus list?
At present, fully vaccinated travellers returning to England and Wales from amber list countries are exempt from quarantine from Monday, July 19 (although testing requirements remain mandatory).
However, the Government recently confirmed this rule would not apply to France amid fears of the spread of the Beta variant.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have all followed Downing Street in its new rules for double-vaccinated travellers and the exemption for France.
This new category has now been dubbed the ‘amber plus’ category but it has not gone down well with holidaymakers who had planned to cross the Channel this summer.
People can still travel to France but will need to self-isolate for 10 days on their return and take two PCR tests, regardless of their vaccination status.
What other countries could go on the amber plus list?
It is currently unknown for certain which countries, if any, could be added to the new amber plus list.
Reports suggest Spain and Greece could soon follow France onto the amber plus list.
Infectious diseases expert at UAE, Professor Paul Hunter said it was ‘bizarre’ to see France added to the amber plus list first as Spain and Greece ‘seem to have rather more cases than France’.
He told MailOnline: ‘I personally cannot see a real or valid public health reason for doing it. Even if the Beta reduces protection given by the vaccine, the jab still prevents severe cases and deaths.
‘I think the Government has taken a reasonable approach up to now. But if you go to France or Spain, you are more likely to be positive than the guy who checks your passport.
‘I can’t see any value of having France or any other country on the amber plus list solely on the prevalence of variants. In terms of controlling infectious variants, the horse is gone.’
While Spain and Greece are popular holiday destinations for Brits, there are several less popular summer hotspots that are also at risk.
Data analyst Tim White says there are a number of countries that could join the roster.
‘Luxembourg has very high incidence of the Brazilian variant, so must surely be red at least amber plus,’ he told The Telegraph.
‘Belgium, Netherlands and Germany must be at risk too – low incidence of variants but could change.’
All we can do is wait for the government to release more information regarding the travel lists.
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