ARCHIVED - UK authorities considering lifting quarantine requirement for vaccinated holidaymakers returning from abroad
The Spanish tourism sector is keeping its fingers crossed that British visitors will be able to head for the Costas after all.
The British government is considering dropping the quarantine requirement for vaccinated travellers entering the UK from amber-listed countries, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph and Sky News.
The move would allow British holidaymakers who are fully inoculated against coronavirus to travel to popular destinations such as Spain, Greece, Italy or Portugal without having to self-isolate for ten days after they get home again. It would also make visits easier for ex-pats who have had both their jabs but, due to the pandemic, have been unable to get back to visit family, for example.
While a UK government spokesperson told the press that it is “working for a safe return to international travel”, causing tourism sectors to hope that British visitors may arrive en-masse after all, health secretary Matt Hancock hinted that the possibility is being discussed but said it will not be happening quite yet.
Mr Hancock went on to explain that the authorities think it would be unfair to offer the possibility of quarantine-free travel to vaccinated citizens when half of the UK population has yet to be offered vaccinations.
Current regulations regarding countries on the UK’s amber list require travellers to take a Covid-19 test before travelling, book and pay for two additional tests on days two and eight after arrival, and to remain in quarantine for 10 days after landing.
All of Spain is currently on the amber list under the UK’s traffic light system, which is due for review next week. The Spanish authorities have officially asked the UK to consider moving the country, or at least popular tourist destinations with low coronavirus incidence rates, onto the green list.
The vaccination campaign continues to roll out in Spain; as of Thursday evening, the number of people to have received the full dose of immunization vaccines in Spain had risen to just over 13.64 million, equating to 28.7 per cent of the population, and it is hoped that the figure will reach 15 million by the end of the week.
The 22.36 million to have received at least one vaccine dose represent 47.1 per cent of the entire population, and the target of fully immunizing 70 per cent by the end of the summer remains within reach if current vaccination levels can be maintained.