Government will remove Amber List quarantine for vaccinated and their children from August
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The Sun has an exclusive report tonight (picked up by sister paper The Times, which means they are probably not making it up!) that the Government has agreed to lift travel restrictions for the ‘double vaccinated’ along with unvaccinated children under 16.
‘From August’ – no exact date is given – anyone will be able to visit an Amber List destination without the need for quarantine on their return.
You can read the article here. The Times version is behind a paywall.
There is no clarification on what sort of testing will be required, but presumably the need for a ‘Day 2’ PCR test will remain.
The Sun claims that an announcement may be made on Thursday to allow airlines and travellers to make plans. Thursday is the next date for an update on which countries will appear on the ‘no quarantine required’ Green LIst.
The Sun implies that the August date is a done deal, and the only speculative element is whether ministers will decide to pull it forward to 19th July. This would coincide with the start of the school holidays in England.
Adults will only be allowed to avoid quarantine if they had their second vaccination at least 14 days before travel.
The big hole in the plan, clearly, is what happens if you have children aged 16-18. This age group is too young for vaccination, but will also not be exempt from 10 days of home quarantine if this story is accurate.
It is possible – and this is my hypothesis, not from The Sun – that the Government is trying to head off any fall-out from the ‘day of action’ planned by the travel industry tomorrow. This will include a protest on College Green at Westminster.
The Government has also been facing increased pressure from its own MPs. Huw Merriman, Conservative chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee, said today that the approach to overseas travel was ‘far too cautious’.
It is also likely that press pictures of German tourists on the beaches of Spain and Portugal has started to feed back into pressure from voters for more freedoms in the UK.
To confirm, this story – whilst currently the top headline on The Times website (The Sun hides it under their England football coverage) – is still just ‘informed rumour’ ie a Government leak. Let’s see what happens on Thursday.
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