Britain’s travel red list set ‘to be abolished’

Britain’s travel red list set ‘to be abolished’. Hotel quarantine could be ditched too.

According to reports, Britain is set to remove the red travel list. At the moment seven countries are on this list still. Hotel quarantine could soon be coming to an end too. The measures are reportedly being considered as the threat from the coronavirus from abroad diminishes.

The measures will be discussed at a meeting with UK ministers on Thursday, October 28, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The easing of the restrictions is said to be backed by the Department of Health. At the moment only red list travellers have to spend time in quarantine hotels. If the red list is abandoned this would effectively mean an end to hotel quarantine for the time being.

The seven countries still on the red list are Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

Anyone who heads into the UK from one of these countries has to spend time in a quarantine hotel. Quarantine hotels cost £2,285 per person. The hotel stay is for 11 nights.

The new changes are expected to come into force on Monday.

The hotel quarantine scheme could be kept on the backburner for the possibility of new COVID variants being discovered.

It is possible that the potential move to scrap the red list is due to the Cop26 climate change summit. Delegates will be heading to Glasgow from red list countries.

According to a Whitehall source: “The Department of Health is minded to remove all the remaining countries from the red list given the public health advice.

“But the hotel quarantine policy will remain in place as a safety net, in case the situation changes. Countries could go on if there is a concern at some point in the future.”

According to The Telegraph, hotel quarantine could be ditched and replaced with self-isolation for travellers. Ministers are said to be considering a new plan which would see travellers self-isolate for 10 days rather than head to a quarantine hotel. As reported by The Telegraph, this change may not be announced until a later date.


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Alex
Written by

Alex Glenn

Originally from the UK, Alex is based in Almeria and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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