The UK Government announced yesterday (Thursday) in their update of the green list that allows travellers to return home from destinations without the need to quarantine, that the Balearic Islands are added, but that the Canary Islands and the rest of Spain remain on the amber list for at least another three weeks.
If people are honest it was expected that the Canaries wouldn’t go green due to an increase in the incidence rates of the archipelago, due to an upward trend in Tenerife, who enter alert Level 3 restrictions from tomorrow, but it is still devastating news especially for the rest of the islands that do have data that supports tourism.
However, there are positives to be drawn from this. Firstly, the fact that any countries were added at all is good news, as it was widely reported that none would be added after the UK Government delayed ‘Freedom Day’ from June 21st to July 19th and the green list wouldn’t be updated until August.
Secondly, this is the first time that the UK has looked at territories on a regional basis and not just nationally, and has added islands separately from their mainland’s, notably the Balearics and Madeira, meaning that when the Canary Islands data supports it, there is no reason why they won’t be added, unlike at the last review when the UK only considered Spain as a whole.
Thirdly, although many were disgruntled when the Canaries weren’t added to the green list on the last review on June 4th, if the islands had been, they would now be in the same position as Portugal and being taken off it due to the increase in the epidemiological data. This would have a much worse effect on tourism, and tourists would be ‘blamed’ for the increase, whereas, where the problem lies, has been clearly identified by the Ministry Of Health.
Lastly, although there are obvious devastating knock-on effects by not being on the green list, the Balearics will be lucky to salvage 8 to 10 weeks of summer tourism before the winter season starts. Once the Canary Islands are open, they are open all year round and in a few months, time will be back in a strong position.
Grant Shapps also confirmed yesterday that there are plans to eliminate the mandatory quarantine for all travellers returning from "amber" destinations if they are fully vaccinated, although this will be updated during July and won’t be in place until "later this summer."
The plan will be implemented in two phases, he said in a statement, vaccinated British residents will be the first to be exempted from quarantine and later followed by other travellers. He also said that the Government "intends to withdraw the recommendation that you should not travel to amber countries."
"Next month more details will be communicated, including the rules that will apply to children and those who cannot be vaccinated, how this plan will be implemented at the borders and the dates on which these changes will take effect," he said.
While the British Government has announced the rules that affect England, where 56 of the 66 million citizens of the UK reside, Scotland and Northern Ireland have also announced a similar list of safe destinations, and a similar decision is expected by Wales.
