The UK Secretary of Transport, Grant Shapps, has announced updates for the travel lists in England this afternoon, which have been mirrored by Scotland, and come into effect at 4.00am on Monday, August 30th. The good news is that Spain, and most of Europe have remained on the amber list, with Canada, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Azores added to the green list. Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to announce the same shortly.
A statement from the department said: "The high rates combined with lower levels of published genomic surveillance in Thailand and Montenegro than other countries, mean that an outbreak of a new variant or existing variants of concern (VOC) or variants under investigation (VUI) cannot be easily identified before it is imported and seeded across the UK."
People travelling from green list countries do not have to quarantine on return to the UK, regardless of vaccination status, but still need to take pre-departure and day two tests - and complete a passenger locator form.
People travelling from amber list countries do not have to quarantine on return to the UK if fully vaccinated, but do need to quarantine for 10 days if not. All travellers must take pre-departure and day two tests, and complete a passenger locator form, and those in quarantine require a day 8 test.
People arriving from red list destinations have to isolate at a managed quarantine facility for 10 days, and be tested as necessary.
The big surprise in today’s announcement is that Turkey, who were highly tipped to be on the amber list, are staying on the red list until at least the next review because their data hasn't entirely gone in the right direction.
