British travellers with two vaccinations will be able to visit countries on the Government's "amber list" without going into quarantine once they return home, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed.

Children under 18 will also be spared the need to quarantine.

The new rules make it possible, as far as British law is concerned, to take a family holiday in destinations such as Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Monaco or the USA without needing to quarantine for 10 days once you return home.

Read more: Universal Credit to be cut

However, other countries continue to have their own regulations, and may not welcome British visitors.

Making the announcement in the House of Commons, Mr Shapps said: "We are now, thanks to our brilliant vaccination programme, in a position where we can start to think about how we live with coronavirus."

He said: "I can confirm today that from the 19th of July UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine roll-out will no longer have to self isolate once they return to England."

Travellers over the age of four will need to take a Covid test two days after returning to the UK.

Mr Shapps said: "This means that for fully vaccinated travellers, the requirements for Green and Amber countries are the same."

The new rules apply to people who are "fully vaccinated", which means at least 14 days have passed since they had their second vaccination, he said.

In addition to changing the quarantine rules, the Government will end the current advice which states they should not travel to countries on the amber list unless strictly necessary. However, British travellers are still told to avoid travelling to countries on the Government's red list.

Mr Shapps said the new rules would make it easier for people to take holidays, adding: "This is also about re-uniting families who have been apart throughout this pandemic."

Travellers will need to prove they have been vaccinated, either by using the NHS app on a mobile phone or similar device, or by requesting a certificate by calling 119.

The UK also planned to change the rules to make it easier for fully vaccinated visitors from other countries to come to the UK, he said.

The move will come as a huge boost to the travel industry which is pressing for restrictions to be eased from July 19 when lockdown controls are due to be lifted in England.

There has been frustration in the travel industry – which has been heavily hit by the pandemic – that the Government has not moved more swiftly to ease controls in the wake of the vaccine rollout.

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said: “For too long, Brits have been uncertain of when they can enjoy the same travel freedoms afforded by their jab as those in Europe and this is despite the huge success of our vaccination programme which has now successfully fully vaccinated around two thirds of UK adults.”

But it comes as a group of more than 120 scientists and medics called on the Government to halt its plans for lockdown lifting, describing them as a “dangerous and unethical experiment”.

In a letter to the Lancet, they warned millions more people will became infected if it goes ahead, leaving hundreds of thousands with long-term illness and disability through long Covid.

Signatories include Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the council of the British Medical Association, and Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser.

“This strategy risks creating a generation left with chronic health problems and disability, the personal and economic impacts of which might be felt for decades to come,” the letter said.

Wednesday saw a further 32,548 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the highest daily reported total since January 23, and a further 33 deaths.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in England stood at 2,144 as of 8am on Wednesday, according to the latest figures from NHS England – up 43% from a week earlier and the highest number since April 10.

And a total of 416 hospital admissions of people with Covid-19 in England were reported for Monday, up 70% from a week earlier and the highest number since March 15.

Countries on the amber list

The current rule is that you should not travel to amber list countries or territories, but this will change on July 19

Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Armenia

Aruba

Austria

Azerbaijan

The Bahamas

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

China

Comoros

Congo

Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue

Côte d’Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Curaçao

Cyprus

Czech Republic (Czechia)

Denmark

Djibouti

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Fiji

Finland

France

French Polynesia

Gabon

The Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece (including islands)

Greenland

Guadeloupe

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kiribati

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macao

Madagascar

Malaysia

Mali

Marshall Islands

Martinique

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mayotte

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Montenegro

Morocco

Myanmar (Burma)

Nauru

Netherlands

New Caledonia

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

North Macedonia

Norway

The Occupied Palestinian Territories

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Poland

Portugal (including the Azores)Madeira is on the green watchlist.

Réunion

Romania

Russia

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Sierra Leone

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

South Korea

South Sudan

Spain (including the Canary Islands)The Balearic islands are on the green watchlist.

St Kitts and Nevis

St Lucia

St Maarten

St Martin and St Barthélemy

St Pierre and Miquelon

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Ukraine

United States (USA)

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Vietnam

Wallis and Futuna

Western Sahara

Yemen

Currently on the green list

Note that some of these could be moved to the Amber list as cases of Covid spread

Anguilla

Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory

Antigua and Barbuda

Australia

Balearic islands

Barbados

Bermuda

British Indian Ocean Territory

Brunei

Cayman Islands

Dominica

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

Gibraltar

GrenadaGreen

Iceland

Israel and Jerusalem

Malta

Montserrat

New Zealand

Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

Singapore

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Turks and Caicos Islands

Countries on the red list

You should not travel to red list countries or territories

Afghanistan

Angola

Argentina

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Burundi

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Congo (Democratic Republic)

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

Eritrea

Ethiopia

French Guiana

Guyana

Haiti

India

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Maldives

Mongolia

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal

Oman

Pakistan

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Rwanda

Seychelles

Somalia

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Tanzania

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Uganda

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Uruguay

Venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe

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