England, Scotland revise travel lists as COVID cases rise
- The Balearic Islands, as well as the British Virgin Islands, were moved to England's "amber" list
- The Scottish government followed suit and made the same changes to its travel list
- The Spanish islands were moved to the UK's green list in June end
England and Scotland on Wednesday revised their COVID travel rules after a sharp rise in cases was seen. This revised COVID travel plan has placed greater restrictions on travellers arriving from Spain’s Balearic Islands.
The Department of Transport in London said after a “sharp rise in cases”, the decision had been taken to move the Balearic Islands as well as the British Virgin Islands to England’s “amber” list — the middle-ranking for COVID-19 incidence.
The Scottish government followed suit and said that it would be making the same changes to its travel list.
Under the “amber” restrictions, which will come into force after 4:00am (0300 GMT) on July 19, travellers will have to isolate themselves at home when they arrive in the UK.
However, changes that come into effect on the same day mean those who have had both COVID vaccines as part of the UK’s inoculation campaign will not have to isolate after they return.
The Spanish islands, which include Ibiza, Menorca, Majorca and Formentera, were moved to the UK’s green list at the end of June.
“Unfortunately when we put them on the green watch list from then we’ve seen the rates double, and also the rates of positivity of these tests double, meaning that we’re going to have to move quickly.” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
Revisions in restrictions were also announced for Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Croatia which have been moved to the “green” watch list, the lowest ranking for COVID cases. This means travellers do not have to isolate themselves in the UK but still have to test for COVID before and after arrival.
According to the new rules, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sierra Leone will be added to the “red” list from July 19, with the strictest travel measures imposed. This means those who have departed from or transited through the countries will be refused entry.
British and Irish citizens or UK residents must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days when returning from red-list countries.
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