Fully-vaccinated people in the European Union and
the United States will not have to quarantine upon coming to England and Scotland
from an amber list country.

The change will come into force at 04:00BST on
Monday, reports the BBC.

At the moment, only people who have received their
COVID-19 vaccines in the United Kingdom can avoid quarantine while returning
from amber list countries, with the exception of France.

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The UK government said that the rule is being
changed to help reunite family and friends whose loved ones are abroad.

UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that the
new rule will apply to people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19
with a jab approved by the European Union or the US.

However, travellers returning to the UK will still
need to take a COVID test before departure and a PCR test on the second day upon
arrival.

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People under 18 years of age are exempt from
isolation, and some will not have to test, depending on their age.

The change happened after 27,734 fresh COVID-19
cases were reported in the UK, bringing an end to a seven-day run of case numbers
falling consistently.

Wednesday’s figures, however, are significantly
down from a week ago when 44,104 cases were reported.

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The British government maintained that tougher
rules will continue to be in place for France. France, even though is on the
amber list, still requires travellers to quarantine when they return, even if
they are fully vaccinated.

Transport Secretary Shapps said that this advice
would be reviewed at the end of next week as part of the rolling assessment of
travel rules.

International cruises too will be allowed to
restart from England.

Whether Wales and Northern Ireland will adopt the
same changes or not is not yet known. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales
wanted more information about how approved vaccines would be verified, the BBC
quoted him as saying.