Yahoo Finance Travel news – live: ‘Green list’ of safe countries to be announced as foreign holiday rules ease
Holiday-makers will finally learn which destinations they can visit this summer without having to quarantine for coronavirus upon return to the UK, when the government publishes its travel “green list” today.
The new traffic light system, with destinations rated green, amber or red, is expected to have a few countries, such as Gibraltar, Israel, Portugal and Malta, listed as travel locations which do not require self-isolation on return.
Assessments for the list will be based on a range of factors, such as the proportion of a country’s population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection and emerging new variants.
It came as concern rose over the spread of the Indian Covid-19 variant in the UK after clusters were found in several areas of England, according to reports.
The Covid variant is likely to be elevated to a “variant of concern” as cases have been found in schools, care homes and places of worship in the North West, London and the East Midlands - largely linked to travel.
It is thought it will be declared a "variant of concern" on Friday, although cases remain relatively low.
