By dropper, England continues to ease its restrictions on tourism, and today they took an important step by announcing that starting on July 19, those who have completed the vaccination through doses administered by the National Health Service of the United Kingdom and who come from countries under the «amber» category, will be able to enter English territory without the need for quarantine.
This is an important lifeline for the tourism sectors of the 145 «amber» countries, notably Spain, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands and Russia in Europe, and in America to the countries and territories of Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Curaçao, El Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States.
In any case, vaccinated passengers must continue to undergo a test before traveling and another on the second day of arrival in England. In the case of minors, those between 11 and 17 years old must complete both tests, but those between 5 and 10 only the one on arrival.
«Thanks to our successful vaccine program, we are now able to expand non-quarantine travel to fully NHS vaccinated adults and children under the age of 18, and take another step toward fully reopening international travel,» said Grant Shapps, Secretary of British transport.
«As we continue with the national unlocking, it is best to get people back to travel, whether for business to help create jobs, overdue vacations, or reconnect family and friends. However, protecting public health remains our priority and we will act quickly if necessary,» he added.
On behalf of the airlines, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, said that «this is a positive step towards the true reopening that the sector was looking for. The summer season essentially starts here.»
Those who have not completed the COVID vaccination schedule should continue to quarantine for 10 days and take the test prior to travel, as well as on the second and eighth day of arrival.
Red list
There are still 56 countries that remain on the red list, among which are Latin America and the Caribbean, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela and Panama.
Those who have been there in the ten days prior to their arrival on British land will only be able to enter if they are citizens or resident foreigners, and complete 10 days of quarantine in hotels designated under their responsibility. The rest will be denied entry.
Green list
At the moment there are only 27 countries under the green category, which are only required to take a test before traveling and a second test on the second day of arriving in England.
The only «green» American countries or territories are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, Dominica, and Turks and Caicos, although, as can be seen on the British government website, all are listed under «watch» and «low risk of being moved to amber».
The government updates the status of each country every three weeks. The last time was June 30.
