Spain, Greece and Portugal likely to be on ‘amber list’ next month – meaning Brits will have to quarantine
HOLIDAY hotspots Spain, Greece and Portugal are unlikely to be on the UK’s green list next month, according to the latest research.
This means Brits returning to the UK on holiday will have to quarantine as well as pay for Covid tests.
The UK government hopes to resume foreign travel from May 17, using a traffic light system to open up countries.
In the case of “green” countries, families will be able to travel and return home without having to quarantine.
However, just eight countries are expected to be put on the green list, which is to be announced in the next few weeks, according to former British Airways strategy chief Robert Boyle.
In the EU, this includes just Malta, Gibratar, Ireland and Iceland.
Also on the list could be Israel – the leading country for the vaccine – as well as the US, Australia and New Zealand – all currently closed to the UK.
This means the majority of popular holiday destinations such as Spain, Greece and Portugal as well as France and Italy may fail to make the “green” list, and instead be placed onto the “amber” list.
Countries on the “amber” list will be forced to quarantine for 10 days at at home, as well as pay for two Covid tests on day two and eight.
However, Mr Boyle also added that the islands could open up before the mainland, like last year.
He explained: “Last year, the Spanish and Greek islands were given a lower-risk rating than the mainland and that could happen again this year.”
While ministers have not unveiled the specific criteria for the traffic light rankings, it is thought to involve the vaccination rate in the destination country, the number of active cases and any evidence of variants of the Covid-19 virus that may cause concern.
A third wave is currently sweeping Europe, which has forced France back into lockdown while Italy has extended their lockdown to May 3.
Despite this, a number of countries are already welcoming Brits despite the UK travel restrictions still to be lifted.
Greece is welcoming vaccinated Brits this week, while Cyprus is to open up travel from May 1.
Despite this, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ditched the official advice of not booking foreign holidays earlier this month.
He said: “My advice today would be moving on from where we were before.
“I’m not telling people they shouldn’t book summer holidays now, it’s the first time I’ve been able to say that for many months.”
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UK holidays are now allowed to go ahead, however – restrictions have been lifted in Wales and England which allow single-households to stay at self-catered properties.
Next month, hotels will be able to open while group holidays will be able to go ahead too.
Here is everything you need to know about booking a holiday this summer, and how to protect your money.