Green list update: which countries have gone amber?
Spain’s Balearic Islands have been struck off the government’s travel green list, just two weeks after they were promoted from amber, granting UK holiday-makers a quarantine-free travel status upon return.
Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca and Formentera will officially revert to amber at 04:00 BST on Monday, meaning British holidaymakers in these destinations are now scrambling to get back to the UK in time to beat the quarantine deadline. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, confirmed the decision on Wednesday night, and laid out other changes to the travel list which will come into force on Monday: Bulgaria and Hong Kong are being added to the UK’s green list while Croatia and Taiwan are being moved to the green watchlist (countries at risk of turning amber).
The countries now on the green list are:
Anguilla
Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Balearic islands (Mainland Spain and the Canary Islands are on the amber list)
Barbados
Bermuda
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Gibraltar
Grenada
Iceland
Israel and Jerusalem
Madeira (Mainland Portugal and the Azores are on the amber list)
Malta
Montserrat
New Zealand
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Turks and Caicos Islands
Shapps defended the decision over the Balearic Islands, noting that case rates have doubled in recent weeks and the government had to “move quickly”. Rosana Morillo, the director general of tourism for the Balearics, said the move did not come as a surprise given the rising infection rates. However, she pointed out that hospital admissions remain low thanks to the vaccine, and there have not been any Covid-related deaths on the islands for many days.
Steve Heapy, chief executive of airline Jet2, has branded the UK’s decision illogical, given that people in England will be allowed to attend venues such as nightclubs without a mask from Monday. “The average person in the street can’t go on holiday to relax but 70,000 people can cram into a football stadium,” he said.
Gary Lewis, chief executive of The Travel Network Group, has warned that changes to the Balearic Islands could have a wider effect, and reinforce the sense that customers cannot book holidays far in advance with confidence. The government’s “erratic” approach will create “unease” for customers about how quickly destinations can change status, says Lewis.
From Monday 19 July the guidance that people should not travel to amber list countries will be removed – which begs the question, how much does a switch from green to amber actually matter?
For UK citizens who have been fully vaccinated or are under 18, the difference is minimal. From 19 July, returning from amber list countries will no longer mean having to quarantine. The requirement will be to take a PCR test three days before returning to the UK.
A switch to amber comes as bad news, however, for travellers over the age of 18 who are yet to be double vaccinated. This demographic will still have to quarantine for ten days.