ENGLAND – What is the UK’s traffic light system? Euronews Travel said that the UK’s traffic light proposal shows green, orange and red list countries, which are identified by the risk of contracting Covid-19.
This is measured by factors including: Percentage of population that has had the vaccine, Rate of infection, Prevalence of new or emerging variants and Access to reliable scientific data.
The ‘red list’ currently houses 39 destinations including popular holiday spots such as the Philippines, the Seychelles and the UAE. Red list countries are totally off-limits for travel. If movement between countries is absolutely essential, it comes in exchange for a 10-day quarantine, departure testing and PCR testing on days 2 and 8.
If you have been in or through any of the countries listed below in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK.
If you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK, you will be able to enter. You must quarantine in a government approved hotel for 10 days.
Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
‘Orange list’ countries follow a similar quarantine procedure. However for ‘green list’ countries – which is a small handful and does not include popular European destinations like France and Spain – travellers will not need to quarantine, but testing before departure and arrival will be mandatory.
The coloured lists will be reviewed regularly, taking into account factors such as Covid infection rates, the prevalence of variants, and the extent of vaccination programmes.
The government has said that restrictions for each tier of the system will be looked at for potential changes on 28 June, 31 July and 1 October. But they also warned that countries could be removed or added to a list at very short notice.
