Ministers ‘will unveil overhaul of travel traffic light rules tomorrow with green and amber lists expected to be merged into one category of low-risk destinations while number of nations on red list will be slashed’

September 16, 2021

A major overhaul of the Government’s international travel rules is expected to be unveiled tomorrow as Grant Shapps makes changes to the traffic light system.

It is thought the green and amber lists could be merged to form one ‘simpler’ category of low-risk countries for holidaymakers to visit.

The Transport Secretary could also significantly reduce the number of destinations on the red list, with some reports suggesting the list could be halved.

Turkey – which is visited by millions of Britons each year – could come off the red list in time for the October half-term break, according to reports.

The country is a popular destination for late season sun seekers, with average temperatures of around 66F and highs of 75F at the end of October.

Along with changes to the traffic light system, there is also speculation that fully vaccinated passengers arriving in the UK will no longer need to take a pre-departure lateral flow test or a post-arrival PCR test. The move could save travellers approximately £100 per trip.

The expected shake-up comes after months of the travel and aviation industries calling for the system to be simplified.

The announcement was expected yesterday, but was pushed back as Boris Johnson reshuffled his cabinet.

Ministers are expected to meet tomorrow morning to sign off the plans, which are due to be announced later in the day.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to formally unveil a significant shake up of the Government’s international travel rules tomorrow

It is thought the green and amber lists could be merged to form one category of low-risk countries for holidaymakers to visit. Heathrow Airport is pictured on September 13

Turkey – which is visited by millions of Britons each year – could come off the red list in time for the October half-term break, according to reports. Pictured: Oludeniz beach in Turkey

What are the current travel traffic light rules?

Green list: Travellers must take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and book a day two follow up after arrival. There is no quarantine requirement unless the test is positive. The rules apply even to the fully-vaccinated.

Amber list: Travellers must take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and book and pay for post-arrival follow up tests. This applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status. The fully vaccinated must take a day two test. People who are not fully-vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days at home and take tests on day two and day eight.

Red list: Travellers must take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and book an 11 day stay in a Government-backed quarantine hotel where they will be tested on day two and day eight. This applies to all travellers, even those who are fully-vaccinated. The quarantine hotel costs £2,285 which must be paid by the traveller.

Tomorrow’s expected announcement on international travel came as:

The Government said a further 158 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 134,805. A further 26,911 cases of coronavirus were confirmed as of 9am this morning. Public Health England said the vaccination drive had directly averted approximately 230,800 hospital admissions among people aged 45 and over. Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned the UK faces ‘two backlogs’ after the coronavirus pandemic in the form of NHS waiting lists but also ‘a social backlog in mental health and public health’.

Currently, travellers who have not had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine must take one PCR test and are not required to self-isolate after arriving from a green list destination.

According to reports, they could be required to quarantine at home and be required to take two tests when arriving from a low-risk location under the new system.

The changes would likely come into force ahead of the October half-term break.

Mr Shapps’ expected announcement tomorrow will only apply to England, but recently the devolved administrations have implemented rule changes for travel announced in Westminster.

Boris Johnson said earlier this week that ministers were considering ‘simplifying’ the traffic light system.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said the Government was also considering what it could do to make ‘the burdens of testing less onerous for those who are coming back into the country’, but did not offer further details.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid later indicated that PCR tests for double-jabbed travellers will be scrapped in favour of cheaper lateral flow tests.

Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee, asked Mr Javid on Wednesday if he would ‘entertain the idea of moving to lateral flow tests, which are cheaper, and then only the small proportion of positive cases will then need to take up a PCR test’.

The expected shake-up comes after months of the travel and aviation industries calling for the system to be simplified

Mr Javid replied: ‘I don’t want to pre-empt the statement by the Transport Secretary but I believe that when he makes that statement, he will be pleased.’

Fully-vaccinated travellers returning from amber list locations, including popular destinations such as France, Italy, Greece and mainland Portugal, are required to buy post-arrival PCR tests which typically cost around £65.

Infections and deaths are down while 90pc of young people now have antibodies

Britain’s daily Covid cases and deaths fell again today in another sign that the return of schools has not triggered a fresh wave of the epidemic.

Department of Health statistics showed another 26,911 infections were recorded in the last 24 hours, down from 38,013 last Thursday. It marked the eighth day in a row that cases have fallen week-on-week.

Today’s figures do not include data from Scotland because of a ‘technical issue’, but going by yesterday’s figures the general downward trend would be unchanged.

And in another promising sign that the outbreak is shrinking, the number of deaths across the UK dropped by five per cent after 158 fatalities were recorded.

Latest hospitalisations for England showed they had fallen 10 per cent in a week after 701 people were admitted to hospital with the virus on September 14, the latest available. There were no figures for the UK published today.

Separate data revealed 92 per cent of England’s local authorities had seen their outbreak shrink in the latest week.

The figures came on the back of warnings from some scientists who feared the return of schools was dangerous and would trigger a huge surge in Covid cases.

Scotland saw its infections spiral to record highs in the wake of pupils returning to the classroom, but its cases are now also dropping week-on-week. Most schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went back on September 1.

It has been suggested that high antibody levels in youngsters may be keeping the virus at bay. Nearly nine in 10 people in the UK aged 16 to 24 have Covid antibodies, according to official estimate.

Some of the private testing firms listed on the Government website have been accused of advertising misleading low prices and providing poor service.

It is anticipated that people arriving from red list countries will continue to be required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers.

There are currently 62 countries on that list, but that number is expected to be reduced. According to the Times, the number of destinations on the red list could be halved.

It is understood the new red list is likely to be focused on countries where there is a significant concern about Covid variants.

Meanwhile, Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said earlier this week that 24 countries ‘should be taken off’, including Pakistan, South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Chile.

He added that he would be ‘very surprised’ if Turkey is removed due to ‘worsening’ coronavirus data.

But coronavirus data analyst Tim White said: ‘With Grant Shapps and the travel lottery, no-one can be sure.

‘But the data firmly support Turkey being removed as it has no threat of variants and a lot of genomic sequencing.’

However in a big boost to millions of Britons hoping to catch some late season sun, it was today reported that Turkey will be removed from the Government’s red list in time for the school half-term holidays.

According to the Times, the red list will be more than halved, with Turkey one of the countries set to be removed from the list.

The country is one of the UK’s most popular destinations for late autumn/winter sun – with average highs of around 26C.

More than two million Britons holidayed in the country in 2019, Officer for National Statistics figures show.

However the country has been on the red list since May.

The travel sector has been desperate for the testing and quarantine rules for international travel to be relaxed.

Heathrow said this week it had gone from being Europe’s busiest airport in 2019 to number 10 on the list, behind rivals in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.

The transport hub announced it recorded a 48 per cent increase in passenger numbers in August compared with the previous month.

Some 2.2million passengers travelled through the west London airport last month, up from 1.5 million in July and the highest monthly passenger total of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the airport noted that demand was still down 71 per cent compared with before the coronavirus crisis. In August 2019, passenger numbers reached 7.7 million.

Heathrow has urged the Government to ‘streamline’ the rules for international travel, calling for the amber list to be scrapped, and a two-tier system introduced.

Under the airport’s proposals, fully vaccinated arrivals from green list locations would no longer be required to take a test, whereas those who are not fully vaccinated would need to take lateral flow tests pre-departure and post-arrival.

Only those who test positive would need to take a more expensive PCR test.

Hotel quarantine would be retained for arrivals from high-risk red list countries.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: ‘The Government has the tools to protect the UK’s international competitiveness which will boost the economic recovery and achieve its ‘global Britain’ ambitions.

‘If ministers fail to take this opportunity to streamline the travel rules then the UK will fall further behind as trade and tourists will increasingly bypass the UK.’

Meanwhile Gary Wilson, the chief executive of easyJet Holidays, earlier this week said Britain was lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of travel.

He told a Travel Weekly conference that the company was ‘back to pre-pandemic levels’ in Europe. He urged ministers to adopt a less restrictive approach to holidays.

He said: ‘The government throwing us scraps and expecting us to be grateful for that isn’t good enough. They may continue not to listen but it shows the disconnect between the government and the industry.’

Meanwhile, Steve Heapy, the chief executive of Jet2, the UK’s second biggest tour operator, said of the system: ‘It’s impossible for customers to plan.

Winter is very popular with city breaks and short breaks, [but] people are just not going to risk it for two or three days as long as this complexity remains.’

Will we dodge the back-to-school Covid wave? Infections and deaths are down while 90pc of young people now have antibodies

ByLuke Andrews Health Reporter For Mailonline

Britain’s daily Covid cases and deaths fell again today in another sign that the return of schools has not triggered a fresh wave of the epidemic.

Today’s figures do not include data from Scotland because of a ‘technical issue’, but going by yesterday’s figures the general downward trend would be unchanged.

And in another promising sign that the outbreak is shrinking, the number of deaths across the UK dropped by five per cent after 158 fatalities were recorded.

Separate data revealed 92 per cent of England’s local authorities had seen their outbreak shrink in the latest week.

The figures came on the back of warnings from some scientists who feared the return of schools was dangerous and would trigger a huge surge in Covid cases.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, said: ‘It does look like those strongly expressed views that we would see a surge in infections after schools went back has not turned out to be the case.’

It has been suggested that high antibody levels in youngsters may be keeping the virus at bay. Nearly nine in 10 people in the UK aged 16 to 24 have Covid antibodies, according to official estimate.

Rates will also start rising quickly in 12 to 15-year-olds next week, when the jab rollout opens to them for the first time.

ENGLAND: The above graph shows Covid cases in England by date reported. It reveals that they are still sliding in the country a fortnight after children returned to school

‹ Slide me ›

Public Health England’s weekly surveillance report revealed only 11 of 149 authorities saw outbreaks grow in the week ending September 12. The percentage change in the 149 local authorities across England in the week ending September 5 (left) and the most recent week ending September 12 (right)

SCOTLAND: The above graph shows Covid cases in Scotland by date reported. The country has not reported its Covid cases today due to a ‘technical issue’, although going by yesterday’s data the downward trend would be unchanged

WALES: The above graph shows Covid cases in Wales by date reported. These have also started to level off in the country amid the return of schools

NORTHERN IRELAND: The above graph shows cases in the UK nation by date reported. It reveals that they have started to dip in Northern Ireland, although they remain at a high level

The Covid Symptom Study estimated 47,276 people in the UK were catching the virus every day in the week to September 11. This was a drop of nine per cent on the same time the previous week

Vaccines saved more than 100,000 lives and prevented nearly 250,000 hospital admissions, PHE says

England’s Covid vaccine rollout has saved more than 100,000 lives and stopped nearly quarter of a million hospital admissions, according to official figures.

Public Health England estimates the jabs stopped up to 230,800 adults over the age of 45 being hospitalised.

Some 178,900 hospitalisations were prevented among those aged over 65, it said.

Meanwhile, around 51,900 people aged 45 to 64 did not need hospital care because they were immunised.

Estimates for the number of deaths prevented by vaccinations in England stands at 112,300, PHE said.

The figures were calculated by PHE and Cambridge University based on data up to September 5.

Some 89 per cent of all people aged 16 and over in England have now received one dose of vaccine, while 81 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Vaccine take-up continues to be lower among younger age groups, however.

Some 83 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds in England have now had one jab, along with just 73 per cent of people aged 18 to 29.

The Office for National Statistics, which carried out blood tests on youngsters across the UK’s four nations, found between 87 and 89 per cent of them had antibodies that help fight the virus. The presence of coronavirus antibodies suggests someone has been infected in the past or has been vaccinated, and therefore has some immunity.

Experts have said the figures may offer proof that the virus has started to become endemic, with Britain no longer in a fragile state where cases could explode at any point. Instead, Covid will come in waves as immunity gradually fades.

Britain recorded another 26,911 Covid cases today, although this number did not include Scotland because of ‘technical issues’.

But looking at yesterday’s figures, it suggests that cases would still be trending downwards today if Scotland’s were included.

Another 158 deaths were also posted today, nine fewer than the same time last week.

A message from Public Health Scotland posted on their dashboard read: ‘Daily data on new cases, tests, ICU admissions and vaccinations will not be refreshed today due to a technical issue affecting the availability of the data.

‘Tomorrow’s update will include figures for today.’

PHE data revealed Covid cases continued to grow in just 11 parts of the country between September 6 and 12.

Newcastle upon Tyne saw the biggest surge in the country, with cases rising by 11.1 per cent. It was followed by Northumberland (10.3 per cent) and Leicester (9.5 per cent).

Local outbreaks also pushed case numbers up in the rest of Leicestershire (5 per cent), Oldham (4.6 per cent), Blackpool (3.1 per cent) and Coventry (1.4 per cent).

Meanwhile, tiny increases in infection rates were spotted in Middlesbrough (0.9 per cent), Redcar and Cleveland (0.8 per cent), Southend-on-Sea (0.8 per cent) and Calderdale (0.4 per cent).

At the other end of the scale, data showed infections more than halved in West Berkshire (down 54.2 per cent) and Gloucestershire (down 52.7 per cent).

Cases also fell in South Gloucestershire (down 49.5 per cent), Bristol (down 49.4 per cent) and Swindon (down 48.9 per cent).

PHE data showed cases fell at a national level and in all nine regions of the country, in a marked change from last week when increased slightly in every area apart from the South West.

The North-East had the highest rate, with 370 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to September 12.

Meanwhile, they were the lowest in London, where 212 per 100,000 people tested positive last week.

But with large numbers returning to offices last week and Transport for London experiencing its busiest day since before the pandemic, cases in the capital could rise in the coming weeks, experts fear.

Experts had warned cases in England were likely to soar as pupils returned to classrooms last week.

Scotland experienced its highest ever spike in infections after schools resumed last month, according to official figures.

But a similar spike has not yet appeared south of the border.

Cases among five to nine-year-olds were on the rise. But they dropped in all other age groups.

Meanwhile, those aged 80 and over were least likely to have the virus last week, with just 105 per 100,000 testing positive.

So far, 6.2million people have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, but the actual figure is thought to be much higher, as not everyone who catches the virus takes a test.

In response to the findings, Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of PHE said: ‘There are still high levels of infection in the community.

‘We are in a much better place today to deal with the virus than we were a year ago, but we must not be complacent.

‘The vaccines are the best defence we have against the virus so please make sure to get protected.

‘Those over 50 and the clinically vulnerable will be offered a third primary dose six months after their second dose and 12-15-year-olds can have one dose to help protect themselves and their families.

‘It is important to keep following the simple steps to help protect yourself and others.

‘Wear a face covering in enclosed spaces, stay at home if you feel unwell and get a PCR test as soon as possible if you have any Covid symptoms.’

King’s College London scientists and experts from health data science company ZOE found cases were rising among 0 to 18-year-olds, but falling in all other age groups

When breaking the country down by regions they found that cases were remaining flat in most areas. Infections fell in the Midlands, South East, London, East of England and South West last week, they said

Separate figures from Test and Trace suggested Covid cases rose nine per cent last week, after it recorded more than 205,000 cases in the week to September 8

The above graph shows Covid cases among people who have received two doses of the Covid vaccine (red line) and the population (blue line). Almost 90 per cent of over-16s have already received one dose of the jab

Almost 90% of 16 to 24-year-olds now have Covid antibodies, data says

Nearly nine in 10 people in the UK aged 16 to 24 have Covid antibodies, according to official estimates.

The Office for National Statistics, which carried out blood tests on youngsters across the UK’s four nations, found between 87 and 89 per cent of them had antibodies that help fight the virus.

The presence of coronavirus antibodies suggests someone has been infected in the past or has been vaccinated.

However, they are not a perfect measure of whether a person is protected against Covid, as other parts of the immune response are involved in fighting the virus, such a T-cells.

The steady increase seen across the UK has coincided with the rollout of Covid vaccine to younger age groups.

First doses of vaccine have been available to teenagers aged 16 and 17 for several weeks, while all over-18s have been eligible for a jab since June.

And with the first over-12s being given the vaccine from September 22, a similar surge in antibodies could be seen among this age group.

But levels are falling among older age groups, who were the first to get the jab when the rollout began last December.

Ministers hope its booster programme for over-50s, vulnerable Britons and frontline health workers, will keep immunity high heading into winter.

The King’s College London study also offered more proof that the country has still yet to suffer a Scotland-style spike in cases following the return of millions of pupils to schools, despite gloomy warnings that a sizeable uptick was inevitable. Children have now been back in classrooms for over a fortnight.

King’s researchers, who work alongside health-tech firm ZOE, also estimated cases had fallen by around 13 per cent in Scotland, which saw daily infections spiral to a record-high in the wake of schools returning.

Professor Tim Spector, who runs the study, warned Covid levels remain high in the country, and that face masks and social distancing should be brought back in to help control the spread of the virus.

Boris Johnson is hoping to rely on booster vaccines and jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds to keep the virus in check this winter, but has admitted face masks and WFH guidance could be brought back if Covid hospitalisations spiral out of control.

Professor Spector once again called on health officials to recognise more symptoms of Covid becasue jabs have helped morph the virus into what feels like a bad cold for the majority who get infected.

He said: ‘Sticking to the classic three (cough, fever and a loss of sense of taste or smell) ignores the fact that now most people experience symptoms like sore throat, headache and sneezing rather than fever or cough.

‘I also don’t understand why we are waiting for the situation to get worse and the NHS is pressured further before implementing simple measures that would help to bring down the number of new cases and save lives.

‘With such high levels of virus in the population we should also still be wearing masks and keeping our distance in crowded public places, as in major European cities where cases are much lower than ours.’

Experts have previously warned that the symptom study — also run by health data company ZOE — is becoming less reliable because the change in symptoms has meant it is unable to pick out Covid infections from other viruses.

It comes as official estimates suggest today that nearly nine in 10 people in the UK aged 16 to 24 have Covid antibodies.

The Office for National Statistics, which carried out blood tests on youngsters across the UK’s four nations, found between 87 and 89 per cent of them had antibodies that help fight the virus.

The presence of coronavirus antibodies suggests someone has been infected in the past or has been vaccinated.

However, they are not a perfect measure of whether a person is protected against Covid, as other parts of the immune response are involved in fighting the virus, such a T-cells.

In England, 88.7 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds have Covid antibodies, according to estimates from the ONS based on a random sample of the population (green lines). Figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are similar. And all four nations are seeing a drop in antibody levels among older people, who were the first to be offered the vaccine earlier this year. The graphs also show that antibodies levels coincide with the different age groups getting the vaccine (light and dark blue lines), with rates among young people rising in recent months, while there was a much sharper increase among older people earlier this year when they were offered Covid vaccines

The graph shows the proportion of over-16s in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland who tested positive for Covid antibodies between December 7 and August 23. Rates were highest in England (93.6 per cent), followed by Scotland (93.3 per cent), Northern Ireland (91.9 per cent) and Wales (91.2 per cent). The graphs also show the proportion of the population who have received at least one vaccine (light blue line) and two jabs (dark blue line)

The ONS modelled the percentage of adults who have Covid antibodies based on blood samples taken across the four UK nations and in different age groups. In England and Scotland, antibody levels were the highest among younger groups who have more recently been given the jabs, while figures for Wales and Northern Ireland were less certain (shown through wider black lines, indicating less confidence around the figures). But lower levels of antibodies was spotted older age groups across each country

Life expectancy falls to lowest level in a DECADE due to Covid pandemic

Life expectancy in England reached its lowest level in a decade because of the Covid pandemic, official figures have revealed.

Public Health England (PHE) claimed the ‘very high level’ of excess deaths in 2020 caused by the pandemic saw life expectancy in men to drop by 1.3 years to 78.7. For women, the rate dropped 0.9 years to 82.7.

This is the lowest since 2011 for both genders, according to the Government agency’s Health Profile for England report.

And the gap in how long people live based on deprivation reached the highest ever recorded, which it said demonstrated that the pandemic ‘exacerbated existing inequalities’.

Men living in the least deprived areas can expect to live a decade longer than those in the run-down boroughs, while the difference for women is 8.5 years.

And there was differences across the country, with London seeing the biggest fall in life expectancy. The South West and East of England saw the smallest drops.

Since the virus hit the UK last year, almost 120,000 people in England have died within 28 days of testing positive for the Covid.