Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this week that from the 16th of August, England would reopen its borders to travellers from the EU and North America, provided they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Now, it seems they might be able to skip quarantine as well.
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Vaccinated US and EU residents could skip quarantine if they test negative for COVID
Today, ministers are expected to announce that those who have been fully jabbed in the US and EU countries will be able to skip UK quarantine when trying to enter from amber-list countries. The move, which is set to be discussed this morning, would open the UK border significantly, especially benefiting the British diaspora, those with family and friends overseas, and industries that rely on international travel.
Currently, only those who have been fully vaccinated in the UK by the National Health Service (NHS) qualify to skip the ten-day self-isolation period considered otherwise mandatory for those returning from amber-list countries.
The news comes as aviation companies confirmed a trial successfully proved that vaccination status could be safely checked away from the border. During the trial, over 250 England-bound passengers from New York, Jamaica, Los Angles, and Athens presented their vaccine passports by paper or digital document before boarding the plane. Out of all participants, just two vaccine certificates were rejected. One passenger’s passport did not match the name on their vaccine document, while the second person had attempted to travel less than 14 days after their second jab.
Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye explained: ‘The vaccine has been a miracle of science, and these trials have shown that we can allow fully vaccinated passengers from the EU and US to visit the UK without quarantine.’
However, Government sources have stressed that no decisions are guaranteed and could be subject to change at the final meeting. Whitehall will also be discussing the issue with administrations to decide whether the potential changes would be recognised through the whole UK or in England alone.
US and EU jabbed citizens to have their vaccines recognised in the UK
Last week, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi announced that those who were jabbed overseas but still registered with a GP in the UK would also be able to apply to get theirCOVID vaccinesrecognised from August.
US citizens who can provide a vaccine card, proving they are fully immunised against coronavirus, as well as EU citizens that have access to their ‘green pass’ will also be able to have their vaccination status recognised in England, as long as the jabs they received are authorised in the UK.
