Covid travel rules: 'Green list' countries to be revealed

Holidaymakers in England are to find out which "green list" countries they can visit without quarantining on their return later this afternoon.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will unveil details of new travel rules at a coronavirus briefing at 17:00 BST.

Rules will be based on a traffic light system, with countries rated green, amber or red based on their Covid risk.

Currently, people in England face fines for holidaying abroad, and must have a valid reason for foreign travel.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not said when they might ease their strict travel rules.

The list of green countries with the fewest travel restrictions is expected to be small when the rules come into effect on 17 May.

Travellers to countries rated green will not need to isolate on their return, but they will need to take a Covid test before and after their trip.

Arrivals from amber countries will need to quarantine, while red-list countries have the strictest rules, with only UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, allowed to return - and they must pay for a 10-day stay in a government quarantine hotel.

Countries will be categorised based on their number of Covid cases and the success of vaccine rollouts.

At the moment, the UK has fewer cases and a higher rate of vaccinations than many popular destinations, including France, Spain, Greece and Turkey.

Infections in Portugal are at a similar level to that in the UK, with 27 confirmed virus cases per 100,000 people per week compared with 21 in the UK, according to figures from Our World in Data from 4 May.

The UK government previously said the travel rules will be reviewed again on 28 June to see whether any measures can be relaxed further.

The chief executive of Booking.com warned that travel prices would rise due to pent-up demand and fewer planes in service.

While the UK's largest tour operator, Tui, has said it will subsidise the cost of Covid testing for its customers, offering test packages for between £20 and £90.

Ahead of the transport secretary's announcement, airline giant IAG, which owns British Airways, said it was "ready to fly" but urged the government to introduce affordable, simple and proportionate testing to replace quarantine.

Meanwhile, a coronavirus variant first detected in India has been escalated to a "variant of concern" by Public Health England, as scientists believe it is at least as transmissible as the Kent variant.

India is currently on the red list of countries, with people only able to enter the United Kingdom from there if they are a British or Irish national, or UK resident.

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