The UK government’s transport secretary Grant Shapps has today announced that all remaining countries on England’s red list for international travel have been removed.
The cabinet minister announced that the Latin American countries of Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela were taken off the list at 4am on November 1. This means arrivals will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285.
Shapps wrote on Twitter: ‘We will keep the red list category in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence.’
He added that from today, the Government will recognise coronavirus vaccines for arrivals from more than 30 new countries and territories including Peru and Uganda, bringing the total to in excess of 135.
All arrivals still need to fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) ahead of travel.
According to an announcement by the UK Department for Transport, the red list and quarantine hotel policy remains in place and will be reviewed every three weeks.
‘Whether it’s reuniting family members or making it easier for businesses to trade, the success of the vaccine rollout both at home and abroad has allowed us to reach this milestone,’ Grant Shapps said.
The end of hotel quarantine across the UK will bring it into line with most of Europe.
