PORTUGAL will today be added to Britain’s “amber list” – throwing more summer holidays into chaos.
Ministers are later expected to advise Brits NOT to go to the top holiday destination, which saw a boom in bookings after being one of the only European hotpots on the green list from May 17.
It means anyone coming back will now have to isolate for ten days when they get home.
Anyone coming into the country will already have to show a negative Covid test, and pay for more in the days after they land back in Britain.
If they are negative, people will be released from quarantine and can go out of their homes again.
But those on the red list will have to stay in designated hotel quarantine facilities when they come back to the UK.
And they will be forced to use different terminals too so they don’t mix with other passengers in the airport.
Meanwhile, no countries are being added to the green list in a bitter blow for Brits aching for a post-pandemic getaway.
It means their list of potential holiday destinations are limited to a handful of places like Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
It comes as:
- Families head to Greece despite the Government’s amber warning – as one Brit mum says ‘my kids deserve a holiday’
- Heathrow finally opens a separate red list terminal after weeks of India arrivals mixing with others in long border queues
- Holidaymakers will be hit with soaring prices if green list additions are ‘kept secret’, says an airport boss
- Brits are now banned from entering France unless they have ‘compelling’ reason to stop spread of Indian variant
- Back in Britain people have been enjoying a mini-heatwave as Brits flocked to beaches and hotspots to soak up the sun
Britain finally opened up its international travel again from May 17, and the green list is set to be updated at least every three weeks.
Today’s review will come into effect on June 7.
The PM yesterday appeared downbeat about adding too many nations to the safe travel list, saying he would not hesitate to slam them on the red or amber list if he had to.
The PM added: “We’re going to try to allow people to travel, as I know many want to.
“But we’ve got to be cautious and we’ve got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary.
“The priority is to continue the vaccine rollout, to protect the people of this country.”
The Department for Transport has previously warned that Brits should be wary that countries can be taken off the green list with little notice – which could spark holiday chaos over the summer months.
Assessments on whether a country is on the red, amber or green list are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
The vaccination programme is seen as key in the bid to reopen the country and beyond.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that 75 per cent of UK adults across the UK had now had their first coronavirus jab, and 50 per cent of adults in England had received both doses.
Despite the amber warnings, Brits have been heading to amber-list Spain and Greece in recent weeks, going against warnings from the UK government.
