Beijing, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The British government announced on June 24 that it intends to further relax the travel restrictions introduced for the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic, allowing its citizens who have completed the new crown vaccination to travel to countries and regions outside the highest risk areas, and can be exempted from quarantine after returning home.
The Transport Department said it expects to implement the new policy in phases later this summer.
"In view of the successful implementation of the vaccination programme, for fully vaccinated UK residents, we intend to allow them to return home to the countries and regions on the 'Amber' list later in the summer to travel back to the country and region listed in the 'Amber' list to be quarantine-free," Uk Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on social media Twitter on the 24th, "We will release more details next month." ”
People relax on a lawn in London, England, on June 1. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Han Yan)
On the same day, the British government announced that from June 30, the United Kingdom will include 17 countries and regions, including Malta and Spain's Balearic Islands, in the list of "green" safe tourism destinations, while Eritrea, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda will be included in the "red" list of the most restricted travel to the United Kingdom.
Regarding the entry and exit of Britons, the British government is implementing a "traffic light system": its citizens are exempt from quarantine after entering the UK from countries and regions classified as "green", and still need to be tested for the new crown virus before and after arriving in the UK; after entering the UK from "amber" countries and regions, they must self-isolate at home or in hotels and undergo virus testing; and after entering from "red" countries and regions, they must quarantine and undergo virus testing in designated hotels.
The "Amber" list currently covers most of the world, including the United States and most countries of the European Union.
People line up outside a COVID-19 vaccination centre in London, England, on June 19. (Xinhua News Agency)
According to Reuters, as the peak holidays in July and August approached, the UK government faced pressure from airlines and travel industry companies to ease travel restrictions.
Businesses such as British Airways welcomed the government's intention to ease travel restrictions.
"We can't afford to miss a summer," British Airways Chairman and CHIEF Executive Sean Doyle said in a statement, "jobs are at stake, Britons are separated from their families, and we can't let the success of the vaccine project go to waste." ”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was an opportunity to "open up tourism this summer" to Britons who had completed their vaccinations.
People walk through the lawn on the south bank of the River Thames in London, England, on June 1. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Han Yan)
The UK has gradually resumed international travel to and from the UK since last month, and only a dozen countries and regions have been included in the "green" list of quarantine-free destinations entering the UK. The Associated Press reported that nearly 61% of adults in the UK have completed COVID-19 vaccination so far, and 83% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
As the highly contagious new crown variant virus "Delta" strain continues to spread, the number of new confirmed cases in the UK has continued to climb in recent days. Agence France-Presse reported on the 24th that the number of new confirmed covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom in a single day exceeded 16,000 for two consecutive days.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron called on other EU leaders to adopt corresponding regulations on travel from the UK on the 24th to prevent the spread of the "Delta" strain in EU countries.