BRITS looking for a quarantine-free summer holiday may have to opt for Bahrain rather than Spain this year.
Sluggish jab rates and Covid variants have dashed hopes of a European getaway this summer.
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Can I travel to Bahrain this summer?
Summer holiday hotspots will be ranked under a new traffic lights system — letting Brits fly to “green” countries with low Covid rates and strong vaccine rollouts.
The move, to be unveiled by Boris Johnson, will see Bahrain, Dubai and the US top destination wish lists.
But nations with high virus cases and slow jab rollouts will require more quarantining.
That could deter millions of Brits from heading to Spain’s Benidorm and other European favourites such as France and Greece.
Prime Minister Johnson will publish the findings of the Global Travel Taskforce on April 5.
Under the traffic lights plan:
GREEN: Anyone returning from these countries must take a pre-flight lateral flow test at their own cost, then take a “sequencing test” within days of landing to check for new strains;
AMBER: Like green but those entering the UK must isolate at home for ten days after arrival. They can get out after five days with a negative test paid for privately;
RED: Arrivals must isolate on their return in an authorised hotel at their own cost — as they do currently.
So far, the US, Gulf states and Israel would be classed as “Green” thanks to their jab rollouts.
The PM will also set out how Brits can use vaccine passports to travel.
What are current coronavirus restrictions?
There is currently a complete holiday ban for people in England and Wales as part of government plans to defeat the spread of the Covid virus.
Under the latest Covid laws people across the country were officially banned in late March 2021 from leaving the country without a reasonable excuse.
People face a fine of £5,000 for breaking the new law.
Reasonable reasons to travel outside the UK
- Travel within the Common Travel Area (Channel Islands & Isle of Man)
- Where it's necessary for work
- For study outside the UK
- For volunteer or charity work
- Elite sportspeople – for training or competitions
- To fulfil a legal obligation
- To seek medical assistance or appointments
- For the purpose of moving house or viewing a house to buy or rent
- To be at the birth of a child at the mum's request
- To visit someone in a hospice or care home – but only close friends and family
- To visit someone who is dying – close friends and family only
- To attend a funeral
- For childcare purposes
- You are getting married outside the UK
- Contact with siblings for children in care
- If you don't live in the UK permanently and are going home
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 laws came into force on March 29.
According to the legal document: "The Regulations also impose restrictions on leaving the United Kingdom without a reasonable excuse (regulation 8)."
The law says no-one may "leave England to travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom, or travel to, or be present at, an embarkation point for the purpose of travelling from there to a destination outside the United Kingdom" without a reasonable excuse.
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