UK travel lists are updated as the Balearics join the Canaries on the amber list

The UK Government have updated their travel lists ahead of restrictions being lifted in England with no quarantine for returning travellers from amber list countries from Monday. The Balearic Islands, which include the tourist hotspots of Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca, will be moved back to England's amber travel list, and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move will take effect from 4am on Monday, July 19^th.

This means that all of Spain, including the Canary Islands, is now on the amber list, with the change for the Balearics coming only two weeks after the islands were moved to the green watchlist.

Shapps said that since then "we've seen the rates double and also the rate of positivity of these tests double, meaning that we're going to need to move quickly, as we said we might always have to do".

At the same time, he announced countries that have been added to the green list which are Bulgaria and Hong Kong, while Croatia and Taiwan are being moved to the green watchlist, meaning they are at risk of moving from green to amber. Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sierra Leone have been added to the red list.

Being on the amber list doesn’t make a huge amount of difference to travellers from England as of Monday, as the Foreign Office advice on travel is changing to allow holidays and leisure trips, and the requirements when returning home after this date are all but the same if on green or amber, making holidays to these countries more accessible.

Currently people travelling to amber-listed countries, which includes Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, have to isolate for 10 days on their return to England, but as of July 19th the requirement to quarantine will be scrapped for the fully vaccinated and those aged under 18.

Instead, they will still have to take a test three days before returning and have a PCR test on day 2 back in the UK - but not on day 8 and no quarantine. Wales have announced the same measures starting a week later on July 26^th.

Grant Shapps concluded by saying "I think we all know by now that travelling at the moment is not the same as it was before there was a global pandemic. It does mean that when people book, particularly if you're booking to a green watchlist country, you need to make sure you can get your money back, or change your booking whenever required. That is really what this demonstrates more than anything else.”