Spain could join France in being added to the ‘amber plus’ list, denying double-jabbed Brits quarantine free travel, it has been reported.
All arrivals into the UK from France will now have to continue to quarantine for 10 days even if they have had two doses of a vaccine.
The requirement has been dropped for all other ‘amber list’ countries as long as returning Brits have been double-jabbed.
The government said France will remain on the ‘amber plus’ list because of the persistent presence of Beta (South Africa) variant cases in the country.
It is thought to reflect concerns that the mutation, first identified in South Africa, may be more resistant to the vaccines.
(Image: Getty Images)
Now, The Sun reports that Spain could soon be added to the list alongside France, meaning travellers will have to isolate whether or not they are fully vaccinated.
Spain has recorded 162 cases of the Beta variant in the week up to July 1st, which is 8.8 per cent of sequenced cases reported by GISAID organisation, which monitors variants of concern.
Travel commentator Paul Charles said: “We’re seeing quarantine introduced by stealth again, as countries are picked off one by one, as they were last summer.
“We seem to have made little progress in terms of creating a long term solution to help consumers travel overseas, especially if they’ve been double jabbered.
“Any quarantine moves such as against Spain would have a major impact on livelihoods and jobs in the travel sector, and cause enormous financial distress to consumers.”
Earlier Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Government had always been clear it would take rapid action at the borders to “protect the gains made by our successful vaccination programme”.
Industry body Abta said the exclusion of France for those arriving back in England was a further setback for hopes of a “meaningful recovery” for the sector.
Easyjet chief Johan Lundgren said it “pulls the rug” from under people who were already in France or had booked holidays there.
He added: “The traffic light system is falling apart with the Government making it up as they go along and causing confusion and uncertainty. It is not backed up by the science or transparent data.”
