England and Scotland lift quarantine of vaccinated travelers in EU and USA

The measure, for which the tourism sector also campaigned heavily, went into effect on Monday at 4 a.m. (5 a.m. Belgium time).

For countries classified as “orange”, that is, for most tourist destinations including the European Union and the United States, the United Kingdom previously imposed a quarantine of between five and 10 days for travelers and costly tests.

He had already exempted travelers vaccinated by the British Health Service from quarantine, but not those vaccinated abroad, much to the dismay of British expatriates in countries for which it is very difficult to return home.

From now on, Scotland and England will apply the same measure to people vaccinated in the European Union or the United States, due to the presence of a beta version, for arrivals from all countries on the “orange” list, except France.

Vaccinated travelers in the United States must also prove that they are residents of the United States.

The United States, on the other hand, announced on Monday that it was closing its borders to international travelers, despite calls for reciprocity, especially coming from European countries. If EU countries decide to reopen their borders to Americans, provided they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have presented a negative test, travelers from the Schengen Area, United Kingdom and Ireland Have not been able to enter from the United States since March 2020.

The measures announced by London do not pertain to countries classified as “red” by London (India, the United Arab Emirates, South American states, etc.), from which only residents of the United Kingdom can return, given an expensive quarantine at their own expense. can come. Dedicated Hotel.

Among the European countries most bereaved by the pandemic with more than 129,000 dead, the United Kingdom is currently going through a pandemic wave attributed to the delta variant, despite a significant decline over the past week.