UK: Johnson to set out plans to allow Britons to resume holidays abroad

UK PM Boris Johnson will on Monday set out plans to allow Britons to resume foreign holidays, with high-vaccination destinations such as the US, Dubai and Israel likely to be among the first placed on a “green list”. People briefed on Johnson’s plan said vaccination rates — more than infection levels — would be a key factor in determining the relative safety of holiday destinations, which will be rated on a “traffic light system”. Those countries with lower rates of vaccinations — including many popular European destinations such as France, Italy and Spain — could be subject to more rigorous testing regimes or remain off-limits for longer. “They will be placing more weight on vaccinations than the number of cases,” said one person briefed on the plan. A travel industry executive familiar with the discussions confirmed that the extent of the rollout of jabs in a third country would “play an important role and [was] more important than infection [rates]”. Scientific evidence suggests that people who have been inoculated are less likely to transmit the virus and Britain has one of the highest rates of immunisation in the world. Johnson will give an interim statement on work by the government’s “global travel task force” on Easter Monday. It will set out the framework that will guide decisions on the reopening of foreign travel. Under current rules, overseas travel is only allowed for “essential” business purposes.<br/>