Green, amber or red: UK to classify travel destinations in May

Britain will confirm in early May whether it will allow international travel to resume from May 17 and which countries will fall into the red, amber or green categories in a new traffic light system based on COVID-19 risks. Giving new details of how it hopes to allow people to travel this summer, the government’s Global Travel Taskforce also said work was ongoing to develop a certification system, sometimes called “vaccine passports”, for inbound and outbound travel. Britain is gradually emerging from a strict winter lockdown prompted by a huge surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths. As things stand, international travel is banned except under specific circumstances defined by the government. Case numbers have dropped dramatically since the January peak, and one of the government’s top priorities is to avoid undermining the success of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme by importing vaccine-resistant variants from overseas. “The framework announced today will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine rollout and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry as we begin to take trips abroad once again,” said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.<br/>