Coronavirus: Britons 'to be allowed to go on quarantine-free holidays to 10 countries within two weeks'

Britons will be able to go on quarantine-free holidays to up to 10 countries within a fortnight, it has been reported.

The government is preparing to relax its 14-day quarantine rule in an effort to save holidaymakers’ summer trips, The Times said.

The UK’s coronavirus travel quarantine was introduced on 8 June and means most international arrivals must self-isolate for two weeks.

The move has been widely criticised by a travel industry struggling to stay on its feet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy will be reviewed three weeks after it was introduced, on 29 June.

The Times reported the government is close to agreeing a list of 10 countries it believes safe enough for Britons to visit without needing to self-isolate when they return home.

The countries include France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, The Times said.

However, the newspaper reported there is an “active discussion” over whether to include Portugal on the list, following recent coronavirus outbreaks.

On Monday, the Portuguese government reimposed some lockdown measures, including an 8pm curfew, in the capital Lisbon after a surge in new coronavirus cases.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the government could reveal which countries have agreed to so-called air bridges within a week.

"A lot of work is being done on travel corridors, I've been working on it over the weekend,” he said during the daily Downing Street press briefing.

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"And we have a formal review date of the quarantine policy at the end of this month on 29 June, and we'll make sure that in good time for that we publish what we plan to do next in terms of where we think – based on the epidemiological advice – we're able to formalise travel corridors.

"I know that people are really looking forward to getting this information, but we've got to make sure that we get it right and that work is going on right now."

The Foreign Office currently advises Britons against all non-essential overseas travel.

On Sunday, Spain announced that British tourists could visit without having to quarantine on arrival, although under the UK rules they would have to self-isolate on their return.

The decision was a U-turn from a previous warning by Spanish authorities that it would place arriving Britons in quarantine.

Boris Johnson set out plans on Tuesday to allow pubs, restaurants, cinemas and museums to begin reopening from 4 July.

The prime minister announced a plan to cut the two-metre social distancing rule to at least one metre in England from next month.

Many pubs and restaurants had warned that it would simply not be viable for them to operate as long as the two-metre rule remained in place.

Johnson also said that two households will be able to meet up indoors for the first time since the beginning of lockdown, and stay overnight.

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