Sri Lanka and Israel added to UK’s coronavirus travel corridors list

Sri Lanka and Israel are among several countries that have been added to the UK’s list of travel corridors.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that Namibia, Rwanda and Uruguay are also now on the list.

It marks the first time any African countries have been added to the travel corridors list. No destinations have been removed this week.

People arriving in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from the islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius, Saba and the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands, will be also exempt from the 14-day quarantine requirement from 4am on Saturday.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the additions are due to “a decrease in risk from coronavirus in these countries”.

Leisure travel is currently banned under England’s second national lockdown, limiting the impact of the quarantine policy.

Scotland will not be making any changes to its travel corridors this week “given their current domestic situation”, the DfT said.

The quarantine exemption applies to Israel and Jerusalem in their entirety. For the Occupied Palestinian Territories, only East Jerusalem is included.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultants The PC Agency welcomed the announcement.

He said: “The Government has rightly listened to the urgent calls for opening up corridors to Africa.

“The UK market is a lifeline for so many African countries which rely on vital tourism spend to grow their communities.

“Rwanda has done an amazing job on effectively testing its people and keeping Covid cases to a minimum.

“Despite more travel corridors opening up, we still need to see a major reduction in the quarantine period for those returning to the UK from high-risk countries.

“This would boost confidence to book and help many people see their friends and family again overseas.”

A system allowing travellers to be released from quarantine if they test negative for coronavirus around five days after arriving in the UK is expected to be unveiled by the Government next week.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

Read More

Christmas plans to be unveiled NEXT WEEK ahead of lockdown end - No10