Authorities have revealed a new list of "travel corridors", with travelers from 59 countries - including France, Germany, Italy and Spain - and 14 British overseas territories no longer having to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
The list, which will take effect on July 10, will open overseas travel to English vacationers after four months of lockout, just in time for the peak period, provided there are no restrictions on destinations.
"The government is convinced that it is now safe to relax these measures in England and has introduced travel lanes for certain countries and territories," the British Transport Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"This applies to all trips to England, by train, ferry, bus, plane or any other route," the statement added.
'Red List'
The United States was not included in this list of "travel lanes", which means that their travelers will have to self-isolate for 14 days after entering the United Kingdom. This follows a decision by the European Union earlier this week to omit the United States from its list of approved nations for entry.
The British government should designate the United States as a "red list" travel destination, fearing "very high" infection rates, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Friday.
"Here we have things under control, but we know that [the virus] is still raging in some parts of the world ... so I'm afraid there is a red list, "Shapps told BBC Radio 4.
"The United States, from the start, has banned flights from the United Kingdom and Europe, so there is no reciprocal agreement in place," he added.
The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, with more than 2.7 million confirmed cases and more than 128,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. .
More than 52,000 new US cases of the virus were reported on Thursday, a new daily record, surpassing the one set the previous day.
Although arrivals from designated countries are not required to isolate themselves upon arrival in the United Kingdom, the government has confirmed that travelers from the United Kingdom must comply with coronavirus requirements in the country in which they arrive go.
For example, while New Zealand is on the British government's list, it requires British arrivals to be quarantined for 14 days. Greece, also on the list, banned flights from the United Kingdom until July 15.
For now, the so-called travel corridors will only apply to England, and information on trips to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be published in due course, said the British government.
Here are the countries and territories that are part of the list of "travel lanes":
Andorra, Germany, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, Greece, Norway, Aruba, Greenland, Poland, Australia, Grenada, Reunion, Austria, Guadeloupe, San Marino, Bahamas, Hong Kong, Serbia, Barbados, Hungary, Seychelles , Belgium, Iceland, South Korea, Bonaire, Saint-Eustache and Saba, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Jamaica, Saint Barthélemy, Curaçao, Japan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Saint Lucia, Republic Czech, Lithuania, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Dominica, Macao, Taiwan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius, Turkey, Finland, Monaco, Vatican, France, Netherlands , Vietnam, French Polynesia, New Caledonia
