Plans for relaxing restrictions will soon be announced. While rates in Europe have declined, the risks are real
Improvements at home will soon lead to more Britons venturing away. Until now, foreign travel has been allowed only under exemptions such as those for business or on compassionate grounds. Now, with the drop in Covid rates thanks to the winter lockdown and the rollout of vaccines, Boris Johnson plans to permit more journeys. While the prime minister has urged caution, he has said that he expects “some openings up” from 17 May, when a new risk-based traffic light system will be introduced. A “green list” of foreign destinations for quarantine-free travel and return is expected as early as 7 May. The EU has confirmed that travellers from countries with low infection rates and the fully vaccinated will be able to visit the bloc from June.
For now, the list is likely to include only a handful of EU countries – though there is pressure from Conservative MPs and the travel industry to broaden it. Even so, this is risky. Globally, cases are on the rise. Vaccines are not being shared equitably. India has shown how suddenly infections can surge in places that appeared to have escaped the worst. Rates in some parts of Europe remain high. There is growing concern about new variants, which may be more resistant to vaccines.
