With the new travel lists announced for the UK, countries are red, amber and green zones - like traffic lights. 

 

Red Zones

You must not travel to red zones (such as India) for leisure purposes, only people with residence rights in the UK and British or Irish nationals will be allowed back into the country and before your flight you must take a covid test. Once you land in the UK, you will have to stay in a hotel for 11 days which could cost up to £1,750 per person. It’s worth noting that you cannot fly directly to or from these red zones however if you’ve been to the area in the 10 days before returning to the UK then these measures apply to you.

 

Amber Zones

Like with Red Zones, you should not travel to amber zones (such as China) for leisure purposes. You must take a covid test before your flight and afterwards quarantine for 10 days in the UK, but this can be done at home. You have to continue testing at home, doing 2 during this 10 day period on days 2 and 8. You may also be able to buy an extra test to be released from your quarantine early.

 

Green Zones 

As with the other 2, you must take a covid test before you leave to England and another when you arrive within 2 days. If the test comes back negative, you don’t need to quarantine however you do, of course, have to if it is positive. If anybody you travelled with tests positive, you will be alerted by NHS test and trace in order to self-isolate. 

 

With these guidelines being announced, many people have complained that going on holiday will be difficult due to the inconvenience of quarantining, since most have limited time off work and children may miss out on school.

 

However, it seems that not many are focused on the green zones. Is it too soon for people to be able to travel abroad and return with no self-isolation and simply one covid test?

Covid tests have very high accuracy, however not 100% and all it takes is one person to have a false negative, not self-isolate and spread the virus internationally again.

 

As time passes and the virus risk decreases, it’s inevitable that things will begin to open up and safety measures will reduce. This means that now, more than ever, it is important for everybody to wear a mask, carry hand gel and social distance to keep everybody safe until the pandemic is no longer a risk.