UK Travel Update: No Quarantine for Vaccinated Travellers From US and EU

UK Travel Update: No Quarantine for Vaccinated Travellers From US and EU Excluding France

The UK has announced that fully vaccinated travellers arriving from Europe and the US will no longer have to quarantine on arrival in England — except for those arriving from France. The new rule kicks in on 02 August 2021.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, confirmed the move on Twitter on 28 July 2021.

We're helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK 👪

From 2nd August at 4am people from these countries will be able to come to the England from an amber country without having to quarantine if they're fully vaxxed 💉
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) July 28, 2021

The Department for Transport released further details stating that “passengers arriving from amber countries who have been fully vaccinated in Europe (EU Member States, European Free Trade Association countries and the European microstate countries of Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City) and the USA will not have to quarantine when entering England,” the statement read.

Only those inoculated with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccines such as Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Janssen would be eligible for the new change.

Separate rules will continue to apply for those arriving from France.
Anyone arriving from France to England must continue to quarantine for 10 days, at home or in other accommodation, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
UK Department for Transport

The British government has previously stated that the measure was because of the prevalence of the Beta variant in France, even though the rate has been falling in recent days.

The rules have been announced for England, but the devolved nations are expected to follow suit and update their rules imminently.

Fully vaccinated travellers from amber countries in Europe and in the US will still need to “complete a pre-departure test before arrival into England, alongside a PCR test on or before day 2 after arrival.”

All travellers travelling to the UK need to complete a Passenger Locator Form before departure.

International Cruise

British authorities also allowed international cruise sailings to restart from England.

International cruise travel advice will be amended to encourage travellers to understand the risks associated with cruise travel and take personal responsibility for their own safety abroad.
UK Department for Transport

Travelling Through France

Anyone who has been in France in the previous 10 days will need to be quarantined on arrival to England. They will also need a Day 2 and Day 8 PCR test, regardless of their vaccination status.

This goes for anyone who is just travelling through France and stops off in the country, too. However, UK ministers have indicated that Eurostar passengers on services travelling through France would not need to quarantine if their train does not stop in the country.

Eurostar has confirmed that while both their Brussels – London and Amsterdam – London routes do stop in Lille, France, passengers from either of these cities travelling directly to London will be segregated in carriages so there is no need for quarantine despite this stop-off.

France Frustrated With UK’s Decision

Both British nationals in France and the French government are expressing increasing frustration at the UK’s “amber plus” rating which obliges all arrivals from France to go into quarantine.

People are taking to Twitter about UK’s decision and demanding answers from London. They pointed out that COVID infection rates are currently lower in France than in the UK and in certain other European countries.

But what about those of us in France? What about people who transit through France?
We're not ‘people from these countries' we are UK nationals who are desperate to see our families whom we haven't seen for a very, very long time. We are UK students trying to get back to uni… https://t.co/evBvcjeNLz
— British in Europe (@BritishInEurope) July 28, 2021

France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, tweeted: “The UK’s quarantine measures for France are excessive and incomprehensible in health terms.”

The UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended the government’s decision to keep quarantine for travellers from France due to the concerns about the Beta variant of COVID, which is believed to render AstraZeneca vaccines more ineffective.

Raab did say however that the UK government wanted “to get France up the traffic light system as quickly as possible”

What are your thoughts on separate rules for vaccinated travellers? Do you agree to keep quarantining travellers from France? Talk to us in the comment section below.

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