UK Transport Secy warns vaccine passports to remain 'permanent fixture' for foreign trips

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that vaccine passports would be a "permanent fixture" of overseas travel for the foreseeable future. Under the existing approach, the vast majority of visitors to the UK must demonstrate that they have been completely vaccinated against coronavirus in order to return without being quarantined.

Transport Secretary urged people to get vaccinated

In addition, dozens of nations need foreign tourists to have taken both doses of the coronavirus vaccine in order to pass their borders without being quarantined. Shapps told ITV News that he sees this being a permanent fixture of foreign travel for the foreseeable future. He has led discussions with his transport counterparts, further adding that it's apparent that double vaccination will be needed to travel. He urged the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible. He also unveiled a series of adjustments to the UK's traffic signal system on Wednesday, which would be in effect for three weeks. 

Quarantine rules for fully jabbed travellers returning from France will be abolished as the country shifts to the amber list on Sunday at 4 am, while seven European nations will join the green list for unfettered travel regardless of vaccination status. He believes that this summer's plan of revising the traffic signal system every three weeks rather than weekly will allow people to travel internationally. In a different interview, he told the BBC that they have certainly lived with coronavirus long enough to know that it can be unpredictable. But, they have also lived with it long enough to have the bulk of the population vaccinated and other nations are doing the same thing.

Green list, amber list and red list

Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania, and Norway have all been added to the green list. India, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have all joined the amber list, allowing fully vaccinated returnees to travel without restrictions. 

Georgia, Mexico, La Reunion, and Mayotte, on the other hand, were all added to the red list in order to "protect domestic vaccine rollout," according to the administration. Due to the likelihood of a high prevalence of the more hazardous Beta strain, which was initially detected in South Africa, La Reunion and Mayotte were put to the red list. Ministers are also concerned about Spain and its islands as a result of the variant.

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