ITALY, Germany and Bulgaria look set to join the government’s quarantine-free green list this week.
The holiday hotspots are three of twelve potential new additions, opening up foreign travel to unvaccinated Brits.
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Analysis of official data shows the number of Covid cases in the countries is low enough to get the go ahead from Boris Johnson, The Telegraph reports.
Their testing capabilities, vaccination levels and risk from coronavirus variants are also at the required levels to justify promotion.
Robert Boyle, a former BA strategist who compiled the research, has accurately predicted traffic light changes before.
Also on the list could be Canada, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he says.
The additions would bring the total number of countries on the green list – which require no quarantine on return to the UK – to 39.
Spain’s Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca, Malta, Madeira, are currently on the green or green watch list.
Further afield, Brits can also travel to Antigua, Barbados and Barbuda without spending up to 10 days in isolation on arrival home.
Travel rules are being reviewed in the UK every three weeks, and the next update is expected to take place on July 15.
It will follow an announcement last week that from July 19, Brits who have received two doses of a Covid jab can skip quarantine when returning from amber list countries.
Airline bookings rose by 400 per cent after the decision was confirmed, sparking fears travellers could face six-hour queues at airports in a rush to finally go overseas.
The rule change will open up travel abroad to 140 amber countries.
Although, anyone returning from green or amber countries must take a PCR test on return.
BOOKING SURGE
Mr Boyle’s established which countries he think will be bumped up reverse engineering to work out the algorithm used by the government.
To be deemed ‘safe’, a country must have an infection rate at or below 20 per 100,000 of the population.
The rate of people testing positive must be at 1.5 per cent or less, as well as a testing rate of one or more per 100,000.
Several of the countries – including Canada – have figures close to the UK’s.
Mr Boyle’s analysis also shows 11 red list countries – including India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka – should turn amber.
Travellers returning from red countries have to isolate for 10 days at a quarantine hotel, costing £1,750 per person.
