Red list countries: Which destinations are still banned from travel?

THE final seven countries on the travel red list will be dropped next week.

The government has announced that from 4am on Monday, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Haiti, Venezuela and Ecuador will be scrapped from the list.

Fully-vaccinated travellers arriving to the UK from these countries will no longer have to quarantine for ten days.

That means from Monday, there will be no countries where Brits are banned from travelling to.

So, does the red list still exist?

The red list will remain in place, regardless of there being no countries on it.

Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, said: “We will keep the red list category in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence.”

Although the latest update is good news for the travel industry, the government have warned that countries will be added back on to the list if cases start to rise.

What are the rules for travelling abroad now?

Fully-vaccinated Brits no longer need to have a pre-arrival Covid test to return to the UK, regardless of where they have travelled.

Travellers now only need a lateral flow test on day two, which cost around £30, instead of a PCR test.

Unvaccinated Brits will have to quarantine for 10 days as well as pay for a pre-arrival test, and tests on day two and day eight.