HALF term holidays are braced for a bumper boost this week as Britain gets set to slash its Red List from 54 countries to nine.
Brazil, Mexico and South Africa are among countries likely to be scrapped from the strict list – meaning travellers from those destinations will no longer need to quarantine in hotels when they return to the UK.
There are currently 54 countries and territories on the red list but as few as nine are expected to remain as the Government plans to open quarantine-free travel just in time for half term, the Telegraph reports.
Several countries are expected to be removed from the list including, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Cape Verde, Indonesia and possibly Thailand.
The changes are expected to be announced on Thursday after a review of the current list.
Travellers may still be subject to local Covid rules when arriving at their holiday destination.
But fully jabbed Brits won’t need to quarantine in a hotel on their return.
A Whitehall source said: “We are expecting sharp reductions in the red list.
“It could be as few as nine countries left on the list. Targeted quarantine will remain, but in fewer places.”
The source said ministers still want some restrictions in place to prevent possible Covid variants entering the country, but that the government wants to steer clear of an ‘”unnecessarily restricted” travel policy.
As it stands, travellers arriving from red list countries have to self-isolate even if they have been double jabbed.
And breaking the rules can land you with a huge £10,000 fine.
Last month the traffic light scheme was scrapped and was replaced by a simple Go/No Go list.
And starting this week, there is a new set of rules in place for vaccinated travellers which will make holidays much cheaper.
The pre-arrival test, which had to be a lateral flow or PCR test and taken before returning to the UK, will no longer be required.
Travellers will just need to book a day two Covid test (PCR only) which is also set to be scrapped later this month and replaced by a lateral flow test.
Meanwhile, the number of Covid cases and deaths has dropped today, with 30,301 people testing positive and 121 deaths being recorded.
It marks a slight fall from the 127 deaths and 35,577 cases reported on Friday.
The number of people who have died from Covid in the UK now stands at 136,910, with the total number of cases hitting 7,871,014.
