The UK Government this Friday announced their initial ‘green list‘ of 12 countries and territories to which their citizens can travel without having to quarantine of May 17, which includes Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel, but leaves all of Spain, France and Greece out for now. The Canary Islands are also excluded from this list of safe places.
British Transport Minister Grant Shapps explained that travellers returning to England from those destinations will not have to comply with a 10-day quarantine but must undergo a PCR test for coronavirus once they have returned, instead both that are required for those coming from territories classified “amber”.
At a press conference, Shapps explained that the classification will be reviewed every three weeks after May 17, the date on which the blanket ban on travelling abroad from the United Kingdom will be lifted.
“Some of our favourite holiday destinations, such as France, Spain and Greece, are not yet included” in the group of countries deemed most favourable for travel, said the minister, who stressed that the periodic reviews of the list will serve to “see how and when it can be expanded.” The British Government has detailed that the entire Spanish territory, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, remains for now in the “amber” category , while in “green” are Australia, Brunei, the Falklands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland , Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, Madeira, the Azores and Singapore.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“Today marks the first step in our cautious return to international travel, with measures designed above all else to protect public health and ensure we don’t throw away the hard-fought gains we’ve all strived to earn this year.”
“This is a new way of doing things, and people should expect travel to be different this summer – with longer checks at the borders, as part of tough measures to prevent new strains of the virus entering the country and putting our fantastic vaccine rollout at risk.”
You can find the full UK Government Press Release Here
This was on the UK government website: (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain) at 23:40 on 7 May 2021.
‘The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Spain, including the Balearic Islands but excluding the Canary Islands, based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks.”
This seems contradictory to the amber status for the Canaries.
Yes, we reported on this a few days ago, but we believe the FCDO advice is separate from the travel task force advice, which decides the traffic light system. https://thecanarynews.com/2021/05/uk-to-allow-travel-to-canary-islands-as-only-spanish-destination-so-far-on-the-so-called-green-list/