FAMILIES got a much-needed holiday boost tonight as ministers confirmed double-jabbed Brits would NOT need to quarantine when they return to Britain in future.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the move this evening after Boris said now was the time to open up international travel again.
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Those who have had two vaccinations will get greater freedom to fly around the world and won't have to follow as many rules when they return – as they are fully protected against Covid.
It means that amber-list destinations like Spain, France and Greece will be on the cards within weeks – possibly as soon as August.
He said tonight: "We’re moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we're now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries – showing a real sign of progress.
“It’s right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable.”
Further details will be set out next month.
Brits will have to have two jabs and wait two weeks after that to be able to fly away on holiday.
Kids are expected to be allowed to go and won't have to quarantine either – as they haven't been jabbed yet.
But ministers will iron out the final details later.
No10 and the Department for Transport are also still mulling plans for fewer tests for people coming back form amber list nations – if they have been double jabbed – as The Sun revealed yesterday.
But no final calls on this have been made amid a cabinet squabble over the issue.
Tonight Mr Shapps also revealed that Malta, Madeira, Ibiza and a host of other countries were added to the green list, meaning Brits don't have to isolate when they get back.
The news is a huge boost to Britain's summer plans after months of lockdown and restrictions on travel.
There were no updates to the amber list.
It came as:
- Orders to wear face masks in some setting are to be dropped on July 19, a minister said today
- 25 places are now on the Delta variant watchlist revealed as Covid cases up 20% in a week
- Now Macron supports Merkel’s call for co-ordinated travel restrictions which could shut out Brits over Delta fears
- England team have had a Covid scare at Euro 2020 base as Sky Sports presenter tests positive and is forced out of St George’s Park
- The UK reported 16,703 new cases in the last 24 hours – but just 21 deaths
Boris said today: "I think that the real opportunity we all have now is to open up travel through the double jab.
"If you look at it we've got more than 60% of our population have now had two jabs and 83% of that one jab.
"We're really getting through it now. The crucial thing is come forward and get your second jab.
"I'm not going to claim that this summer for travel purposes is going to be like any other summer.
"I don't want to cook cast a pall over things, but it will be different."
However, Angela Merkel is now lobbying European countries to shut their frontiers to the UK to stop the spread of the Indian variant.
Germans are already stealing a march on Brits and have been flocking to Spanish beaches to soak up the summer sun.
That's despite the fact their country has a lower vaccination rate than the UK and is averaging seven times as many deaths per week.
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