UK changes border rules for travelers from US, EU

Fully vaccinated travelers from the United States and European Union are to be welcomed back to England following a change to the COVID-19 quarantine rules announced by the United Kingdom government on Wednesday afternoon.

Arriving passengers queue at UK Border Control at the Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, June 29, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

Previously, people arriving from the US and most parts of the EU and having been vaccinated in the UK had been exempt from quarantine, but people who have been vaccinated abroad were still expected to quarantine, a situation which travel journalist Simon Calder told the BBC was "slightly ridiculous "and "didn't make sense".

"The cabinet's COVID operations committee has decided today that UK borders will be opened up to travelers from the EU and US... they can come to the UK without having to quarantine for two weeks, as was the previous rule," said Sky News reporter Jon Craig.

No date has yet been set for when the new rules will be introduced, and the reporter called it "a climbdown" by the government.

"The chancellor (Rishi Sunak) has been pushing for it for business reasons ... and the prime minister (Boris Johnson) was concerned that since the EU relaxed its rules to allow American tourists to come to Europe, the UK was being left behind－lots of tourists would be going to Paris or Rome, rather than London."

How keen American travelers will be to come to the UK, however, is far from clear, as the country remains on the US government's Level Four list of highest-risk countries.

On July 19, the US State Department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, told Americans to avoid traveling there.

"If you must travel to the UK, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel," said a CDC advisory note. "Because of the current situation in the UK, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants."

The State Department said simply "do not travel to the UK due to COVID-19".

The day before the announcement, Johnson told LBC Radio that he was keen to make transatlantic travel easier.

"We want people to be able to come from the US freely in a way that they normally do. We're talking to them the whole time," Johnson said.

"At the moment we're dealing with a Delta wave; the US is dealing with a Delta wave; but be assured that we are on it the whole time. As soon as we have something to say about travel corridors, you'll be hearing from us."

However, there has been no indication yet that the current restrictions on travelers from Europe being allowed into the US will be lifted.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said existing international travel restrictions would be kept in place as the current domestic rise in cases, fuelled by what the BBC said was being called a "pandemic of the unvaccinated", seemed "likely to continue in the weeks ahead".

Before the announcement came, the opposition Labour Party's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds warned any changes to border policy should be "underpinned by data" or the sacrifices made by the British public could be put at risk.

"Throughout the pandemic, the government's border policy has been reckless and dangerous. Labour have been consistently calling for progress on a globally recognized international passport scheme－working with the EU and US to get travel moving again－as well as proper quarantine measures, consistent testing at airports and an overhaul of the traffic light system," he said.

"All too often changes have been chaotic, badly planned and dangerous, causing confusion for the industry and travelers."

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News she was concerned by the timing of any such move.

"We believe that at the moment, the government hasn't done enough to safeguard our borders, and we haven't got an internationally recognized vaccine passport, which is what the government said they were working toward. So it does feel reckless," she said.