UK green lights travel to Majorca, Malta and Madeira

The British government on Thursday announced it was lifting coronavirus travel restrictions on some countries, with visitors to Malta and Spain’s Balearic Islands no longer required to quarantine on return.

The popular holiday destinations will be placed on the government’s “green list” from June 30, with tourists no longer required to self-isolate for 10 days on return.

“We’re adding Malta to the govt green list. We’re also adding Madeira, the Balearic Islands, several UK Overseas Territories and Caribbean Islands (including Barbados) to the green list,” tweeted transport minister Grant Shapps.

Israel has also been added to the list.

Those who visit these destinations will still be required to take a Covid test within two days of arriving home.

The government in London sets transport and health policy for England only, but the devolved governments in Scotland, and Northern Ireland made similar announcements.

The countries were previously on the amber list, which requires quarantine measures on return.

Shapps said the government intended for UK residents who are fully vaccinated to not have to isolate when travelling from amber list countries, and that more details would be announced next month.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a “real opportunity to open up travel” this summer for those who were vaccinated.

Many European destinations depend on British tourists and the travel industry has been urging a lifting of restrictions.

But Britain is now in the grip of another surge in cases due to the emergence of the highly-infectious Delta variant, which first emerged in India.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged fellow EU leaders to take a firm line on travel from Britain to prevent the variant spreading in the bloc.

“We are obviously concerned about the Delta variant,” said Merkel.

Britain has recorded over 16,000 cases of the disease for two days running, although the number of deaths remains relatively low with vulnerable age groups now fully vaccinated.