Last checked at 
* England ditches quarantine for 50 countries
* Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not
* Travel to open to Germany, France, Spain and Italy
(Recasts headline and lead)
By William Schomberg and Costas Pitas
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - England's coronavirus quarantine
rules for more than 50 countries including Germany, France,
Spain and Italy is to end, the British government said on
Friday, allowing millions of holidaymakers to head to Europe's
beaches for a summer break.
From July 10 passengers visiting places viewed as low risk
will not need to self-isolate when they return, while those from
higher risk countries will have to quarantine for 14-days under
a rule which has infuriated airlines and the travel industry.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has struggled to
scrap the rules and has so far failed to convince the devolved
administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to
immediately follow suit.
"There will be a list of 50 plus countries and if you add in
the overseas territories, 60 something or other that we will
publish later today," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
"Today marks the next step in carefully reopening our great
nation," he said.
The full list has not yet been published by the government
which has been debating for days how to lift the quarantine. New
Zealand is included in the list as are the Vatican and Britain's
overseas territories such as the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar.
Britain's foreign ministry will also set out exemptions from
its global advisory against "all but essential" international
travel from July 4, a key to normal insurance being valid.
The government said it expected countries included on the
quarantine-free list for England would reciprocate by relaxing
their own travel restrictions.
The move to ditch the quarantine comes as England's High
Court is due start hearing a legal challenge by British Airways
, a move backed by low-cost rivals Ryanair and
easyJet.
All the airlines as well as others in the travel sector have
announced thousands of job losses as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic, and had said the quarantine had no scientific basis
and was unworkable in practice.
Britain said it would still require all travellers, except
those from the exempted countries, to provide their contact
information including their travel history on arrival. People
who have been in or transited through non-exempt countries will
still have to self isolate for 14 days.
England and Northern Ireland will reopen pubs this weekend,
signalling a gradual reopening of its economy. Scotland will
allow pubs to reopen fully later in July. Wales will allow pubs
to serve outside on July 13.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned people to
maintain social distancing rules and is expected to repeat that
caution at a news conference on Friday.
"Anyone who flouts social distancing and COVID-Secure rules
is not only putting us all at risk but letting down those
businesses and workers who have done so much to prepare for this
new normal," he will say.
(Writing by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge;
Editing by Alexander Smith)
