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* England ditches quarantine for 50 countries
* Travel to open to Germany, France, Spain and Italy
* United States on England's "red list"
(Adds exemption list, court case dropped)
By William James and Costas Pitas
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Britain will end coronavirus
quarantines for people arriving in England from more than 50
countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy - but not
the United States - the government said on Friday.
The move, effective July 10, clears the way for millions of
British tourists to take summer holidays without worrying about
being quarantined when they return. Those arriving from higher
risk countries will still have to self-quarantine for 14 days
under a rule which has angered airlines and travel companies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government had debated for
days how to ease the quarantine rules. Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland, which set their own health policies within the
United Kingdom, have not announced plans to lift the measures.
"Today marks the next step in carefully reopening our great
nation," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
As the spread of the novel coronavirus slows in Europe,
countries are reopening travel after more than three months of
lockdown.
The full list of countries was published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors
Australia, New Zealand and Japan are included, as are
Caribbean tourist destinations such as the Bahamas and Barbados,
but popular holiday destination Portugal was not on the list.
Nor were the United States, China, India or Russia.
"The U.S. from a very early stage banned flights from the UK
and from Europe so there isn't a reciprocal arrangement in
place," Shapps said.
Britain's foreign ministry also set out exemptions from a
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 to reciprocate by relaxing their own
restrictions.
The move to ditch the quarantine prompted three of Europe's
biggest airlines, British Airways, Ryanair and
easyJet to end a legal challenge against the government.
Britain, with the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, is
slowly reopening its economy. England and Northern Ireland will
reopen pubs this weekend, and Scotland and Wales are expected to
follow later in July.
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.
(Additional reporting by Kate Holton, William Schomberg and
Michael Holden; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge;
Editing by Alexander Smith and Peter Graff)
