UK ditches quarantine for arrivals from low COVID-19 risk countries

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Britain will ditch a 14-day
quarantine period for people arriving from countries it deems to
be lower risk for COVID-19 , the government said on Friday.

Official travel advice against all but essential travel
outside Britain will also be eased for some countries and
regions.

Taken together, these changes will make it easier for
Britons to travel abroad for summer holidays.

The relaxations are the latest taken by the government to
unwind emergency measures put in place to stop the spread of
COVID-19, as ministers look to limit the economic damage caused
by the virus.

An expert panel will put nations into three categories:
green, amber and red. Passengers arriving from green and amber
countries will no longer have to quarantine themselves for 14
days after their arrival.

"Our new risk-assessment system will enable us to carefully
open a number of safe travel routes around the world," a
government spokeswoman said. "But we will not hesitate to put on
the brakes if any risks re-emerge."

The rules for red-category countries will not change.

The quarantine policy, introduced on June 8, has been
heavily criticised by airlines, airports and the hospitality
sector who say it deters international travel at a time when
they had been hoping for it to recover.

The categories are due to be announced next week, with the
rule changes expected to come into effect the week after. They
will be based on factors including prevalence of COVID-19, the
trajectory of the disease and the reliability of data.

Britain said it is likely to discuss this with countries
including France, Greece and Spain.

The Foreign Office will next week announce those countries
where it considers the public health risk is no longer
unacceptably high.
(Reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)