Fully-vaccinated individuals from the United States and most of Europe will be able to enter Scotland and England without going through quarantine measures, officials announced Wednesday.
On Twitter, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote, “We’re helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK.”
“From 2nd August at 4am people from these countries will be able to come to the England from an amber country without having to quarantine if they’re fully vaxxed,” Shapps added.
We're helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK 👪
From 2nd August at 4am people from these countries will be able to come to the England from an amber country without having to quarantine if they're fully vaxxed 💉
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) July 28, 2021
As The New York Times reported, “The government has been criticized for discriminating between travelers who were vaccinated in Britain and those who were inoculated elsewhere, without any medical justification. Vaccinated people arriving in England from most ‘amber list’ countries, those with moderately high transmission, have been required to self-isolate — unless they received their shots in Britain.”
Shapps added, on Twitter, that vaccinated travelers will still need to take a “pre-departure test before arrival and take a PCR test on day 2 of returning to the England.” He also stated that international cruises will be restarting and “flexible testing programs to help key workers and drive our economic recovery.”
The decision didn’t come without political pushback, however. “I am very concerned about the government’s announcement via the press this morning,” Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News.
“We need to make sure that we have got a proper data-driven analysis and that we look at an international passport for vaccines. … We also know that people who have had the vaccine of course can still get the virus, so a testing regime is very important and crucial as well,” Rayner said, per The Washington Post.
The move comes after the United States has prolonged travel restrictions and extended some land border closures.
As reported by The Hill, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday, “We will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point for a few reasons. The more transmissible Delta variant is spreading both here and around the world.”
“Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated, and appear likely to continue in the weeks ahead,” she said.
“The CDC just advised Americans against travel to the United Kingdom this past Monday given the surge in cases. They will evaluate and make recommendations based on health data,” Psaki added.
As The Daily Wire reported, last week, the United States announced that land border closures between the U.S. and Mexico and the U.S. and Canada will be extended, barring non-essential travel while officials continue to weigh options.
As reported by USA Today, “U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed through Aug. 21, according to documents to be published in the Federal Register. The previous U.S. border restrictions were set to end Thursday.”
“Restrictions on entry into the U.S. by land and ferry travel are extended until 11:59 p.m. Aug. 21, according to the notices,” the outlet added.
Canada announced last week that it would be reopening its border for nonessential travel to fully-vaccinated Americans on August 9th, and “[o]ther foreign nationals will be permitted to enter beginning September 7,” as reported by The Daily Wire.