Travellers’ hopes of a summer getaway have been boosted with Malta added to the UK’s green list from next Wednesday.
Madeira, the Balearic Islands and a handful of Caribbean countries have also been moved from the amber list to the green “watch list”, meaning people arriving from them will be able to avoid quarantine, but should be wary that the destinations are at risk of being moved back to amber.
Six other countries, including Tunisia and Haiti, are being placed on the red list, meaning travel from them will be banned for all but British residents and nationals, who must pay £1,750 to isolate for 11 nights in a hotel when they return.
People coming from amber list countries who have had two Covid vaccine doses will also be exempt from having to quarantine later in the summer, the government promised, but declined to say when.
Ministers are understood not to want to bring the change in too quickly, given fears it could lead to a surge in requests for second doses to be brought forward and place extra strain on supplies in the run-up to 19 July. That is the “terminus date” on which Boris Johnson has promised remaining restrictions will be lifted by and when all UK adults should have been offered their first jab.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, tweeted: “We’ll set out further details next month.”
The prime minister confirmed earlier on Thursday that fully vaccinated people could face fewer travel restrictions. He said it would not be a normal summer, but did not rule out going on a foreign getaway himself.
Malta was tipped to be added to the green list three weeks ago, but the health secretary, Matt Hancock, vetoed the decision – a move that prompted a split around the cabinet table between ministers keen to lift restrictions and those who think a more cautious approach is necessary.
Belgium has announced it will ban travellers from the UK from Saturday because of the surge in cases of the Delta variant. A further 16,000 infections were reported on Thursday in the UK, a rise of 44.8% in the past week.
Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, also hinted he could follow the German chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for more EU countries to put travel restrictions on Britons.
Speaking at an EU summit on Thursday, he said Merkel was “completely right” about needing “to coordinate regarding our external borders, since we have freedom of movement within the European Union”.
