Boris Johnson unveils traffic light system for international travel

Boris Johnson today refused to commit to his roadmap date of May 17 for resuming non-essential international travel as the Government again told Britons to wait to book a summer holiday abroad.  

The Prime Minister’s lockdown exit strategy said foreign holidays would return ‘no earlier than’ the middle of May. 

But the initial findings of a Whitehall review on the subject said the ‘state of the pandemic abroad, and the progress of vaccination programmes in other countries’ means ministers are ‘not yet in a position to confirm that non-essential international travel can resume from that point’.

The findings said the Government ‘will confirm in advance whether non-essential international travel can resume on 17 May, or whether we will need to wait longer before lifting the outbound travel restriction’.

‘For the moment, the Government advises people not to book summer holidays abroad until the picture is clearer,’ the update said. 

Mr Johnson told a Downing Street press conference this afternoon he is ‘hopeful’ of hitting the May 17 date but he added: ‘I do not wish to give hostages to fortune or to underestimate the difficulties that we are seeing in some of the destination countries that people might want to go to.

‘We don’t want to see the virus being re-imported into this country from abroad, plainly there is a surge in other parts of the world and we have to be mindful of that and we have to be realistic.’

The PM said the Government will give the aviation sector ‘as much notice as we possibly can’ before flights can restart.

But his comments and the findings prompted an immediate backlash as travel bosses said holidaymakers needed certainty about when they can book a trip abroad and accused the Government of ‘kicking the can’ down the road.

Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: ‘While we welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement of a framework for a risk-based approach… it’s disappointing that the opportunity has been missed to provide more certainty to reunite families separated by travel restrictions, to give sunseekers the confidence to book ahead for their summer getaway and to help businesses across the country that have had their exporting ambitions placed on hold by the pandemic.

‘Now that a safe, scientifically-backed process has been agreed upon, a clearer timeline for the return to international travel is needed.’

Clive Wratten, chief executive of trade body the Business Travel Association, said the announcement was ‘beyond disappointing’ because there was a lack of a ‘clear pathway’ back to international travel. 

‘This has once again been kicked down the road,’ he said. 

Mr Johnson used the press conference to confirm a traffic light system will be rolled out when international travel is permitted again, with Brits allowed to visit countries with high vaccination rates.  

The system will see destinations rated as red, amber and green using criteria including the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, the rate of infection, any emerging variants and the country’s access to reliable data and genomic sequencing.

The criteria could result in European countries like France and Italy being ruled out of bounds for British holidaymakers as parts of the EU suffer spikes in cases and the bloc’s vaccination drive continues to stall.          

The Government said it is ‘too early to say’ which countries will be on the green list, with those decisions ‘driven by the data and evidence nearer the time’.  

Travel chiefs fear the traffic light system could result in a holiday booking ‘fiasco’ as they warned some European nations now face a race against time to reduce infection rates and boost vaccine take-up so they can make it onto the green list before the summer season.     

Under the Government’s scheme, sunseekers returning from countries in the green category will not have to isolate, although they will need to have tests before and after they fly. 

Those coming back from red list countries would have to quarantine in a hotel for ten days, while arrivals from amber destinations will have to isolate at home.  

The traffic light scheme announcement came as the PM confirmed the Government will press ahead with plans for domestic and international vaccine passports, despite a growing Tory revolt.

Many Conservative MPs support using the documents for international travel but they oppose using them for day-to-day life. 

The initial findings of a Whitehall review said the ‘Government believes that COVID-status certification could have an important role to play both domestically and internationally, as a temporary measure’.   

The findings said the documents ‘should never be required’ in settings like public transport and essential shops but ‘it is possible that COVID-status certification could also play a role in reducing social distancing requirements in other settings’ like pubs and restaurants. 

Mr Johnson is expected to offer the House of Commons a vote on the issue, in a move which could risk a damaging defeat, with Labour continuing to express concerns about the documents and increasing numbers of Tory backbenchers opposed to them.  

It came as - 

• Mr Johnson today urged everybody to take two free Covid tests a week to help safeguard the unlocking of the country; 
• Millions of Britons filled up parks and commons during pleasant weather over the weekend;  
• Hairdressers and barbers are allowed to reopen in Scotland from today as further lockdown restrictions are lifted;
• Mr Johnson looks at risk of failing to get Commons approval for vaccine passports, as Michael Gove promised MPs who are critical of the scheme the chance to vote against it. 
• Leading scientific adviser Professor Neil Ferguson said testing everyone coming from Europe, with no exemptions, would be ‘sensible’ as he expressed concerns about the spread of the South African variant on the continent 

Health Minister Edward Argar today said an increase in cases in Europe showed why the UK must ‘get this right’ on travel rules in order to avoid importing potentially vaccine-busting variants of the disease. 

Holiday chiefs insisted there is still time before the summer for European countries to get coronavirus case numbers under control again. 

Asked what the most likely holiday destinations could be when travel is allowed, Andrew Flintham, managing director for Tui UK and Ireland, told the BBC: ‘Cyprus have come out and been very positive, Greece and Turkey have come out and been very positive, and Spain again.

‘So I think all these European countries, whilst to a degree they are struggling with their rates at the moment, we are still a significant period away from the summer season properly opening up, we are probably 11 weeks away.

‘The world has been changing on a weekly basis, never mind an 11-weekly basis. So we are still positive about those destinations. We are also positive that the Caribbean and some of those destinations will open up.’  

Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline he believes a ‘handful’ of European countries will be on the UK’s green list in May with more to follow in June and July.

He said that last year many European countries had high infection rates which were brought under control by the start of summer, adding: ‘I think the same will happen this year because there is also the added bonus of the vaccine and the [EU] rollout will speed up. I am confident that much of Europe will be accessible by early July.’

Mr Charles said that the travel industry ‘needs more certainty’, with the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce due to publish more details on the traffic light scheme later this week. 

‘Government cannot keep kicking the can down the road as hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk,’ he said.

‘It needs to urgently put in place safe solutions to travel for business, leisure and to see family.’

Martyn Sumners, executive director of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, warned of the time pressures the industry faces, telling The Times: ‘The fact that we won’t know until next month which countries are permitted for travel will make it very difficult to get programmes up and running. It does not happen overnight. There are many elements of a holiday to organise. 

‘The travel industry cannot go through the fiasco of cancelling bookings because a system has been ill thought through and leave customers and operators angry because of the confusion.’ 

Many in the industry fear a repeat of last year when countries were added to the travel red list at very short notice, leaving holidaymakers scrambling to get home or cancel their trips. 

A Government source said last night: ‘It is too early to predict which countries will be on which list over the summer. As such, we continue to advise people not to book summer holidays abroad.’ 

One scientist said yesterday the traffic light system could be too simplistic to stop the spread of new cases.

Professor Gabriel Scally, a member of the Independent Sage committee, said: ‘It is not quite as simple as looking at what the situation is in an individual country from which a flight originated. We know people will mix together from all over the world, and this is what spurred the autumn surges of cases.’

Malta’s health minister yesterday said there was ‘no reason’ why holidaymakers should not be allowed to travel between countries that have vaccinated a high proportion of their population. 

Christopher Fearne told Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: ‘Malta by the summer will probably be one of the safest places to travel to certainly in Europe and probably in the world. That is because we are vaccinating at a high rate.’

Malta has announced British travellers who have had both doses of the vaccine are welcome from June 1.

Travel chiefs urged Mr Johnson to add a fourth tier to the system which would eliminate the need for testing or quarantine to very low-risk countries.

Chief executive of easyJet John Lungren, Jet2 boss Stephen Heapy and Manchester Airports Group boss Charlie Cornish have handed ministers ‘independent and scientifically-robust’ research they each commissioned which suggests safe travel ‘to Europe and beyond will be possible this summer, in many cases without any restrictions’. 

Thousands of tourists are still being let into the UK every day even thought the government have tightened controls on Britons coming from abroad. 

Hundreds are arriving on Home Office visas, according to Border Force staff. 

One visitor from Peru got a visa after saying on their application form that their reason for travelling to Britain was to ‘visit Big Ben’. 

Of the around 20,000 people arriving every day, around 8,000 – or 40% – are tourists, figures compiled by border staff reveal. 

This rises to 80 or 95% at Gatwick and Eurostar terminals, while at Heathrow the proportion is around 20 to 30%, The Times reported. 

Mr Johnson today urged everybody to take two Covid tests a week to help safeguard the unlocking of the country.

At a press conference this evening, the Prime Minister confirmed the next stage of the release from lockdown is on schedule – with shops, gyms and hairdressers allowed to reopen from next week. 

Pubs, restaurants and cafes will also be allowed a limited reopening for outdoor customers.

But ministers fear that even this cautious freeing of the economy could lead to a surge in cases that could slow the further release from lockdown, or even send it into reverse. 

Today they unveiled a multi-billion-pound scheme inviting everyone in England to take two free Covid tests per week.

The fast-turnaround tests, which produce results in just half an hour, do not require lab analysis and will be available for use at home.

Mr Johnson last night said the huge testing programme was needed to ensure that the sacrifices made in recent months ‘are not wasted’.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was vital that people take up the testing offer, adding: ‘The vaccine programme has been a shot in the arm for the whole country, but reclaiming our lost freedoms and getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly.’

Writing in the Mail, Jenny Harries, head of the new UK Health Security Agency, said twice-weekly testing could ‘help us get back to normal’.

She added: ‘If we are going to reclaim our lost freedoms for the long term, we must ensure we can withstand expected but unpredictable attacks in the form of variants of the virus.

‘That will require us to use the massive testing capacity to discover where variants of concern are and respond to them swiftly.’  

Government sources confirmed that the surge in testing was likely to lead to a rise in detected case numbers, which yesterday fell to just 2,297 – the lowest figure since September 5.

However, the move will fuel concerns among Tory MPs that any rise in cases could lead to further releases from lockdown being delayed.

Former minister Steve Baker said that even the false positives generated by tens of millions of additional tests could be enough to knock the Government’s road map off course. 

Mr Baker, deputy chairman of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group of MPs, said: ‘It is now obvious that in an environment of low prevalence, mass asymptomatic testing makes false positives a real issue.’ 

Today’s announcement introduces a universal mass testing regime for England which is likely to become part of the ‘new normal’ and remain in place for many months.

NHS and care home staff, along with millions of school children are already using fast-turnaround tests twice a week.

The tests are said to have identified 120,000 cases that might not otherwise have been picked up.

Government sources said that more than 100,000 businesses have also requested test kits to run their own schemes designed to make workplaces Covid secure.

Under the new regime, which will be introduced on Friday, people will be able to request packs of test kits for home use.

Individuals will also have the opportunity to get tested at council-run sites or as part of workplace schemes.

And a new ‘Pharmacy Collect’ scheme will be introduced, allowing adults to pick up boxes of seven rapid tests.

Mr Johnson said the rollout will help stop Covid outbreaks ‘in their tracks’.

He added: ‘As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our road map to cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted.’

Dr Susan Hopkins, of Public Health England, urged ‘everyone’ to take up the testing offer, saying they were vital in ‘breaking the chains of transmission’.

A major new advertising campaign will be launched this week encouraging Britons to take up the tests.

Mr Hancock said that, with one in three people infected with Covid showing no symptoms, mass testing would be ‘fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks’.

The new drive will use so-called ‘lateral flow tests’ which provide on-the-spot results in the same way as a pregnancy test.

Users still have to take a swab from their nose and throat, but the results can be determined at home in half an hour, without the need for laboratory analysis.

Health sources last night said the tests produced fewer than one false positive in a thousand.

But this could still result in almost 1,000 false cases for every one million taken.

Ministers have now agreed that anyone testing positive will be offered a ‘gold standard’ PCR test to confirm the result.

New technology means these tests can also now be used to detect new variants of the virus, allowing their spread to be picked up more quickly.

The Government was unable to say how much the new scheme would cost.

But with tests thought to cost at least £5 each, take-up of 25million would generate a bill of more than £1billion a month. 

We all want a return to normality… regular tests can only help, writes DR JENNY HARRIES

The new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) launched last week with the unique mission to protect the nation’s health, both from existing hazards – such as hepatitis or radiation risks – but also from external and emerging threats.

As its first priority, it will continue the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Regular, rapid testing means we are finding cases of the virus that we wouldn’t otherwise detect, which prevents transmission to families, friends and communities – and which could ultimately save lives.

Around one in three people experiences no symptoms when they contract the virus and by getting tested regularly people will rapidly break chains of transmission that could begin unwittingly.

Twice-weekly testing using lateral flow devices, commonly known as LFDs, has already protected millions of people who need to leave home for work, including frontline NHS workers, care home staff and residents, and schoolchildren and their families.

Regular testing in the months ahead can help us all get back to normal, and from this Friday we will make twice-weekly LFD testing available to every person in England.

An LFD is the testing equivalent of a Formula 1 pit stop. With a rapid turnaround time of 30 minutes for a result, these swab tests can be done from the comfort of a living room and are capable of quickly giving a snap verdict on whether someone is or isn’t likely to be infectious.

Just like an experienced mechanic, people get quicker at doing the test, and get better results, the more frequently they carry them out.

Vaccines are tipping the scales in our favour but as cases, deaths and hospitalisation charts continue to fall, the importance of our testing and tracing capabilities grows.

An effective testing and tracing system is our radar for spotting new outbreaks and suppressing them and for watching out for new variants. The new variant in Kent, which rapidly increased cases across the country, is a stark reminder that viruses are shapeshifters and they mutate all the time.

If we are going to reclaim our lost freedoms for the long term, we must ensure we can withstand expected but unpredictable attacks in the form of variants of the virus.

That will require us to use the massive testing capacity to discover where variants of concern are and respond to them swiftly. Our diagnostics system is ready for testing on a level that matches the vaccination rollout, both in scope and ambition. The UK is now a testing juggernaut.

At the most recent count we have been testing over a million people a day, genome sequencing 32,000 tests in a week, and we have traced and contacted 3.2million who have tested positive in the past year, and a further six million of their contacts.

Regular testing is a way we can all help to bring about the return of much that has been missing in all of our lives and I have every confidence people will continue to give their selfless support in this next stage, just as they have throughout this pandemic.

Dr Jenny Harries is chief executive of the UKHSA.