Jersey imposes mandatory quarantine on non-vaccinated Brits

Now Jersey imposes mandatory quarantine on non-vaccinated Brits and the US-UK travel bridge ‘will not be agreed before August’ but Britain is ‘closing in on vaccine passport deal’ with the EU boosting hopes of holidays to Europe

• Jersey has added the UK to its travel red list due to concerns about Covid cases
• A US-UK travel agreement is unlikely to be ready before August at the earliest 
• Britain and Brussels are reportedly close to striking a deal on vaccine passports
• The agreement will mean mutual recognition of the other side’s vaccine app
• Talks are ‘progressing well’ boosting hopes of holidays for double-jabbed Brits 

Jersey today announced it has moved England to its travel red list, requiring non-vaccinated Brits to quarantine on arrival for 10 days. 

The largest of the Channel Islands has changed the rules because of concerns about growing case numbers and the spread of the ‘Delta’ coronavirus variant in Britain. 

The changes mean that non-vaccinated Brits will be tested on arrival and then they will have to isolate with further tests on day five and day 10. 

The isolation requirement will only cease after a negative result following the third test on day 10. 

People who have been fully vaccinated will be tested on arrival and told to isolate until the result comes back. They will also be tested again on day eight of their stay. 

Previously, England was on the island’s green list which meant non-vaccinated people could avoid isolation with a negative PCR test while the fully vaccinated were tested on arrival but did not have to isolate. 

The change came amid reports that a US-UK travel deal designed to resume non-essential travel between the countries will not be finalised until August at the earliest. 

Sources told the Financial Times that ‘we thought July was the earliest we might be able to get something in place, but now it’s looking more like September’. 

Another source said that the White House is in ‘no hurry’ and ‘the chances of anything happening before August now seem to be zilch’ amid concerns in Washington over the spread of the ‘Delta’ variant.

It came as the UK and the EU are closing in on a deal to recognise each other’s vaccine passports in a move which could open up more holidays to Europe for double-jabbed Britons. 

Jersey today announced it has moved England to its travel red list, requiring non-vaccinated Brits to quarantine on arrival for 10 days. Beauport Bay in Jersey is pictured

The UK and the EU are closing in on a deal to recognise each other’s vaccine passports in a move which could open up more holidays to Europe for double-jabbed Britons

European countries which are more reliant on tourism are reluctant to effectively ban Brits and want to use vaccines and testing to ensure holidays can continue

Hopes are now rising that non-essential travel to the continent will become easier in the summer months with talks on the mutual recognition of vaccine apps ‘progressing well’. 

Brussels has said discussions are ‘going in the right direction’ boosting hopes of a breakthrough. 

It comes after Angela Merkel failed in her bid to persuade all EU member states to impose the same tough border rules on travelling Brits in order to stop the spread of the ‘Delta’ coronavirus variant. 

The mutual recognition of vaccine passport technology is viewed as a crucial step in unlocking more travel to and from the continent. 

The EU and the UK are working on plans which will see Britain recognise Brussels’ digital Covid certificate and the bloc recognise the NHS app. 

This will allow border control to simply scan a QR code to check a person’s vaccination status. 

A European Commission spokesman told The Guardian: ‘There are talks ongoing at the technical level which are progressing well and going in the right direction.’ 

There are growing hopes of a deal being done because the two apps use similar technology. 

Progress in the talks came as Mrs Merkel faced resistance to her calls for every European nation to follow Germany’s lead and impose a 14 day quarantine requirement for all travellers arriving from the UK. 

The German Chancellor wants EU member states to take the same step to protect against importing ‘Delta’ cases from the UK. 

Angela Merkel has faced resistance to her calls for every European nation to follow Germany’s lead and impose a 14 day quarantine requirement for all travellers arriving from the UK

But European countries which are more reliant on tourism than Germany are reluctant to effectively ban Brits and want to use vaccines and testing to ensure holidays can continue.

Countries such as Portugal and Spain have rejected Mrs Merkel’s call for a blanket ban, instead rolling out requirements for travellers to show they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative to avoid quarantine.   

More than 60 per cent of British adults have now had both coronavirus jabs. 

It is hoped that as European vaccination rates move higher there will be less emphasis placed on case numbers when deciding on travel rules, potentially opening up more holiday destinations.    

Source: Read Full Article