Covid update: government traffic light system

The UK government has announced that when international travel resumes a red-amber-green ‘traffic light’ system will be used, with arrivals from ‘green’ countries able to freely enter the UK. The provisional start date is May 17th.

The new green category will have no isolation requirements, but pre-departure and post-arrival Covid tests will be required.

Amber-designated countries will require a 10-day isolation period on arrival in the UK but this can be reduced to 5 days with an additional test. Arrival from red list countries will be banned.

At present, England’s ‘red list’ includes 39 countries, mostly located in Africa and Latin America. The latest countries to be added to the list are The Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh.

The government has said that it will look to establish arrangements with other countries and international organisations to establish mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, holding out some hope of alignment with the European Commission’s recently proposed ‘Digital Green Certificate’.

Here at ECS we note that nearly all countries from which our pupils travel are green and amber countries. The general situation appears to be improving in those countries. However, there is still uncertainty both at home and abroad so we wait until May 17th to re-assess the situation.

If you have already booked a place, we thank you for your patience. If you have not yet booked, you can do so in confidence: we offer a money-back guarantee if we cancel the course or if your child is unable to travel due to official government restrictions in your country. Book here. For regular Covid-19 updates please see our page at https://www.countryschools.co.uk/more-info/covid-19

The uncertainty over foreign travel continues. In all countries there is contradictory information over possible scenarios in July and August. We await clarification from the UK government and in the meantime advise against making irreversible travel arrangements. We are still hoping and planning to run our course this summer. If you have already booked a place, please be optimistic and patient. If you have not yet booked, you can do so in confidence: we offer a money-back guarantee if we have to cancel the course or if your child is unable to travel due to official government restrictions in your country. Book here. For regular Covid-19 updates please see our page at https://www.countryschools.co.uk/more-info/covid-19