The UK government has reduced England’s travel “red list” to just seven – down from 54.
Forty-seven destinations including South Africa will be removed from England’s red list on Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
The travel red list will be reduced to Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
It said the 47 countries will be removed from the red list from 4am on Monday, making it easier for more people to travel abroad to a larger number of countries. Passengers returning to England from these destinations will no longer be required to enter hotel quarantine.
The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own travel rules but have recently mirrored announcements made in Westminster.
The government will also extend the inbound vaccinated arrivals system to a further 37 countries and territories across the globe including India, South Africa and Turkey, meaning eligible passengers arriving from rest of world countries only need to take a day two test in England.
And it said passengers will be able to send a picture of their lateral flow test as a minimum requirement to verify test result accuracy and keep prices down once day two tests switch to lateral flow later this month, followed by a free PCR test if positive.
Shapps said: “With half-term and winter sun around the corner, we’re making it easier for families and loved ones to reunite by significantly cutting the number of destinations on the red list, thanks in part to the increased vaccination efforts around the globe.
“Restoring people’s confidence in travel is key to rebuilding our economy and levelling up this country. With less restrictions and more people travelling, we can all continue to move safely forward together along our pathway to recovery.”