Uruguay, Namibia and US Virgin Islands removed from safe travel list
17 December 2020, 17:33 | Updated: 17 December 2020, 18:57
Travellers returning to the UK from Uruguay, Namibia and US Virgin Islands will be required to self-isolate, the Government has said.
The countries will be removed from the safe travel corridor list from 4am on Saturday.
People will be required to self-isolate for 10 days following their return journey.
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Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that no more updates on travel restrictions would be made until January 7 to "provide certainty to those travelling over Xmas".
He tweeted that the Government would only make emergency removals "if needed for the next two weeks".
Latest data means we must remove URUGUAY, NAMIBIA and US VIRGIN ISLANDS from the #TravelCorridor list. From 4am Saturday 19th December, if you arrive into the UK from these destinations you will need to self-isolate.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) December 17, 2020
It will come as a blow to the travel industry, which has claimed for months that the threat of destinations being removed from the safe list has put many people off booking holidays this year.
There are hopes that the self-isolation period could be reduced to five days following the announcement of a new 'Test and Release' scheme.
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But when the scheme was due to launch on Tuesday, several testing companies involved in the project said they were unable to provide the service.
