The announcements are coming thick and fast now and double-vaxxers will not have to quarantine when returning from amber listed countries. And this more or less opens up Europe for holiday makers.

It is a step in the right direction and the travel industry is delighted. But hold on a moment – whilst quarantine is a nuisance for some, others probably don’t mind so much. What they do mind is the requirement to spend quite tidy sums on covid tests and those will still be required when returning from amber countries, one before leaving your starting point and another within two days after your return to England.

And they are not cheap!

It does seem rather strange. If you are regarded as sufficiently low risk not to have to quarantine, you still have to take a test in case you are carrying the disease. It doesn’t make a lot of sense really.

Perhaps people should be given the option to choose?

The Bailiwick of Guernsey has taken a good step. If you have been double-vaxxed, you can complete their travel tracker app and then turn up, prove your status and walk out of the airport or other arrival point free of quarantine, tests, the lot! And it works well.

However, and there is a however, if you wish to go to Guernsey which includes Alderney and Sark, you need to have the travel-tracker loaded into your mobile phone so that you can bring up your “blue status” on arrival. And to do this you will need your password! If you cannot get in because you have forgotten your password, they can help you fix that but it takes some time.

But in principle this is a great step forward.

And when you return to the UK no tests, no quarantine. Just go home!

Adrian Leopard 08-07-21

Photo KOBU Agency