LONDON – England will suspend its mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors from more than 50 countries, but will leave the current restrictions on travelers coming from the United States, deepen the isolation of the United States and deliver another rebuke to President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus . pandemic.
The European Union recently confirmed the United States’ travel ban, even when it opened its borders to visitors from Canada, Rwanda, Thailand and 15 other countries. England’s policy, announced on Friday, is not so draconian: Visitors from the United States can still enter the country as long as they agree to isolate themselves for two weeks.
But those from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and dozens of other countries will be able to travel to England without restrictions, an agreement aimed at boosting the languishing tourism industry in time for the summer holiday season. The regulations will take effect on July 10.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland apply their own travel policies and may not follow England’s lead in easing restrictions.
The United States has banned most visitors to Britain since March, after briefly exempting them from the travel ban to the European Union. At the time, Europe was dealing with far more coronavirus infections than the United States. Since then, the epicenter of the pandemic has moved across the Atlantic.
During the initial phase of the outbreak, Britain remained open to travel from viral hotspots such as Italy, Spain and Iran. When she imposed the quarantine measures, her infection rates were among the highest in the world.
That sparked strong criticism of a policy that imposed restrictions on people arriving from countries where the virus was under control, including New Zealand. Authorities threatened to fine violators of the rules up to £ 1,000 ($ 1,245).
Critics said the measures were economically damaging, ineffective and legally unenforceable because the country did not have the resources to ensure that people obeyed its 14-day quarantine. Of the 12 police forces that answered questions from the BBC, none said they had issued a fine.
Some public health experts said the frantic debate over quarantine had been diverted from more pressing issues, such as the safe reopening of British schools, organizing an effective testing and tracing program, and organizing a system to eliminate new outbreaks. in cities like Leicester to avoid second block
“The UK government seems focused on giving people a pandemic summer vacation rather than dealing with the difficult problems facing the aviation industry for next year,” said Professor Devi Sridhar, director of the global program for University of Edinburgh Health Governance.
Scotland has resisted relaxation as it resisted Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s earlier plans to lift the shutdown. Its infection and death rates are lower than in England, which officials attribute to its more cautious approach. The Scottish government has yet to decide how to relax restrictions on travelers, although its options are somewhat limited, given its open border with England.
Grant Shapps, the transportation secretary, told the BBC on Friday that the United States would be excluded from immediate relaxation due to the “large number of infections” in the country.
The government has designated countries with green, yellow, and red lights based on “the prevalence of coronavirus, the number of new cases, and the potential trajectory of the disease at that destination.” The United States has a red light.
The announcement seemed to go beyond a previous idea put forward by ministers to create “airlifts” with specific countries, where travelers would have reciprocal freedom to travel. The government still hopes that some of the exempt countries do not require visitors to Britain to be quarantined.
But the list of green light countries comprises more than 50, including Vietnam and Hong Kong, though not mainland China. Some may still require travelers from Britain to be quarantined upon arrival. At the British end, many arriving passengers will still need to provide contact information.
Still, for the travel industry, it was a relief after a tense period in which they worried that the summer season would be ruined. Many complained of damage to their businesses and warned of job losses.
“It has been an incredibly frustrating time,” said Steven Freudmann, president of the Institute for Travel and Tourism, a lobbying group. “There seems to be no coordinated thinking. A disaster is the only word I can think of.
Freudmann said he was “pleased and relieved that finally, finally, the government seems to be making sound decisions.” But he said the erratic government policies had “created a lack of trust and clearly we as an industry have a job to establish that trust.”
Among those who ignored existing travel restrictions was Mr. Johnson’s father, Stanley Johnson. The elderly Mr. Johnson, 79, posted photos on social media of his arrival in Greece, which currently prevents tourists from flying directly from Britain. Apparently he got there through the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
It was not the first time that he had defied the government’s advice on coronaviruses: before Britain’s closure began, when the prime minister urged the British not to go to the pub, his father said he would go anyway if he felt thirsty.
Speaking from Greece, Stanley Johnson told the Daily Mail newspaper that he was in the country on “essential issues, trying to protect my property with Covid in view of the upcoming rental season.”
