PM Johnson scraps quarantine rule for fully vaccinated US, EU arrivals in England

The UK government on Wednesday declared that fully vaccinated people in the United States and European Union(EU) will be allowed to travel to England without undergoing quarantine.

London's Heathrow airport authorities and Britain's airline's industry had urged the UK government to open up travel to vaccinated passengers to attract tourists.

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"We're helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends," Grant Shapps, UK transport minister said.

Europe had opened its doors to vaccinated travellers ensuring a boost to its tourism sector as Heathrow reported 20-25 per cent traffic compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Britain had earlier changed quarantine rules for residents returning to England from France due to "persistent presence" of the Beta coronavirus variant.

The British travellers were put under a 10-day quarantine angering citizens and the tourist industry which has already been hit due to pandemic restrictions.

The Johnson government had removed all major restrictions in England on July 19. The UK authorities have fully vaccinated over 70 per cent of the adult population even as Boris Johnson urged the rest of the unvaccinated to take the jabs.

On Tuesday, UK's COVID-19 data showed coronavirus cases had fallen over 50 per cent over a seven day period as Johnson urged people to remain cautious.

Johnson said the country was still in the middle of the third wave while adding that people should not draw "premature conclusions" from the recent COVID-19 report.

Britain is one of the worst-hit countries due to the virus with over 5.7 coronavirus cases and over 129, 590 deaths.

(With inputs from Agencies)