Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced this evening on Twitter that certain professionals will now be exempt from self-isolating when returning to England from countries not on the travel corridor list. Mr Shapps said “high-value” business travellers returning to England from 4am on Saturday will no longer need to self-isolate even if they have visited a destination not on the travel corridors list. Mr Shapps said on Twitter: “New Business Traveller exemption: From 4am on Sat 5th Dec high-value business travellers will no longer need to self-isolate when returning to ENGLAND from a country NOT in a travel corridor, allowing more travel to support the economy and jobs. Conditions apply.”(sic)
“There are strict criteria, including working for a business of 50+ people, but it’s the further quashing of #quarantine.”
Currently, nearly all people arriving in the UK from destinations not believed to be at low risk of coronavirus are required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The change in policy comes into force at 4am on Saturday.
It comes as the UK approved a coronavirus vaccine for widespread use this week.
The announcement made the UK the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use within days.
The travel sector has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic after the virus halted travel companies and airlines at the beginning of the year.
News of a vaccine has provided the industry with valuable hope that the travel sector will be able to fully kickstart soon.
Many British holidaymakers have been eagerly waiting for a vaccine to arrive so they can kickstart their travel plans.
Founder of currency exchange platform Bidwedge Shon Alam said the announcement of a vaccine is the “biggest news to impact the industry” since the beginning of the year.
Mr Alam also said the news of a vaccine has already boosted confidence in the travel sector.
He continued: “Over the past few weeks, the news of successful vaccine trials were already boosting confidence that the travel sector is recovering, shown by the rise in stock prices of easyJet, and owner of British Airways, IAG.
“Now, the announcement that the British public can begin receiving immunisations within a matter of days, will absolutely provide a huge surge of confidence that the travel industry is definitely on its way to recovery.
“For travellers too, many of whom have been eagerly awaiting the moment that it is safe for them to travel again, this will provide the assurance they need to begin planning their trips abroad.
“Hopefully, this news signals that we are returning to some semblance of normality, and that we can confine 2020 to the history books.
“For those consumers looking to book holidays in 2021 and 2022, people will start to buy up their foreign currency now before the value of foreign currency increases massively again.
“Next year, there will be a mad dash for Euros and Dollars, but we implore caution, and for British holidaymakers to carefully consider where they buy their exchange from.
“As covid hit the travel sector hard, new alternative and transparent providers have grown out of the ashes, and now consumers have services, such as Bidwedge, to find incredible rates on swapping currencies, making their next holiday that bit sweeter.”
