Which countries will move to green list? Changes to green, amber and red lists expected in next travel update

A shake-up to the UK’s green, amber and red travel list is expected this week, with several countries tipped to change status.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is due to make the announcement, due on either 25 or 26 August, which could open up more travel options for holidaymakers.

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The last update, announced on 4 August, brought in a number of changes, including Austria, Germany, Norway and Romania, among others, moving to the amber list, while Georgia, Mayotte, Mexico and Reunion all moved to red.

At the moment, England’s green list includes 36 destinations, 16 of which are on the ‘green watchlist’, meaning they are at risk of being moved to amber at short notice.

But this week’s review is expected to alter the lists yet again, with more additions tipped to be moving to amber, while the green list is set to lose a couple of locations.

Which countries could move to the green list?

Analysis from travel consultancy The PC Agency has tipped less than 10 countries to be upgraded from amber to green following this week’s update.

The agency, which correctly predicted all the green list additions at the previous review at the beginning of August, expects Poland, Canada, Bhutan, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Saudi Arabia to move from amber to green thanks to low Covid-19 rates.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Paul Charles, head of the travel consultancy, explained: “When you take the criteria of the seven countries added to the [green] list, then actually they equally apply to the countries that haven’t been added - like Poland, for example, or the Czech Republic, or even Canada.

“So there are many countries in the world which should be on the green list, but aren’t.”

Which countries could move to the amber list?

The agency has suggested that some popular European destinations are at risk of being downgraded from green to amber in the next update due to high coronavirus rates.

Croatia and Madeira may move back to the amber list in what would be a huge blow for tourists as the countries are both currently welcoming vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.

Israel, Lithuania and the Caribbean islands of Anguilla, Antigua, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos could also change status to amber this week.

Which countries could move to the red list?

The red list is also expected to see some changes, with three Caribbean islands and Morocco set to be added after the next review.

Jamaica, St Lucia and Dominica have all seen steep rises in coronavirus cases, while Morocco is still recovering from its peak of infections earlier this month.

Greece has also been named as a possible red list addition due to a recent rise in cases, which is now around 4,000 new infections per day, while Spain is potentially at risk as well having the second highest case rate in Europe, although this has been falling over the past two weeks.

Mr Charles explained on Twitter: “I’ve had many followers asking about #Spain - do not worry. It won’t be going red at the next review.

“Rates on every level are falling quite sharply, and the vaccination rollout is going strongly, with over 65% of the population fully-jabbed. August Bank Holiday is safe there."

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