The red list has been slashed in size in the latest government travel update, with destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and The Maldives have all been removed.
There were 62 destinations on red list, but it will now be 54 at 4 am on Wednesday (September 22).
Countries moving off the red list are:
- Turkey
- Pakistan
- The Maldives
- Egypt
- Sri Lanka
- Oman
- Bangladesh
- Kenya
This means people returning from theses places will no longer have to stay in hotel quarantine.
Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, announced that passengers returning from countries not on the red list will no longer need to undergo day 2 PCR tests starting in October.
Instead, they will have to take a cheaper lateral flow test instead.
Fully-jabbed travelers will no longer need to undergo a pre-departure screening.
The non-vaccinated will still need to pass a pre-departure test.
Alongside changes to testing, the amber list will be scrapped from October 4 to simplify the advice into “go” and “no go” destinations – with a single red list of countries.
Ministers from the Cabinet approved Grant Shapps’ plans on Friday morning.
He tweeted: “From Mon 4 Oct, if you’re fully vax you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow.
“In addition, EIGHT countries and territories will come off the red list from Weds 22 Sept at 4am, incl. TURKEY, PAKISTAN AND MALDIVES.
“We’ll also be introducing a new simplified system for international travel from Mon 4 Oct, replacing the current approach with a single red list and simplified measures for the rest of the world – striking the right balance to manage the public health risk as No.1 priority.”