by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:47 AM ET, Fri September 17, 2021
The British government is working on a plan to ease England's COVID-19 rules for international arrivals ahead of the winter travel period.
According to Reuters.com, Agriculture Secretary George Eustice said a series of new rules could be implemented Friday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about relaxed travel restrictions for the fully vaccinated.
Currently, tourists arriving in England are still being forced to meet expensive COVID-19 testing requirements, but lifting the mandates would provide a late-season boost for airlines, holiday and tourism companies.
"There are hundreds of businesses out there who will not survive this winter unless changes are made," TUI UK managing director Andrew Flintham told Reuters.
The updated coronavirus plan will reportedly remove the requirement that fully vaccinated travelers must show a negative test result before departure and again after arrival in England, a mandate that became a hefty expense for tourists.
The British government is also reportedly planning to ditch its so-called traffic light system, which ranks destinations as green, amber and red to determine whether tourists will be permitted to enter or not. The new destination categories would be low or high risk, simplifying the system.
Any changes to rules for international arrivals will only apply to England at first, but administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could implement a similar plan at a later time.
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