Canada not among countries exempt from quarantine for travel into England

Travellers vaccinated in EU, U.S. will not have to quarantine when entering England

RCI

The government of the United Kingdom announced today that travellers to England who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the European Union or United States will be exempt from mandatory quarantine upon arrival — but fully vaccinated travellers from Canada will still have to undergo quarantine.

The change goes into effect on Aug. 2, according to a news release (new window) from the U.K. government. While the U.K. Department for Transport has confirmed for CBC News that the change does not apply to Canadians, no reason has been given for the exclusion.

From 2 August, passengers who are fully vaccinated from the US and European countries (currently excludes arrivals from France) will be able to travel from Amber countries to England without quarantine.

We are also restarting international cruises. Find out more👇

— Department for Transport (@transportgovuk) July 28, 2021

Début du widget Twitter. Passer le widget ?

Fin du widget Twitter. Retourner au début du widget ?

That means travellers from Canada to the U.K. will still have to quarantine at home or in the place they’re staying for 10 days, and take a COVID-19 test on or after their eighth day in the country.

Passengers who are fully vaccinated in the EU with vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or in the USA with vaccines authorised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or in the Swiss vaccination programme, will be able to travel to England without having to quarantine or take a day 8 test on arrival, the news release says.

The exemption applies to some European countries outside of the EU, such as Norway and Iceland, but travellers from France will still have to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated.

No updates for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

According to BBC News (new window), the government of Scotland has not made a decision on exempting fully vaccinated travellers from the U.S. and Europe. As of today, Wales (new window) and Northern Ireland (new window) also have not updated their rules for travel — which require a quarantine upon arrival from outside the U.K. unless the traveller was fully vaccinated through the U.K. vaccination programme.

Richard Raycraft (new window) · with files from Lauren Sproule and Philip Ling – CBC News