Spain 'will be spared going onto the travel red list' because coronavirus case numbers are falling and the Government 'doesn't have enough hotel beds to force everybody to quarantine'
- Spain will not be added to the red list after a fall in coronavirus cases in country
- Spain will also not be added because of fears hotel quarantine could not cope
- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will deliver traffic light update tomorrow
Ministers will not move Spain to the travel traffic light 'red list' because of falling case numbers in the country and fears the Government's hotel quarantine system would be unable to cope.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to deliver his three-weekly update to the rules tomorrow.
Spain is currently on the amber list which means fully-vaccinated Brits can return home without having to quarantine.
There had been fears the country could be moved up to the 'red list' but it is now thought it will remain in the medium tier.
Meanwhile, holidays to France are expected to be back on the table with the 'amber plus' list set to be scrapped.
Spain is not expected to be added to the 'red list' when Grant Shapps delivers an update to the traffic light rules tomorrow. The Amadores beach in Gran Canaria is pictured yesterday
Spain is currently on the amber list which means fully-vaccinated Brits can return home without having to quarantine
France is the only country in the category which currently means that even double-jabbed travellers have to quarantine when they come home.
Ministers are expected to streamline the traffic light system but Boris Johnson remains under pressure to go further and scrap it completely.
Aviation bosses and Tory MPs believe the system should be replaced with one simple 'red list' of banned nations, with vaccinated tourists allowed to travel everywhere else quarantine-free.
France was put on the 'amber plus' list due to fears over the spread of the Beta coronavirus variant.
But numbers now show that just 0.4 per cent of Covid-19 cases in France are Beta while the number is 0.5 per cent in Spain, according to The Times.
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Ministers were considering rolling out a new 'amber watchlist' for countries currently amber but at risk of imminently turning red.
It had been suggested that Spain could be put in the new category but Mr Johnson torpedoed the new list after a ferocious backlash.
As well as a fall in case numbers in Spain, it is also thought the nation will be spared the 'red list' because of logistical concerns around hotel quarantine.
All travellers returning from a 'red list' nation have to spend 10 days in a Government-approved hotel at their own expense.
The Government has tens of thousands of rooms reserved but with an estimated one million UK tourists in Spain there would not be space in the system for all of them to be housed.
A Whitehall source told The Times: 'Spain won't be going on the amber watchlist - the only danger is it going red but that's very unlikely.
'Cases are coming down. And they haven't got enough beds to quarantine everybody. So it's not going to happen.'
Mr Shapps is expected to add up to 10 countries to the green list tomorrow, with Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic all being tipped.
But the Government remains under pressure to do more, with aviation bosses and Tory MPs calling for the current system to be scrapped.
They believe the UK should follow the lead of the US where double-vaccinated travellers can visit any country which will welcome them. They do not have to quarantine on their return.
Travel bosses believe introducing a single 'red list' of countries which are out of bounds would also make it much easier for holidaymakers to book trips.
The expected changes to the rules came as it emerged that Boris Johnson will be taking a holiday in the UK this summer rather than heading a broad.
Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and son Wilfred took a trip to Scotland last year but it is not clear where he will go this time.
A senior government source told the Telegraph: 'The PM's going to staycation this year.'
Universities Minister Michelle Donelan insisted the PM's apparent decision was not a comment on whether people should be staying in the UK.
She told Sky News: ‘No, I think that some people have planned some fantastic holidays to countries including green list countries.
‘We will get that update as you said this week from the Department for Transport as to the latest iteration around the traffic light system as we do every three weeks.
‘Also, there are some fantastic and amazing places to holiday here in the UK… I would strongly advocate that a staycation is a good option this year just as going abroad is too.’
