Restrictions on travel from France to be lifted from Sunday

Travellers arriving from France will no longer need to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated under the latest review of travel restrictions that come into effect on Sunday.

This follows a reported drop in the number of cases of the beta variant in France.

Spain continues to be on the amber list for the moment, but travellers are advised to be cautious as investigations continue into a new COVID variant from South America that is now spreading in Spain.

Passengers are recommended to take a PCR test rather than a lateral flow test before leaving Spain for greater accuracy.

The latest changes come into effect at 4am on Sunday 8 August.

From Sunday, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway will all change from amber to green.

India will move from red to amber, along with Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

However, Georgia, Mexico and the French overseas territories of Réunion and Mayotte will be moved to the red list, which means travellers returning from those countries will have to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

Travel to red list countries on holiday or for any leisure purposes is not allowed.

The price of a stay in a quarantine hotel is also increasing from £1,750 to £2,285.

The Scottish Government has said it will review the hardship and welfare arrangements for travellers who need to stay in quarantine hotels to ensure they remain suitable.

Transport secretary Michael Matheson said: “These latest changes make it clear that international travel remains challenging.

“Recent relaxations to travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people were due to the huge success of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme.

“It is vitally important we protect that progress through continued vigilance on importation and we continue to urge caution given the risks caused by variants of concern.”