{"id":193165,"date":"2021-06-06T13:30:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T13:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1439810"},"modified":"2021-06-06T13:30:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T13:30:34","slug":"uk-international-travel-policy-branded-confusing-dangerous-and-haphazard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/06\/06\/uk-international-travel-policy-branded-confusing-dangerous-and-haphazard\/","title":{"rendered":"UK international travel policy branded confusing, dangerous and haphazard"},"content":{"rendered":"
The UK\u2019s traffic light rating system for international travel is confusing to the point of being dangerous, shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has said.<\/p>\n
“A real, real problem”<\/h5>\n
The government has devised a risk-based system with red, amber and green ratings for countries around the world. It determines the quarantine and coronavirus testing requirements people face when returning to the UK.<\/p>\n
Portugal being moved from the green to amber caught many holidaymakers by surprise this week. And Nandy has said the amber list should be scrapped.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the BBC\u2019s Andrew Marr Show<\/em>, she said:<\/p>\n
I think we\u2019ve got a real, real problem with the travel system that the Government has put in place. We\u2019ve currently got countries on the amber list which the Government is basically urging people not to go to but allowing people to go to with very lax quarantine requirements when they come back.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
We think the amber list should be scrapped. We think it\u2019s pointless. We think it\u2019s confusing and that confusion is actually dangerous at the moment.<\/p>\n
It risks unravelling all of the progress that we\u2019ve made.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Nandy was asked if she thinks people who go on holiday to France should be quarantined in the UK on their return and she said:<\/p>\n
I think that we should have robust quarantine measures in place for people coming back into the country. That\u2019s absolutely right.<\/p>\n
I also think that we need to be much clearer with people that, at the moment, travelling overseas, particularly when you\u2019ve got countries like Thailand and Vietnam on the amber list where new variants are emerging and being imported into the UK, is the wrong thing to do, and the Government ought to be absolutely clear about that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n(PA Graphics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
“Haphazard”<\/h5>\n
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King\u2019s College London, said he doesn’t understand the thinking behind removing Portugal from the green list. He told Times Radio<\/em>:<\/p>\n
If you travel from London to Manchester at the moment, it\u2019s a much greater risk than going to Portugal, Spain, Italy, France. Are we protecting the Portuguese from problems? Is it that way around? Because, otherwise, I don\u2019t really get it.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t stop variants coming into this country unless we completely lock down the country.<\/p>\n
I think we just ought to start settling down and dealing with our own outbreaks and not try to have this haphazard travel policy which is causing a lot of fear and confusion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"(PA](\"https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/2e4dd21760e011d0f4a01cc87d693952Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjIzMDYyMjA1\/2.60208022.jpg?w=640\")