Coronavirus in Sheffield LIVE: Anyone aged 30 and over can now book Covid vaccine jab

But the country remains on the Government’s “amber list”, meaning people returning will need to take a series of Covid-19 tests and self-isolate at home.

Business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News: “The Prime Minister has been clear that, for now, amber means ‘please don’t go unless there is an urgent family reason and so on’ because we are still trying to slowly move through our road map to being able to open up on June 21 and we want to do that in a steady and careful way.”

She added that “we hope very much that, obviously, the amber numbers will become more green in due course” but “at the moment, today, that means amber countries really aren’t safe to go to”.

Government minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Times Radio: “The reality is, at the moment, amber countries are still not meeting the criteria for our scientists to say that they should be green.

“So the recommendation remains don’t go unless you have to and remember that, if you do go you will have to quarantine for 10 days and that will be monitored.”

As Spain opened its doors to British tourists despite being on the amber list , the energy minister said: “The reason we ask people still not to go is because there is still too great a risk as far as our scientists are concerned.”

Government minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan rejected Dominic Cummings’ claim that achieving herd immunity was the official plan drawn up to combat the pandemic.

The energy minister told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It was never the policy of this Government.

“Boris Johnson was very clear that the only thing that mattered was that we make sure that we saved lives and we keep our NHS safe and able to function, not only to protect those who might get Covid but also everybody else.”

She said the Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance had talked about herd immunity being “one of the potential tools in the armoury” but it was not the policy goal.

Ms Trevelyan, who was in the Cabinet at the time, said: “I’m very comfortable that the Prime Minister never had as his policy herd immunity.”

Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, suggested the pandemic could be declared over if people are kept out of hospital by vaccines.

Referring to Public Health England (PHE) data published at the weekend, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that more time was needed to see how the vaccines work in the longer-term as people build immunity.

Asked if people may think the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was not as good as Pfizer, according to the data, he said: “Well I think in some ways we’re looking at the wrong exam question, because this is a question about mild infection and transmission.

“But the thing that makes this a pandemic is people going into hospital. And so what we really need to know, and we don’t have the data yet for certain, is how well both vaccines are performing in preventing people from going into hospital.

“And what we’ve seen so far in the pandemic is that protection from vaccines against hospitalisation and death is much, much higher than the protection against mild infection, which is what these tests are detecting.

“So what I’m waiting for is the answer to that exam question, which is the critical one to understand how we should respond in the future to new variants, is to find out whether these infections that we’re starting to see a little bit with this current variant are completely uncoupled from hospitalisations and deaths, but we just need a few more weeks to get more evidence around that.”

The Government announced on Sunday that 60.6 million first and second vaccine doses had been administered since December 8.

The figure includes 37.9 million people who have received a first dose, 72 per cent of the UK population, and 22.6 million have had both (43 per cent).

The number of second doses administered in the UK hit a daily record on Saturday, with 556,951.

The Government continued to urge people to get a second dose to stay protected from new coronavirus variants.

Mr Hancock said: “Shortly after vaccinating over 70 per cent of adults in the UK with a first dose, we have hit yet another incredible milestone with over 60 million doses delivered in total.

“Our trailblazing vaccination programme, the biggest and most successful in NHS history, is another great British success story and a testament to what can be achieved when all four corners of the country come together to defeat this virus.”

Some 762,361 first and second doses were administered on Saturday, the highest daily combined total since March 20.

Meanwhile, a study by Public Health England (PHE) found that the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is 88 per cent effective against the Indian variant of coronavirus after two doses.

The study, which took place between April 5 and May 16, found that the jab was almost as effective against symptomatic disease from the B1617.2 strain as it was against the Kent variant, with 93 per cent effectiveness.

The AstraZeneca jab was 60 per cent effective, compared with 66 per cent against the Kent variant over the same period.

Both vaccines were 33 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the Indian variant three weeks after the first dose, compared with about 50% against the Kent strain.

Pilot scheme to offer alternative accommodation for self-isolation

The pilots will involve increased social care support for vulnerable adults, “buddying” services for people needing mental health support and translation assistance for non-English speakers.

People isolating in overcrowded houses in the trial areas will also be offered alternative accommodation.

The Government has allocated £11.9 million towards the pilots, split between local authorities in nine areas with high infection rates.

The local authority areas include Yorkshire and the Humber, along with Newham and Hackney in London, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, Peterborough and Somerset.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We recognise just how challenging self-isolation is for many people and these pilots will help us find the best ways to support people and making it easier for everyone to keep doing their bit.”