When is the next travel update for Sheffield? Date of green, amber and red list countries UK review - and what happened last time

The last international review saw new countries including Austria and Germany added to the green list, while Mexico, Georgia and two other locations moved to the red list.

It also scrapped the “amber plus” list, which included France, and required holidaymakers to quarantine on their return regardless of their vaccination status.

The travel rules have been ever-changing amid the Covid pandemic, with countries moving up and down the traffic light system throughout.

Anyone who is double vaccinated will now no longer have to quarantine when they return from a country on the amber list, but countries on the red list still require mandatory hotel quarantine upon return.

Holidaymakers in Sheffield are eagerly awaiting the next UK Government travel review to find out which destinations they will be able to travel to and what the requirements will be.

Here is everything you need to know.

When is the next review?

The current system is being reviewed every three weeks, with the Government making the announcements.

The changes to the UK’s red, amber and green list destinations were announced on Wednesday, August, 4 with the changes coming into effect from 4am on Sunday, August 8.

To follow this pattern, the next travel update is expected to come either later today – Wednesday, August 25 – or tomorrow, August 26.

The last two travel updates have been announced on Wednesdays, suggesting that this may be the norm from now on.

If the update takes place today, the latest pattern would suggest that any changes will come into effect from 4am on Sunday, August 29.

The actual briefings are not usually televised but the statements making the announcement are usually shown on television. The last one came at around 10.30pm.

They are usually covered on Sky and BBC News and you can watch them online, as well as catching up afterwards.

The reviews are held regularly to assess the situation and ensure officials keep abreast of any changes in the Covid situation in different countries, including identifying any new variants like the Delta variant first found in India.

Public Health England assists the Government in making the decisions based on the latest data.

What happened last time?

Seven countries moved from the amber list to the green list at the last review as they were deemed a “low risk” to public health.

These were Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway.

Spain looked set to join the red list but luckily for many fully vaccinated travellers it remained amber, meaning those who are double jabbed will no longer have to quarantine when they return.

Georgia, Mexico, Réunion and Mayotte all moved from the amber to the red list, meaning anyone who comes back to the UK after a holiday here must quarantine at a hotel.

Bahrain, India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UEA) all moved from the red list to the amber list.

The “amber plus” restrictions in France were also scrapped at the last announcement.

The big shock at the last review was the fact that Poland did not move to the green list, despite its low Covid rate. Travellers will be waiting on tenterhooks to find out whether Poland’s status is set to change in the next update.

What could happen at the next announcement?

Mainstream European holiday destinations like Spain, France and Italy are very popular with holidaymakers in Sheffield and the rest of the UK so many will be waiting in anticipation to see if any of these make their way onto the green list.

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News on August 5 that he could not rule out the possibility of France and Spain moving onto the red list if concerns over Beta variant case numbers continued to rise.

There are also 16 destinations on the current green watchlist, meaning they are at risk of moving from green to amber.

Countries like Croatia could be at risk of moving higher, as well as countries from further afield like Barbados and the Cayman Islands.

Turkey and Canada are also two of the countries being eagerly watched.

Turkey is currently on the red list, although many people are hopeful this will change in the latest announcement, as the London Embassy has said case numbers have fallen dramatically in the country and are currently lower than those in the UK.

Canada was expected to be moved from amber to green during the last review but unfortunately this was not the case. Travellers are now hopeful this will happen at the next review, expected today or tomorrow, providing case numbers have remained low.

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