Amber and red lists – the five countries which could be banned for British tourists

Amber and red lists for travel will be updated by the government this week, allowing tourists to see which countries they can – and can’t – visit over the next month. However, there are some destinations that will still be banned to British holidaymakers, including Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Tunisia, and Brazil.

Any country that remains on the red list are banned to Brits, the government has warned.

If you do have to travel back from any of these countries or territories, you’ll have to quarantine in a managed hotel, while also taking two separate Covid tests throughout the 10-day period.

Russia is extremely likely to move from the amber list to the red list in the next update, experts have warned.

Its Covid cases are nearing its peak for the entire pandemic, averaging more than 20,000 new cases each day.

South Africa is expected to remain on the red list, as it’s in the middle of a third wave of infections.

More than 20,000 new cases were reported on July 8, 9 and 10, hinting that restrictions won’t be eased.

Turkey, however, could move from the red list onto the amber list, in a rare promotion.

The country’s number of new Covid cases has fallen significantly over the past few months, and is now recording about a fifth of the UK’s daily new infections.

But, even if it moves onto the amber list, tourists will still need to quarantine at home on arrival back into the UK if they haven’t had both vaccinations.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s concern that the Balearic Islands might be relegated back down to the amber list.

The Balearics – including Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca – moved onto the green list in the previous update.

More to follow…