Coronavirus: NHS app will be used as a ‘COVID passport’

The UK will find out “in the next couple of weeks” the countries they will be able to visit without having to quarantine, with plans for a “traffic light system” which will be used in order to categorise countries safe to travel to.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the smartphone app many people use to book appointments with their GPs is being developed to show whether they have been vaccinated or tested.

He added that “in the next couple of weeks” he will be able to give details on which countries have made it onto the “green” list and which would be deemed “amber” or “red” under the new system.

The countries Britons will be able to travel to without needing to quarantine upon their return will still require COVID testing before leaving to return to the UK.

Mr Shapps told Sky News: “Beyond our shores we are seeing the highest levels of coronavirus that we have seen so far in the entire pandemic, right now.

“But, in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be able to tell you about which countries will have made it into the traffic light system and that ‘green’ list in particular are the countries where you’ll be able to go to without needing to quarantine on your return.

“You will still need to take a pre-departure test and one test on your return.”

He confirmed government will monitor vaccination numbers, infection rates, concerns over new variants and the accuracy of COVID reporting in other countries when deciding which countries should be what colour.

Under the Prime Minister’s roadmap out of lockdown, international travel without exemptions is not allowed before May 17.