Image source, Reuters

The government guidance on foreign travel is "completely unclear", the chairman of the Commons Transport Committee says.

Conservative MP Huw Merriman tells BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "I thought if you were coming from a country that was on the amber list then there would be tests, passenger locator forms and quarantine at home. But now we are being told that you shouldn't be going there at all.

"It seems very bizarre that just a week or so ago the Government announced that they were going to lift the stay in the UK guidance, they set out which countries apply to which traffic lights so individuals would know what they had to go through and then make their decision and yet now people are told they shouldn't be travelling.

"I think that that is just wrong, not least because many, many people have made their bookings based on what they thought the restrictions should be and are now being told they shouldn't go at all."

A number of police officers in Scotland have been fined after an indoor gathering in Shetland breached coronavirus restrictions.

It happened at a property in Russell Crescent, Lerwick, at about 18.15 BST on Friday while the island was still in Level 3 of Scotland's measures.

Six people were issued with fixed penalty notices and Police Scotland confirmed a number of officers had been among them.

Three days later, on 17 May most of Scotland's islands moved to Level 1, which allows indoor gatherings to take place with up to six people from three households.

Superintendent Maggie Pettigrew said the fact that police officers were involved in the breach was "extremely disappointing".

"Their actions undermine the sacrifices you have all made in the last year and I appreciate many of you will be upset about this incident."

She says the officers have been "reminded of their responsibility to set an example to others".

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Government has announced a "vaccine passport" scheme for people to show confirmation they have had the vaccine on travelling abroad.

Scots can download their vaccination status letter from the NHS Inform patient portal, external or call the free Covid Status Helpline and ask for it to be posted out.

Chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith urges limiting travel abroad and advises avoiding overseas holidays.

He says: "For those that do need it, this new service will provide people with a record of their vaccination status for outbound international travel.

"They should only access their record if they are planning to travel within 21 days and it is a requirement of their destination."

What is a Covid passport and what are the plans for the NHS app?

Has there been mixed messaging on amber travel list advice?published at 13:28 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

13:28 BST 19 May 2021

Reality Check

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of having “lost control of the messaging” over its advice for people on travelling to countries on its “amber list”.

There is lots of advice on the government, external website about coming back from these countries (which include France, Spain and Italy). This includes taking Covid tests, filling out a passenger locator form and self-isolating at home for 10 days.

On going out, it says simply: ‘‘You should not travel to amber list countries or territories." However, on Monday it stopped being illegal to go to these countries.

But yesterday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: "There will be reasons why people feel they need to travel [to amber list countries] either to visit family or indeed to visit friends but they then have to observe quarantine when they return."

Later, Boris Johnson said it was “very important people grasp what the amber list is – not somewhere to go on holiday” and said people should only travel to these countries for “pressing family or business reasons”.

Then, health minister Lord Bethell said overseas travel was “dangerous”, telling peers “The ultimate sanction here is that…we tell people: travelling is not for this year. Please stay in this country.”

Read our guide: which countries are on the green list for travel?

During PMQs Boris Johnson was challenged over the resignation of a nurse who looked after him when seriously ill with Covid-19.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter called on the PM to "think again" about the proposed 1% cash-terms pay rise for NHS staff in England.

"Surely he must pause and think what can be learned from mistakes of the past year," he says.

Johnson replies: "I think the whole House acknowledges our collective debt to the nurses of the NHS and I certainly acknowledge my own huge personal debt, and that's why of all the professions in this country in very, very tough times we've asked the public sector pay review board to look at an increase in pay for nurses."

He went on to say starting salaries for nurses have been increased before adding he knows "how hard it has been on the front line" coping with the pandemic and pointed to efforts to recruit more nurses.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Prof Neil Ferguson, one of the government’s key modellers, talked about a “glimmer of hope” that the Indian variant was perhaps not quite as transmissible as first feared.

Last week it was reported there was a “realistic possibility” that it could be 50% more infectious than the UK variant.

That could have a devastating impact if left to spread even with the vaccine rollout the UK has achieved.

But confidence in that figure was always heavily caveated – there’s only a 50:50 chance it is that high.

And data that is now emerging is tentatively pointing towards the Indian variant having less of an advantage over the UK variant.

Cases are not spreading quite as fast in the hotspot areas – positivity rates are in fact falling Bolton.

If these pointers are right – and we really will not know for another few weeks – it could make a huge difference.

There is estimated to be about an eight-fold difference in terms of hospital cases between what a 50% more infectious variant and a 20% more infectious one.

Three people have died in Scotland from adverse side-effects of coronavirus vaccines from 2.81 million vaccinated, according to the latest official statistics from the National Records of Scotland., external

The EU says a new emergency brake system will allow member states to "act quickly and in a coordinated manner" to prevent new coronavirus variants of concern entering its countries.

European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand says: "We welcome this agreement.

"This will help improve international inbound travel and it’s possible to do so safely while at the same time ensuring quick action to counter the spread of new virus variants."

He says the revised recommendation now needs to be formally adopted by the Council.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Jon Ashworth, the shadow secretary of state for health and social care, has said that everyone should be placed in quarantine if they have been abroad, even if they are arriving from a country on the government’s green list.

Talking to Rachel Burden on 5 Live Breakfast, the MP for Leicester South confirmed that Labour wants all travellers from all countries to quarantine in a hotel on their return to the UK.

He said: "We should just have comprehensive travel arrangements. Everybody who travels has to isolate themselves on return... we should use hotels to isolate people.

"It is a hindrance, a disadvantage, we accept that. But we are still dealing with a world where the virus is spreading and if you don’t strengthen your borders, you see these variants get in."

Listen to 5 Live on the free BBC Sounds app.

Image source, House of Commons/PA Wire

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tells MPs there is “increasing confidence that vaccines are effective against all variants” including the variant first found in India.

He was responding to a question from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who asked if variants placed England’s next stage in the easing of restrictions on 21 June under threat.

Speaking during at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir also challenges the prime minister on opening up travel on Monday in England, allowing people to travel to “amber list” countries.

Mr Johnson says the government is moving away from legislation towards guidance. He says travellers should not be going to an amber list country unless it’s a serious reason – such as visiting a seriously ill relative.

He says if people do travel to an amber list country “we will enforce the 10-day quarantine period” and those who break the rules “face substantial fines”.

Read more

Image source, Reuters

BBC Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie says there is some hesitation to add the UK to the safe list as some EU countries want to see how the surge of cases related to the Indian variant plays out.

If the UK is added to the EU's "safe list", anyone will be allowed to visit if they have the necessary documentation, not just people who have been fully vaccinated. The ambassadors have also recommended that an emergency brake be agreed for Covid variants of concern.

However, the terms of the planned EU-wide digital green certificate are yet to be signed off. The certificate would include either a negative test, proof of vaccination or recent recovery from Covid.

Portugal, Italy and Greece have already dropped quarantine restrictions for British travellers and Spain is expected to make an announcement in the coming days.

You can read what more on what the EU's foreign travel decisions mean here.

Image source, Getty Images

Foreign holidays are allowed once again, but taking a trip is still far from straightforward.

Travellers need to know where their destination sits in a traffic light system and whether the country is accepting visitors.

There are currently 12 countries on the UK's green list but not all of them are accepting holidaymakers.

The amber list, external is a long one and although travel to these places is no longer illegal from the UK, Boris Johnson says it should only be for a "pressing family or urgent business reason".

Here's our guide to the places you can go on holiday at the moment - and those you can't.

We’ve got more from the meeting of EU ambassadors over foreign travel restrictions.

A decision on whether to add the UK and other countries to the EU's "safe list" will be made on Friday.

It'll be called the "white list" and decisions will be made based on both the incidence rate and the trend of infections.

Residents of these countries will be able to enter the EU without being vaccinated but must show "necessary documentation" such as proof of a negative test or quarantine.

There are currently only eight countries on the list, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Israel.

The UK is operating a traffic light system for foreign travel - these are the countries that are on our green, amber and red lists.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries.

Image source, Getty Images

EU ambassadors have backed plans to allow non-essential travel from countries with low infection rates, with a list to be agreed this week.

Diplomats in Brussels said visitors should be allowed to come from countries with an incidence rate of below 75 cases per 100,000 people in the preceding 14 days.

The most recent data, covering tests taken in the two weeks to 13 May, show the that rate in the UK is 42 cases per 100,000., external

But there are concerns about the Indian Covid-19 variant.

EU envoys have also recommended that non-essential travel should be allowed from outside the EU for people who have been fully vaccinated.

However, they say it should be up to member states to decide on measures they impose, such as Covid tests or quarantine.

Image source, DR ANUSHUA GUPTA / PA WIRE

A 41-year-old doctor who made a "miracle" recovery from Covid after being in a coma for two months has warned "we are not out of the woods".

Dr Anushua Gupta, from Cheshire, says she said final goodbyes to her family before being induced into a coma when her condition worsened last year.

She says she was "petrified" and, while treatment saved her life, her road to recovery has been difficult.

The GP says her "recovery is by no means complete", adding she feels like she now continues to have symptoms described as "long Covid".

"Now I just appreciate life in a completely different way. Every day's a blessing," she says.

Read more

Image source, Andrew Brooks

Art fairs and other "bloated, money-drenched" parts of the art world might not return after the pandemic, according to Grayson Perry.

The Turner Prize winner caused a stir in November when he said Covid could clear some "dead wood" from the arts.

He said on Tuesday that he had art fairs, where collectors gather from around the world, in mind.

"I thought there were certain aspects of cultural life that were probably bloated and un-green."

"The kind of bloated, money-drenched… But, you know, I'm part of that," he added. "Maybe I'm part of the stuff that's got to be cleared away."

You can read more on this story here.

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Among the many considerations for travellers thinking of booking a holiday is financial protection.

It is second nature to many people to buy travel insurance when they book an overseas holiday.

But, in Covid times, that insurance can be limited.

Even if you are travelling to a green list country, you are highly unlikely to get a payout if a local lockdown stops you going away.

Also, if there is Foreign Office advice against travelling a certain country (irrespective of whether it is green, amber or red), your travel insurance policy would be entirely invalid.

In such a scenario, EHIC - or the new GHIC - cards could help with medical treatment in the EU, but claims for medical costs elsewhere and “normal” claims, such as for luggage being lost, would be ruled out.

You can read more here

Image source, PA Media

Five cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant have been identified at a school in Shropshire.

Families with school-age children in Newport are being urged to get a Covid-19 test, after the cases at Burton Borough School.

All of the cases identified at the school are self-isolating and their contacts are being tracked down and also asked to quarantine, Telford & Wrekin Council says.

There have been two confirmed cases of the Indian variant in the Shropshire Council area linked to clusters of cases in the Midlands.

The government has said the Indian variant "could pose a threat" to the process of deciding whether all remaining lockdown restrictions could be eased on 21 June.

You can read more on this story here.

Rachel Schraer
BBC Health Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

A variant of the Covid-19 virus first discovered in India is responsible for the majority of new cases in pockets of England.

One of three subtypes of the virus identified on the subcontinent, variant B.1.617.2 is thought to spread more easily - but what does that mean for you?

At least five cases of the variant have been identified in 86 local authorities, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. That doesn't mean it's not circulating elsewhere - but it also doesn't mean all 86 are being overwhelmed by the variant.

There are particular clusters in north-west England and in London.

In some areas - including in Bolton, Blackburn, Sefton in the North-West and Bedford, Chelmsford and Canterbury in the South-East - this version of the virus is causing the majority of infections. In London it makes up the lion's share of cases in Croydon, Hounslow and Hillingdon.

Read more

India has recorded one of the highest ever number of daily coronavirus deaths in the world.

In the latest 24-hour period, 4,529 deaths have been recorded.

The country is reeling from a devastating second wave of the pandemic, particularly in rural areas.

Read more: Why India's Covid crisis matters to the whole world.