England Makes Things Easier for Vaccinated Tourists

Fully vaccinated travelers from the United States and much of Europe can enter England without quarantining starting next week. The British government says people who have received both doses of a vaccine approved by the FDA in the US or the European Medicines Agency can take pre- and post-arrival coronavirus tests instead of self-isolating. There is one exception: France, which Britain has dubbed a higher risk because of the presence of the beta variant of the coronavirus. Visitors from France will continue to face a British quarantine, reports the AP.

Currently, only people who've been vaccinated in Britain can skip 10 days of quarantine when arriving from most of Europe or North America. The move to boost Britain's ailing travel industry comes despite rising coronavirus cases, with the World Health Organization saying COVID deaths are up 21% in the last week. In the UK specifically, the Guardian reports new cases increased from 23,511 Tuesday to 27,734 Wednesday. The rule change takes effect Monday and only applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will decide whether to follow suit.

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