The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has revealed a full list of countries that will be exempt from quarantine from Monday.
A list of 73 countries and territories where English holidaymakers can visit without self-isolating on their return has been published by the UK Government.
The US and Greece are excluded from the list, despite high profile figures such as Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson’s dad Stanley visiting both recently.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Grant Shapps said the US is not included as “they have got very high numbers of infections”, while Greece does not feature as it has banned flights from the UK until July 15.
It features popular short-haul destinations such as Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, as well as long-haul locations including Australia, Barbados, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Vietnam.
Fourteen British Overseas Territories are also included.
Portugal, the US, China and Thailand are among the notable absentees.
The Department for Transport said risk assessments were conducted by the Joint Biosecurity Centre in consultation with Public Health England and the chief medical officer, considering each country’s prevalence of coronavirus, the number of new cases and the potential trajectory of the disease.
Approved destinations pose “a reduced risk to the public health of UK citizens” but the list will be kept “under constant review”, the DfT said.
Ministers failed to guarantee reciprocal arrangements with all the included destinations, meaning some – such as New Zealand – will continue to order English holidaymakers to go into quarantine at the beginning of their trip.
The requirement for everyone arriving into the UK – bar a handful of exemptions – to self-isolate for 14 days was introduced on June 8.
It was met with fierce criticism over the impact on the UK’s travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
Passengers will still be required to provide contact information on arrival in England.
Anyone self-isolating because they have arrived or return before July 10 will be able to stop from that date.
Mr Shapps said: “Today marks the next step in carefully reopening our great nation.
“Whether you are a holidaymaker ready to travel abroad or a business eager to open your doors again, this is good news for British people and great news for British businesses.
“The entire nation has worked tirelessly to get to this stage, therefore safety must remain our watch word and we will not hesitate to move quickly to protect ourselves if infection rates rise in countries we are reconnecting with.”
| Andorra | Germany | New Zealand |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Greece | Norway |
| Aruba | Greenland | Poland |
| Australia | Grenada | Réunion |
| Austria | Guadeloupe | San Marino |
| Bahamas | Hong Kong | Serbia |
| Barbados | Hungary | Seychelles |
| Belgium | Iceland | South Korea |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | Italy | Spain |
| Croatia | Jamaica | St Barthélemy |
| Curaçao | Japan | St Kitts and Nevis |
| Cyprus | Liechtenstein | St Lucia |
| Czech Republic | Lithuania | St Pierre and Miquelon |
| Denmark | Luxembourg | Switzerland |
| Dominica | Macau | Taiwan |
| Faroe Islands | Malta | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Fiji | Mauritius | Turkey |
| Finland | Monaco | Vatican City |
| France | Netherlands | Vietnam |
| French Polynesia | New Caledonia |
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