Will Turkey go to the amber list? Is it safe to book a holiday?

Boris Johnson urges ‘patience’ over travel restrictions

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Turkey attracted around 2.29 million UK tourists in 2019 before coronavirus took its hold. However, holidays have been a write off this summer amid the UK’s traffic light system.

Turkey is currently on the UK’s “red list” due to soaring coronavirus cases in the country.

This means Britons are being advised not to travel there by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

What’s more, only British and Irish citizens and legal residents are permitted to enter the UK from Turkey.

In order to do so, they must endure 10 days (11 nights) of mandatory self-isolation in a Government-approved quarantine hotel at their own expense.

Following the latest traffic light update on August 4, the cost of this hotel stay rose to £2,285 for one adult in one room.

It costs £1,430 for an additional adult or child over the age of 11.

The additional rate for a child aged between five years old and 11 is £325.

The UK Government has given no indication as to when or if Turkey will be moved from the red list to the amber list.

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However, in line with the notion the Government will update its traffic light system “every three weeks”, it is thought the next review will be on or around August 25, 2021.

Currently, the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce is basing its decisions on a number of factors including the rate of infection and the percentage of the population vaccinated.

According to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), Turkey recorded 284,506 cases of COVID-19 in the previous 14 days from August 12.

Meanwhile, around 84 million doses of the COVID-19 jab have been administered in Turkey.

Around 33 million people are double-jabbed, which equates to approximately 40 percent of the population.

While the vaccination rollout is pushing ahead, travel expert Paul Charles has suggested Turkey’s placement on the red list could be to do with “variants” of the virus within the country.

“The not-very-transparent traffic lights decision doesn’t reference why Turkey is staying red,” he said.

“But the charts on infections suggest variants still circulating widely, compared with Spain for example.”

See the latest Covid vaccine stats below and visit InYourArea for all the Covid vaccine latest

Turkey joins 61 other nations on the red list. Among them are Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Maldives, Mexico and Pakistan.

Despite its place on the red list, Turkey is welcoming British travellers as long as they meet entry requirements.

According to the FCDO: “Passengers arriving from the UK will require a negative PCR test taken within the 72 hours prior to arriving in Turkey.”

Travellers must also fill in a passenger locator form before entering the country.

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