From July 19, fully vaccinated UK residents arriving in England from destinations on the amber travel list will be exempt from quarantine.

They will, however, be responsible for paying for Covid testing both before and after their return, according to the transport secretary.

Under-18s returning from amber list locations would also be excused from quarantine, according to Grant Shapps.

The development was hailed as a “positive step” by travel industry experts, who called for the amber list to be enlarged.

Anyone returning from a country on the amber or red list is currently required to isolate for ten days, regardless of vaccine status.

Mr Shapps explained that a full vaccination means “14 days have passed since your final dose of the vaccine,” and that only shots administered by the NHS will be considered.

However, he stated that officials were planning to extend the strategy to vaccinated travellers from significant markets and tourist destinations, such as the United States and the EU, later this summer.

Northern Ireland intends to implement the move on July 26, while Scotland and Wales have stated that they will explore adopting the same restrictions.

Fully-vaccinated travellers returning from countries on the Amber List will still be required to take a test three days before they return and on the second day after they return, but they will no longer be required to do a test on day eight.

Mr Shapps said, “In essence, this means that for fully vaccinated travellers the requirements for green and amber list countries are the same.”

He also stated that, as of July 19, when most Covid laws in England are due to end, the advice that individuals should not go to countries on the amber list will be removed.

He did warn, though, that “an amber list country could still turn red,” implying that hotel quarantine would be required.

After a review of the most recent statistics, all of England’s 19 July regulation amendments are expected to be confirmed on July 12.

On July 15, the countries on the green, red, and amber lists will be reviewed again.