When is Grant Shapps' announcement on quarantine rules?
Latest news email updates straight to your inbox Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  Brits are eagerly awaiting news of the next update to travel, in the hope that quarantine requirements will be lifted for those coming back from amber list countries. Boris Johnson has already signalled that fully-vaccinated passengers won't have to self-isolate at home after flying back from an amber destination. The Prime Minister said in his latest No 10 briefing on Monday: "We will maintain our tough border controls including the red list, and recognising the protection afforded by two doses of vaccine,  "We will work with the travel industry towards removing the need for fully vaccinated arrivals to isolate on return from an amber country." It's believed Mr Shapps will deliver the update on Thursday, July 8. Under current rules, anyone coming back to England from a country on the UK Government's amber list must quarantine at home for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status. These existing rules are that before you travel to England from an amber country, you must:  take a Covid-19 test  book and pay for Day 2 and Day 8 Covid-19 travel tests  to be taken after arrival in England  complete a passenger locator form  On arrival in England you must:  quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days  take a Covid-19 test on or before Day 2 and on or after Day 8  Mr Shapps is expected to relax the rules so that anyone who has received their second coronavirus vaccination 14 days before entering the UK from an amber list country would not need to quarantine. The change to rules is expected to come in on July 19, the new date for Freedom Day when all remaining restrictions are to be lifted. But it's thought there won't be a No 10 press conference, just a statement issued by Mr Shapps sometime in the afternoon or early evening. The Daily Mail says that the Border Force had been objecting to the plans but has now relaxed its stance. It quoted a Whitehall source as saying: "Border Force do have to make some technical changes and they had asked for a bit longer to get the new systems in place. But they can see the writing on the wall on this and they have accepted it will be the 19th." Meanwhile, Heathrow is to provide fast-track lanes for fully-vaccinated arrivals as the airline industry steps up pressure on ministers to open up quarantine-free travel to amber destinations. Under a pilot programme to be launched this week, passengers from selected destinations will be able to upload their coronavirus vaccination certificate before boarding. On arrival at the airport, they will then be directed to dedicated lanes at the border to speed their passage through immigration. The Prime Minister is said to favour easing the controls from July 19 - in line with Step 4 - according to The Times. Heathrow, together with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic - the two airlines involved in the trial programme - said it is essential that there is no delay in implementing the changes. The scheme will initially involve fully-vaccinated volunteers travelling on selected flights from Athens, Los Angeles, Montego Bay in Jamaica, and New York. Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "This pilot will allow us to show that pre-departure and arrival checks of vaccination status can be carried out safely at check-in, so that fully-vaccinated passengers can avoid quarantine from July 19."