What are the chances of a UK-US travel corridor this summer?
As for the total share of Covid-19 tests that were positive among those carried out in the two countries: the latest data shows the UK at 2.4 per cent and the US at 7.4 per cent. In Mr Charles' view the US is well within the green list criteria. Among the other factors the UK Government considers when making traffic light decisions is a country's genomic sequencing capacity  or access to genomic sequencing. Travel health specialist Dr Richard Dawood believes the US has ample capacity in the context of its current case numbers. As I understand things, in the US sequencing takes place both at State level and federally via the CDC both of which have access to commercial laboratories," he says  CDC alone says it has access to resources for sequencing in excess of 20,000 samples per week. In the context of current case numbers (approx. 15,000 per day in the US) there is ample capacity there, bearing in mind that only a representative subset of samples can actually be sequenced in practice. (This is because  after initial PCR testing  there often isnt enough sample remaining), adds Dr Darwood. "I think it is almost impossible to compare the systems in a meaningful way. What is clear however is that both countries do have robust testing protocols and sophisticated surveillance systems in place. [...] the US has similar vaccination rates, lower daily case rates, a lower death rate, and declining case numbers, so ought definitely to be on our green list. In the reverse direction, I think the US should be similarly reassured." Moreover, the new UK-US travel task force is a less than welcome prospect to some. Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, says: This is the latest in a long line of travel task forces which so far have only wreaked further devastation on our industry. Jobs wont be saved, nor livelihoods protected, until we are given a certainty on dates for the resumption of international travel. It is wider than our industry. In the first week of June, UK GDP has lost 630 million due to the lack of transatlantic business travel.  Telegraph Travel asked the Department for Transport for comment on when quarantine-free travel between the countries may open up. A spokesperson said: Our first priority is protecting the public and saving lives, and the traffic light system we have in place categorises countries and territories based on risk, using the latest data. We fully recognise the value of transatlantic routes. As set out in the Global Travel Taskforce, we continue to engage with international partners, including the US, to explore how we can open international travel safely.  Loved ones whove been split apart between the UK and the US since the travel ban was first imposed, are desperate for good news. Megan Jevin, a US citizen whos lived in the UK since 2013 and is based in Cardiff, is among them. Megan hasnt seen her parents or sister in the States since December 2018. As an American, she couldve entered the US. Her concern has been for return to the UK. She has been worried that she would encounter problems getting back into the country,as shes here on a work visa. While the US is amber-listed, she should be permitted to return, but would be required to self-isolate in the UK and pay for additional tests. Its been really difficult [being cut off]. Both my grandparents passed in March 2020 and I had to attend virtual funerals. [You] always think youll be able to get home for emergencies  I never dreamed of being cut off for something that serious of a nature. However, she says the taskforce is exactly the news Ive been waiting for. She adds: I'm hopeful that this could mean I'll be able to go home in November for Thanksgiving, and see my family for the first time in almost two years! I'll definitely be watching the headlines closely to see when I'll be able to book my flights.  UK citizens with partners and family in the US will, of course, also need to wait for the US to lift its ban. This is the key concern for Kerry Coleman. Shes been with her American fianc for four years. For the last 13 months theyve been separated by travel bans. I was one of the lucky ones that I actually managed to fly into the states three days before Trump originally made the ban [...] which meant that we got to have nine glorious weeks together because of continued cancelled flights.