German Chancellor Angela Merkel signalled a relaxation of quarantine rules for fully-vaccinated Britons on Friday following a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson aimed at shoring up post-Brexit relations, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
COVID-19 travel restrictions were high on the agenda of what is due to be Merkel's last trip to Britain as chancellor as cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant surge in the country.
"I assume that in the foreseeable future those who have been vaccinated twice will be able to travel again without going into quarantine," Merkel told a joint news conference at Johnson's Chequers country residence.
Johnson says Britain's advanced vaccine programme should permit its citizens to travel abroad more widely this year - something a hard-hit travel industry says is key to its survival after more than a year of pandemic restrictions.
While Britain hopes to ease its quarantine requirements for the fully vaccinated when they return from abroad, some European states including Germany are implementing a period of quarantine for British arrivals, regardless of vaccination status.
The underlying tensions over travel were clear when Merkel and Johnson spoke at odds over the decision to allow large crowds into the Wembley soccer stadium for the final stages of the Euro 2020 tournament.
"The crucial point is that... here in the UK we have built up a very considerable wall of immunity against the disease by our vaccination programme," Johnson said, after Merkel said she was "worried and sceptical" about large crowds at matches.