U.K. SCRAPS QUARANTINE RULE

The U.K. has announced that travelers from the U.S. and most of Europe who have been vaccinated will be able to avoid quarantine when arriving in England. The new rule goes into force Monday (8/2) at 4am.

The go-ahead was given on Wednesday and is applicable to those who have had a vaccine approved by U.S. and EU medicine regulators. Those in Europe will need to show a digital COVID certificate; those in the U.S. can show the paper card they were given after being vaccinated. The only exception is France, which is still subject to the previous rule.

The previous rule said that only those vaccinated by the U.K.’s National Health Service were able to avoid isolation if traveling from a country on the government’s amber list and testing negative for COVID-19 before departure and again two days after arrival.

The development will make playing shows in the U.K. a lot easier for those who've been vaccinated and arises just as the live industry opens up again. As of 7/19, live shows at venues and festivals are able to go ahead without capacity limits, though COVID passports are expected to become compulsory in late September, at which point vaccination will be the condition of entry to nightclubs and venues—a negative test alone will not suffice.