Malta’s hopes of making it onto England’s green list of countries for safe travel in the near future have been tempered by Boris Johnson.

Speaking on Friday, the British prime minister said that the country’s list of green list countries was unlikely to expand very rapidly, due to concerns over the spread of an Indian variant of the COVID-19 virus in that country.

“There’s a very limited list, as you know, and we will certainly be making sure that people travelling abroad will be subject to all the tests and constraints to prevent the virus being reimported. That’s why it’s such a tiny list of countries and I don’t expect we will be adding to it very rapidly,” Johnson said, speaking at Downing Street.

"We will be maintaining a very very tough border regime for the foreseeable future." 

Despite having one of Europe’s lowest rates of infections and the continents fastest vaccine rollout campaign, Malta was left off the green list when Johnson announced it two weeks ago.

A Malta tourism ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta: "The Maltese Government will remain vigilant in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. A coordinated approach will be taken in monitoring the UK situation to ensure that Malta is included in the next review while fully respecting the public health protocols for both Maltese and tourists in general."

The decision was a blow to the tourism sector: historically, the UK accounts for roughly one in every four tourists who visit Malta. In 2019, Malta received 650,000 tourists from the UK - around 260,000 more than it received from the country's second-largest tourist market, Italy. 

Portugal was the only EU country to make Britain's green list, along with Gibraltar, a British overseas territory.

Travellers from England, Northern Ireland and Wales can visit green list countries without having to quarantine upon their return. Scotland has announced plans to introduce its own green list this week.

Malta is currently on the UK amber list, meaning travellers must self-isolate for 10 days upon their return.  

While the country’s omission from the green list sparked dismay among the local tourist sector, operators were hoping to be included on the list following the next assessment. The government had reacted by saying it would be working hard to get Malta included as soon as possible. 

Johnson’s statements appear to pour cold water on those hopes, as hotels and restaurants gear up to reopen in time for summer.

Netherlands, Denmark remove quarantine rules

Malta has been declassified as a ‘COVID risk area’ by Germany and on Friday Denmark listed it as the first country on yellow list, allowing travellers to visit without having to quarantine. 

The Netherlands has also revised their travel advice for Malta and as of Saturday, travellers from the country will no longer need to self-isolate upon their return. 

Currently, all travellers arriving in Malta must present a negative test result taken within the previous 72 hours to be allowed into the country.  

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo welcomed the news, saying the Dutch market was a crucial one for the country. 

The Indian COVID-19 variant is spreading rapidly across parts of the UK and Johnson acknowledged that the spread was a cause for concern.

"I do not believe we need to delay our roadmap," he said. But he added that  "this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress."

One of the key indicators which the UK government is using in deciding on its reopening strategy is the threat of "variants of concern".    

The UK government is waiting on data that will indicate if the new variant is more transmissible than other strains currently circulating before deciding on its next step, said Johnson.

Scientists believe it is more transmissible, but are unsure of by how much, revealed Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty. 

If only slightly, the country will reopen as planned, said Johnson.

But if there is evidence of uncontrollable spread and the threat of increased pressure on NHS then more restrictions are likely, he added.