Holidaymakers are being urged not to jet off to amber list countries, including Spain.
Business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said scientists still think there is “too great a risk” in travelling to amber list countries for non-urgent reasons such as holidays.
Spain has officially lifted restrictions for UK travellers from Monday, with visitors no longer needing to take a PCR Covid-19 test.
However, tourists going to Spain will still have to quarantine at home on their return under UK rules.
Mrs Trevelyan told Times Radio: “The reality is, at the moment, amber countries are still not meeting the criteria for our scientists to say that they should be green.
“So the recommendation remains don’t go unless you have to, and remember that, if you do go, you will have to quarantine for 10 days and that will be monitored.
“The reason we ask people still not to go is because there is still too great a risk as far as our scientists are concerned.”
Mrs Trevelyan said the Prime Minister “has been clear” that people should not travel to amber countries unless there is a pressing reason, such as an urgent family need.
England is “still trying to slowly move through our road map to being able to open up on June 21 and we want to do that in a steady and careful way,” she told Sky News.
Mrs Trevelyan said it is hoped that “the amber numbers will become more green in due course” but “at the moment, today, that means amber countries really aren’t safe to go to”.
A review of the lists is to take place every three weeks, which would mean the next update will be by June 7.
Popular tourist destinations on the amber list include Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Germany.
Only 12 countries made the first "green list" which means holidays there are now permitted and travellers will not need to quarantine on their return.
Green list countries are Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel, Singapore, Iceland, Brunei, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, South Georgian and South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Australia and New Zealand.
But people booking to these destination are advised to check with each individual country on their current restrictions on UK visitors, for example Australia and New Zealand are not currently allowing entry to overseas holidaymakers.
