Amid Coronavirus spike, UK adds Pakistan, Bangladesh and 2 others to 'red list'

On Friday, April 2, Britain announced that Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and the Philippines will be added to its travel "red list," prohibiting people from those countries from entering the country unless they are British or Irish citizens. Visitors from countries on the red list will be denied entry, and returning to the UK will be subjected to a 10-day mandatory quarantine in hotels.

India is not currently on the red list of countries, and there is an air bubble in place for essential travel, though non-essential international travel from the UK is also prohibited under existing lockdown laws.

Pakistan, Bangladesh and 2 other nations added to UK 'red list'

Department for Transport (DfT) in its official statement said, "Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh have been added to England’s red list to protect the country against new variants of coronavirus (COVID-19), at a critical time for the vaccine programme." It added, with over 30 million vaccinations delivered in the UK so far, the additional restrictions will help to reduce the risk of new variants – such as those first identified in South Africa (SA) and Brazil – entering England. So far, surveillance has found that few cases of the SA variant have been identified as being imported from Europe, with most coming from other parts of the world."

The UK adds 40 countries to red list amid rise in COVID cases

Foreign tourists who have departed from or transited through these four additional countries on a 40-country red list in the previous 10 days will be denied entry into England starting at 4 am local time, next week, Friday.

Only British and Irish nationals, as well as those with UK residency rights, including long-term visa holders, will be permitted to enter, and they will be required to remain in a government-approved quarantine facility for ten days. They would also be allowed to dock at a specific location. There will be no direct flight bans from these countries, but passengers should double-check their travel plans before leaving for England. 

(with inputs from PTI)

(Picture Credit: AP)