UK to slash COVID travel 'red list' to 9 countries, 45 more to be moved to 'amber list'

As part of international travel ban revisions, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to upgrade a host of countries to its quarantine-free entry facility. By the end of this week, at least 45 countries from its 'red list' will be moved up to 'amber,' the Sunday Telegraph reported adding that now travellers from only nine countries will have to follow isolation protocol on arriving in the UK. Now, fully vaccinated travellers from South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia will no longer have to undergo 14 days on-arrival mandatory isolation. The reversal in the decision has been made aiming to boost the tourism sector, which was pulled to its knees during the pandemic. The relaxations will be applicable from October 4.

Under the soon-to-be applicable rules, travellers from low or medium-risk countries, i.e. 'amber list', will no longer require to isolate in the government-designated hotels. Additionally, they will also not have to undergo expensive PCR tests, instead can opt for cheaper lateral flow test two days after arrival, the Guardian reported. Meanwhile, the quarantine policy on arrival from the 'red list' countries will remain £2,285 per adult, which has hugely deterred travellers from flying into the United Kingdom. However, there has been no update on the debate over UK's "discriminatory" vaccine certificate policy.

UK international travel row

UK's 'traffic light' and vaccine certificate acceptance policies met with strong criticisms from India and Africa. Several complaints were against the sky-high prices of the mandatory test-on-arrivals, which forced UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid to review and reduce the prices. The UK's refusal to accept the African and Indian COVID-19 vaccine certificate, identical to those made in Europe, was also met with a muted outcry. The leaders condemned the "reluctant" policies as "discriminatory," which could have "far-reaching implications" on vaccination campaigns.

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