UK set to remove remaining countries from COVID-19 travel 'red list'

The United Kingdom on Thursday (October 28) informed that the government will remove the remaining countries from the coronavirus (COVID-19) travel 'red list' from next Monday as the bans on foreigners travelling to England have been scrapped.

UK's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that all seven remaining countries — Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela — on the 'red list' will be removed from Monday, 1 November at 4am (local time).

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The minister further said the changes only applied to fully vaccinated passengers from those countries and anyone not vaccinated would still have to take tests and quarantine.

Britons arriving from these countries will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, while nationals of those countries will now be allowed to travel to England.

"I should point out, though, that all of this only applies to people coming here who are fully vaccinated. And for those who are not, I'm afraid it's still pre-departure testing, it's a day two eight, it's a day eight test, those all have to be PCR tests. So this is a regime which is much more straightforward but it only applies to people fully vaccinated as you might expect" —Grant Shapps.

The minister, however, stated that the 'red list'category will be kept in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the country's first line of defence.

"Well this is great news actually for travellers. People will be able to travel here from anywhere without now having to go through a mandatory quarantine as the red list reduces to zero countries on it. And we're been able to do this now because the variants of concern that we've been tracking are no longer of concern to the Chief Medical Officers and so this will apply throughout the whole of the UK" —Grant Shapps.

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The government will also recognise coronavirus vaccines for arrivals from more than 30 new countries and territories, he added. Wales will also adopt similar changes, said its devolved government.

"We can also confirm that from Monday, eligible travellers from over 30 new countries and territories, including Peru & Uganda will be added to our inbound vax policy, bringing the total number of countries on this list to over 135," the minister said.

"I am glad we are able to reduce the travel list even further, giving a huge boost to businesses, families and friends wanting to travel," said health minister Sajid Javid.

Scotland's Transport Minister Graeme Dey said the move would help the tourism sector "take another step back towards normal operations" but also warned that "the pandemic is not over".

"The situation will be closely monitored and regularly reviewed and if the situation demands it we will not hesitate to re-impose restrictions," Graeme Dey added.

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