THE United Kingdom on Monday updated her Covid-19 rules for passengers travelling to the UK from countries not on the red list; one of which is that travellers will no longer need to complete a pre-departure test (PDT) a day 8 test, or enter a 10-day self-isolation period.
The new simplified travel rules posted on the UK’s official website on Monday, October 4, 2021, and which took effect same day, categorised countries around the world as either red or the rest of the world list, replacing the green and amber lists.
Nigeria is not on the red list as published in the updated rules.
“From 4am today (Monday 4 October 2021), the UK’s new travel system comes into force with countries and territories categorised as either red or the rest of the world.
“The new simplified travel system also means that eligible fully vaccinated passengers and eligible under-18s returning from over 50 countries and territories not on the red list, can do so without needing to complete a pre-departure test (PDT), a day 8 test or enter a 10-day self-isolation period, making it easier for those travelling – whether that’s to see friends and family, or on business trips.
“All under-11s, regardless of where they are travelling from, are already exempt from pre-departure testing for arrival in the UK. If children aged 11 and over are not travelling from one of the 50-plus countries and territories where vaccines are recognised, they will be required to follow the same rules as for unvaccinated passengers,” the new rule reads.
However, fully vaccinated residents in other countries not yet part of the inbound policy, as well as those partially vaccinated, will still have to take a pre-departure test, PCR tests for day 2 and day 8 after arrival, and self-isolate for 10 days, with the option to test to release after 5 days.
Red list of countries and territories, include the following: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Georgia, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique and Myanmar.
Others are Namibia, Nepal, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the rule, travellers transiting through a red list country on their way to England “may need to follow the red list rules when [they] arrive.
“A transit stop is a stop where passengers can get on or off the transport in which you are travelling. It can apply to ships, trains or aeroplanes. Your ticket should show if a stop is a transit stop.
“Making a transit stop would not affect what you have to do on arrival in England if, during the stop: no new passengers board your aircraft, vessel or train carriage; passengers get off but do not get back on; you are kept separate from passengers who did not arrive on the same aircraft, vessel or train carriage as you.”
The rule also noted that the recognised Covid-19 vaccines are Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca (including Covidshield), Moderna and Janssen (J&J), while also maintaining that the UK government would take a phased approach to recognising vaccines administered by other countries and territories, building on the success of the pilot with the US and Europe.
