Travel red list is now less effective as Omicron has spread so widely across the world, says health secretary
\n LONDON
\nThe British government will remove all 11 countries from its Covid-19 travel red list from Wednesday because there is now community transmission of Omicron in Britain, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament.
\nThe new Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. The British government added 11 African countries to its red list from late November, meaning that only UK citizens or residents arriving from those nations were allowed in and then had to quarantine in a hotel.
\n\u201cNow that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad,\u201d Javid said.
\n\u201cWe will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 4am tomorrow morning.\u201d
\nCancellations
\nTravel companies had urged the government to reduce restrictions as soon as possible. London\u2019s Heathrow Airport said last week it was seeing high levels of business travellers cancelling due to concerns over restrictions.
\nBritain will still require all inbound travellers to take either a PCR or a rapid lateral flow test a maximum of 48 hours before departure, a measure Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said would be reviewed in the first week of January.
\nMark Tanzer, Chief Executive of travel association ABTA, welcomed the removal of the red list but said testing should also have been scrapped.
\n\u201cWith the testing measures now extending over the Christmas and New Year period, and the industry quickly approaching peak-booking season for summer 2022, travel businesses are facing a very serious situation,\u201d he said in a statement.
\n\u201cConsumer confidence in travel has suffered a significant setback, which will outlast these restrictions.\u201d
\nArrivals from the red list countries have had to pay thousands of pounds to quarantine in government-approved hotels. Many have complained on social media about the costs and conditions of their stay.
\nA lack of available rooms also left some people trapped abroad waiting for space to become available in the hotels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Travel red list is now less effective as Omicron has spread so widely across the world, says health secretary LONDON The British government will remove all 11 countries from its Covid-19 travel red list from Wednesday because there is now community transmission of Omicron in Britain, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament. The new Omicron […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-233127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n