By AFP
South Africa will soon be taken off the UK COVID red list.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the UK will soon allow quarantine-free travel for almost all countries, including South Africa.
The publication reports that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to allow fully vaccinated arrivals from countries including South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia for hotel quarantine-free travel later this week.
The current measures imposed by the British government permit entry to only British and Irish nationals arriving from high-risk countries – commonly referred to as red list countries – who are required to quarantine in government-managed hotels.
The Sunday paper reported that the UK’s red list of destinations would be cut to nine from 54, with the announcement expected to be made on Thursday.
LOWERED RESTRICTIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday eased national COVID-19 restrictions and said he had pressed Britain to relax its travel limits on his country.
In a televised speech, he announced a new standardised COVID vaccination certificate, which he said could ease travel and help access events that require proof of inoculation.
“Streamlining and standardising proof of vaccination will also go a long way toward getting a number of international travel restrictions both from and into our country eased,” he said.
Before the pandemic, more than 400,000 visitors a year flocked to South Africa from the former colonial power – more than any country outside of the continent.
Infections in South Africa have dropped to below 2,000 a day. Britain is seeing 17 times as many cases a day.