Headline from LONDON: 【COVID-19: Travel red list to be slashed to seven countries as 47 destinations are removed】
Headline:【COVID-19: Travel red list to be slashed to seven countries as 47 destinations are removed】 ~Thu, 7 October 2021, 11:50 pm·4-min read South Africa, Thailand, Mexico and the Seychelles are among 47 countries being taken off England and Wales's travel red list as it is slashed to just seven. As of 4am on Monday, 47 countries will be removed from the red list so travellers arriving from those destinations will no longer have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 11 nights at a cost of £2,285. The only countries remaining on the red list are Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also added 37 countries to the list of locations with approved COVID-19 vaccine programmes, so travellers from those non-red list countries no longer have to quarantine for 10 days on arrival from Monday, take a pre-departure test or the day eight post-arrival test. The destinations include India, Turkey, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, Pakistan, Kenya and Ghana. Also included is the United Nations COVID-19 vaccination programme, under which staff at UN duty stations who cannot get World Health Organisation approved vaccines will be provided with them. Mr Shapps added that later this month, fully vaccinated travellers from approved countries will be able to take a lateral flow test on day two after arriving, instead of a pricey PCR test, and they will be able to send a picture of their test to verify the result. If they test positive then they will be given a free PCR test to confirm. Passengers who are fully vaccinated in countries not on the approved list will still have to take a pre-departure test, a day two and eight test and complete 10 days self-isolation, with the option of test to release on day five. All of the new measures apply to people arriving into England and Wales and travellers are advised to check the Foreign Office website for countries they wish to travel to as many are not allowing international visitors. Scotland and Northern Ireland have not announced if they will follow suit, but they often have throughout the pandemic.