UK Government adds Somalia to England’s red list

[Deeq A.]

The UK has added the GCC countries of Oman and Qatar to its travel red list, Britain’s Department of Transport said on Monday.

Besides the two GCC countries, Ethiopia and Somalia were also added to the list. From 4am on Friday, March 19, 2021, visitors who have departed from or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England.

Only British and Irish citizens, or those with UK residence rights (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter and must stay in a government-approved facility for 10 days. During their stay, they will be required to take a coronavirus test on day 2 and day 8.

A ban on commercial and private planes travelling from Oman, Ethiopia and Qatar will also come into force on Friday, March 19, to reduce the risk of importing variants of concern. This excludes cargo and freight without passengers.

These travel bans have been implemented is to protect the country against new variants of the Covid-19 virus.

Effective 1pm on January 29, and excluding third-country nationals who have residence rights, the UK also banned all non-British or Irish passengers who departed from or transited through the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda in the preceding 10 days.

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