UK extends travel bans as United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda added to red list to prevent spread of new variant

United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda added to travel ban.

 

entry to the UK is banned for visitors arriving from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Burundi and Rwanda from 29 January 2021 at 1pm – British, Irish and third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK will be allowed to enter

 

from 4am on Friday morning all arrivals who have, in the 10 days before their arrival in the UK, been in these destinations, and their households, will have to self-isolate immediately, and will not be eligible to use Test to Release

 

move is in response to new evidence showing the likely spread of a coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa

The government has today (28 January 2021) taken the urgent decision to ban travel to the UK from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Burundi and Rwanda to prevent the spread of the new variant originally identified in South Africa into the UK.

From 1pm on Friday 29 January, passengers who have been in or transited through the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda in the last 10 days will no longer be granted access to the UK.

This does not include British and Irish nationals, or third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK, who will be able to enter the UK but are required to self-isolate for 10 days at home, along with their household. Passengers returning from these countries cannot be released from self-isolation through Test to Release.

There will also be a flight ban on direct passenger flights from the UAE.

The decision to ban travel from these destinations follows the discovery of a new coronavirus variant, first identified in South Africa, that may have spread to other countries, including the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda.

Any exemptions usually in place will not apply, including for business travel.

British nationals currently in the UAE should make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to the UK. Indirect commercial routes that will enable British and Irish nationals and residents to return to the UK continue to operate.

British nationals should check Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice and follow local guidance. The FCDO will continue to offer tailored consular assistance to British nationals in country in need of advice on a 24/7 basis.

Today’s action follows new measures announced by the government yesterday to minimise travel across international borders and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, including managed isolation in hotels and the need to declare a reason for travel. More details on these measures will be set out next week.

 

Thanks for reading. Follow the page and Share it.

South Africa imposes coronavirus travel restrictions affecting US, other hard-hit countries

By Frank Miles, Paul Tilsley

In a sweeping set of measures Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said visas of citizens from high-risk countries, including the United States, have been revoked to contain the coronavirus epidemic. 

Although South Africa has seen only 61 cases of the coronavirus, and no deaths so far, according to officials, this visa shutdown appeared to be aimed at work visas.

U.S. citizens may enter the African country for 90 days without a visa. 

The president further talked about stopping U.S. citizens from entering his country starting Wednesday.

“We have decided to take urgent and drastic measures to manage the disease, protect the people of our country and reduce the impact of the virus on our society and on our economy,” the South African president said in a nationally televised address.

He added: “If we act swiftly, with purpose and collectively we can limit the effects of the coronavirus on our people and our country.”

South Africans arriving from the U.S. must be tested for the virus.

The speech was not clear on detail, but it appeared that South Africans from Italy and other truly high-risk countries such as China would need to enter quarantine upon landing back in the republic.

“It is concerning that we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus. This situation calls for an extraordinary response; there can be no half-measures,” the president added in his address. 

He also banned gatherings of more than 100 people at a time.

In examining the spread of the pandemic, Africa – a continent of 54 nations and a total population of over 1.2 billion – as of Friday documented less than 100 cases, and only a handful of countries have recorded more than one infection. That includes South Africa, 26 in Algeria, and two in Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

There is grave concern that as coronavirus continued to increase, it eventually would spread in Africa and further overburden an already deeply strained and fragile health-care system. Michael Yao, WHO's head of emergency operations in Africa, has vowed that early detection would be pivotal because the continent's health systems "are already overwhelmed by many ongoing disease outbreaks."

The reasons behind the low number of cases recorded were multi-faceted. Experts warned that just because officials weren't declaring it did not mean that the virus was not spreading unknowingly. The overarching concern has been simply that not enough tests have been conducted, thus not enough diagnoses have been made.

Thanks for reading. Follow the page and Share it.

Terrorism: US Plans More Travel Restrictions On Nigeria, 6 Others

By Dapo Falade

The rating of Nigeria as a terrorist country has taken a further dip as the administration of the President Donald Trump of the United States of America (USA) plans to impose expanded travel restrictions on the country and six others.

As reported by an online medium, Per Second News, the new restrictions would apply to travellers and immigrants from Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Belarus and Eritrea, even as citizens of the affected countries could restrictions on some types of visas, including business and visitors’ visas.

It was gathered the expanded travel restrictions would be rolled out next week, as Washington officials, in justifying the new policy, said it was necessary to prevent potential acts of terrorism, as countries on the list don’t adequately vet their travellers to the US.

Thanks for reading. Follow the page and Share it.