The United Kingdom has removed Kenya from the COVID-19 red-listed countries effective 4 a.m. September 22, 2021. The lifting of the travel advisory against Kenya is seen as a way forward to ease travel restrictions as more countries across the world step up vaccination drives.
Other countries that have been removed from the list include Pakistan, Turkey, Maldives, Egypt, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
“Today’s changes mean a simpler, more straightforward system. One with less testing and lower costs, allowing more people to travel, see loved ones, or conduct business around the world while providing a boost for the travel industry,” stated UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Secretary Shapps added that the current traffic light system will be replaced by a single red list of countries and territories. This, according to Shapps, will continue to be crucial in order to protect public health, and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world Monday, October 4 at 4am.
The secretary added that testing requirements will also be reduced for eligible fully vaccinated travelers, who will no longer need to take a PDT when traveling to England from Monday, October 4.
Shapps added that from October 4 England will welcome fully vaccinated travelers from a host of new countries who will be treated like returning fully vaccinated UK travelers. This includes 17 countries and territories such as Japan and Singapore, following the success of an existing pilot with the US and Europe.
In her remarks to the changes, UK’s High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott said that the UK and Kenya’s partnership had been difficult since the travel ban, but the partnership remains strong.
Some of the African countries remaining on the UK red list include Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe among others.