The British government announced on Tuesday that it would remove all 11 African countries currently included, including Mozambique, from the internat
The British government announced on Tuesday that it would remove all 11 African countries currently included, including Mozambique, from the international travel “red list” as of Wednesday.
Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are on the list.
In a statement in parliament, health secretary Sajid Javid explained that the measure, introduced in late November to prevent the entry of cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, first identified in South Africa, is no longer effective because it is already widespread in the UK.
“Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament.
Only Britons and UK residents can travel from countries on the red list, but they have to spend a 10-day quarantine in a designated hotel at their own expense.
From 4am Wednesday, normal rules apply, including pre-boarding tests and another within the first 48 hours of arrival, and must isolate until a negative result is given.
The UK parliament is debating new measures to stem the wave of cases with the Omicron variant, including the need to present a health pass at nightclubs, shows and major events.
Scotland and Wales already have this system in place. Still, many Conservative MPs have rejected the proposal to introduce it in England because of the impact on the economy and restricting individual freedoms.
However, even if many MPs decide to challenge the government’s direction, the measures are likely to be passed thanks to votes from the Labour party, the main opposition force.
The hHalth sScretary has said that these restrictions are necessary because of the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, the number of cases of which is doubling every two days in the UK.
Although 4,713 cases have been identified, scientists estimate the real number is 42 times higher, around 200,000.
Covid-19 has caused at least 5,311,914 deaths worldwide, among more than 269 million infections by the new coronavirus recorded since the start of the pandemic, according to the most recent assessment by Agence France-Presse.
Resources : https://clubofmozambique.com