UK Red List may be scrapped soon
Photo: Twitter / Grant Shapps

Home » UK’s Dreaded Red List May Soon Be Scrapped for Fully Vaccinated

UK’s Dreaded Red List May Soon Be Scrapped for Fully Vaccinated

The UK’s dreaded Red List may be scrapped soon, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. Thousands of travellers from South Africa and other southern African countries have found themselves forced into expensive quarantine hotels (over £2,000 for the mandatory 10 days) in the past two weeks, since SA and many of its […]

By SAPeople
13-12-21 13:21
in Fab South African Stuff
UK Red List may be scrapped soon
Photo: Twitter / Grant Shapps

The UK’s dreaded Red List may be scrapped soon, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday.

Thousands of travellers from South Africa and other southern African countries have found themselves forced into expensive quarantine hotels (over £2,000 for the mandatory 10 days) in the past two weeks, since SA and many of its neighbours were place on the Red List, following the identification of  the Omicron variant.

Eswatini actor Richard E Grant – who had been in Southern Africa to visit his 90-year-old mom – has complained bitterly about the quarantine from his hotel in Gatwick. Paying £228 per day in quarantine, Grant has posted several photos and asked, does the food have to be so “grim”? He, as well as many others, have called on the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to rather implement testing and other options for incoming travellers from high risk regions, rather than mandatory quarantine for those who are negative.

According to the Mail, Shapps has “convinced colleagues (the Red List) should be replaced with testing for the fully vaccinated”.

If all goes according to plan, this may be approved as early as this week, which will be such welcome news for many South African expats who have had to cancel holiday plans to reunited with their family back home because the quarantine costs, and time away from home, was too prohibitive.

One of the reasons for scrapping the Red List for fully vaccinated passengers is that data shows that, with Omicron spreading so quickly, soon most of the world will have high numbers and “there will be limited differences in countries’ infection rates.

The return of the red list was met with fury from officials in affected African countries, while travellers complained of six-hour journeys to their hotel and ‘grim’ food.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson did promise last week that the Red List policy would be re-examined.

Meanwhile an elated Grant will soon be released from his quarantine after his second test came back negative as well.

 

Tags: Grant Shapps UK Red List