Three more countries added to UK travel 'red list' amid coronavirus variant concerns

LONDON - The British government on Thursday announced its decision to ban travel from the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda as it takes further action to prevent the spread of the COVID variant.

From 1300 GMT on Friday, non-British or Irish passengers who have been in or transited through those countries in the last 10 days will no longer be granted access to Britain.

"From tomorrow (Friday 29 January at 1 pm), we're extending our travel ban with the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda all added to the UK's red list," said British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Twitter.

"This means people who have been in or transited through these countries will be denied entry, except British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights who must self-isolate for ten days at HOME," said Shapps.

Shapps added that passengers must still have proof of a negative test and completed Passenger Locator Form before arrival, or could otherwise face a fine of 500 pounds (about 686.29 US dollars) for each.

According to Sky News, these passengers allowed to enter Britain will not have the option to reduce their isolation period with a negative COVID test. There will also be a flight ban on direct passenger flights from the UAE.

Previously, Britain banned all travel from 22 countries where there is a risk of known variants. Those countries include South Africa, Portugal and South American nations.

Another 28,680 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,743,734, according to official figures released Thursday.

The country also reported another 1,239 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 103,126, the data showed. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.