T&T vaccine programme to be recognised by UK Govt for travel from Nov 1st

Trinidad and Tobago is among 35 countries whose vaccine programmes are being recognised for travel to the UK from Monday November 1st.

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Trinidad and Tobago is among 35 countries whose vaccine programmes are being recognised for travel to the UK from Monday November 1st.

A report in the UK Mirror notes that Peru and Uganda also are on the list of 35 countries getting the okay for travel to the United Kingdom.

UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said that would bring the total number of countries whose vaccines are recognised for travel to the UK to about 135.

The 35 new countries are Angola, Anguilla, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Eswatini, Gibraltar, Guyana, Honduras, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda and Uruguay.

No more “red list”, for now…

UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps. (Image courtesy UK Mirror)

In addition, the UK Transport Secretary announced that the Government was doing away with the “red list” and hotel quarantine for foreign travel, after the seven remaining countries on that list were removed, namely Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

However, the UK Government is reserving the right to re-activate the “red list” should the need arise, with continuous reviews of the red list taking place every three weeks.

“We will keep the red list category in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence,” Mr Shapps stated.

The move will come into effect at 4am on Monday 1st November in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What the changes mean

From November 1st, there will be no countries on the UK’s “red list”, but the UK Govt may reactivate the “red list” as the need arises. (Image courtesy CNN via Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

For the most part, an end to the mandatory 11-night, £2.285-a-head hotel quarantine.

The UK government reduced the number of quarantine hotel rooms, but some will remain “on standby” in case countries are added to the red list in future.

The last major travel update on October 11 cut the red list down from 54 countries to seven, removing South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia.

A wider overhaul of UK travel rules came into force earlier this month, with the amber and green lists being scrapped in favour of just two lists—the red list and ‘rest of the world’.

Travel from red list countries is banned unless people have residence or nationality rights in the UK, in which case they can come but must stay in a quarantine hotel.

For people coming from the rest of the world to England, there are two sets of rules depending on vaccination status.

■   Children and fully-vaccinated adults arriving from the rest of the world—as long as the UK recognises their vaccine—now only have to take one test, a ‘Day 2’ lateral flow after landing.  There’s no need to isolate, and no need to take a “pre-departure” test before flying.

■   Unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated arrivals from the rest of the world must take three tests—a pre-departure test, plus a ‘Day 2’ as well as a ‘Day 8’ PCR test after landing.  They must also isolate for 10 days at home or wherever they’re staying, unless they pay for a fourth ‘test to release’ test to leave isolation early.

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Source: THE MIRROR (UK). Article by DAN BLOOM, Online Political Editor.