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· The new travel advisory issued by the UK recently has laid down new conditions for visitors from 17 African nations intending to travel to the island nation
· Travelers intending to enter the UK from these countries will need to quarantine for 10 days in government-approved hotels
· Also, the visitors will have to pay for themselves during their stay. In addition, the travelers will have to incur expenses not less than US$100 per night.
The new travel advisory issued by the UK recently has laid down new conditions for visitors from 17 African nations intending to travel to the island nation. Travelers intending to enter the UK from these countries will need to quarantine for 10 days in government-approved hotels. Also, the visitors will have to pay for themselves during their stay. In addition, the travelers will have to incur expenses not less than US$100 per night. Earlier, the UK has imposed a ban on the entry of passengers from 11 African countries including South Africa as a step towards containing the spread of the new Covid-19 variant.
The cutoff date for the ban on entry by these countries was till February 15. Now, persons arriving in the UK from 33 countries will have to shell out expenses for self-isolation for 10 days in a pre-booked hotel. The cost toward that would work out to €2,000. Those who are violating the rules will have to pay fines up to €11,500 or even face 10 years in prison. For those, who have undergone a Covid test and tested negative 72 hours prior to the arrival will also be tested on the second and eighth days of the quarantine. Travelers have to pre-book on a government website. It is reported that the site has crashed several times due to heavy traffic.
The 17 African countries included in the red zone )euphemism for compulsory quarantine) are: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
