Kamogelo Muvhenzhe
The UK government has announced that they will remove the 11 Southern African countries from their travel red list from 4am on Wednesday.
The countries were put on the red list about three weeks ago as a precaution after the Omicron variant was identified by local scientists.
South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia are on the list.
The move was met with anger from African countries, with the UN describing the ban as travel apartheid.
Soon after the ban was announced, President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was no scientific basis for the travel bans and that Southern Africa was the victim of unfair discrimination.
Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, said the Omicron variant had spread so widely the rules no longer had much purpose.
The BBC quoted Javid telling parliament that “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.”
Those who are arriving in the UK from red list countries are currently paying R50,500 per person and R67,200 per couple to self-isolate at a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days.
Image source: Nashville Post
