Pakistan, Bangladesh added to UK Covid travel ban list

UK has added travellers from four more countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh in the travel ban Covid 'red list', Department for Transport (DfT) said.

Philippines and Kenya are the other two countries added to Britain's travel ban list amid concerns of Covid-19 variants.

Now the total number of countries on England’s red list are 39.

Earlier this month, Mauritius and Portugal were removed from the red list while Oman, Ethiopia, Qatar and Somalia were added.

From 4am on Friday April 9, international visitors who have departed from or transited through the Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England.

Only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights in the UK (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter and they must stay in a Government-approved quarantine facility for 10 days, DfT said.

There are no direct flight bans from the countries but passengers are advised to check their travel plans before departing for England.

During their stay, passengers will be required to take a coronavirus test on or before day two and on or after day eight, and they will not be allowed to shorten their quarantine period on receipt of a negative test result.

They will also not be able to end their managed quarantine early through the Test to Release scheme.

Overseas holidays are currently banned in the UK due to restrictions, but prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to make some announcement on Monday (5).