The UK Government should urgently review its travel policy towards South Africa to ensure it is fully aligned with the latest scientific evidence, and therefore remove South Africa from the travel Red List.
London, United Kingdom (12 August 2021) – UK citizens who want to travel to South Africa – and also open travel for South Africans to the UK – have started a petition to remove the country from the”Red List”.
The UK introduced tighter travel restrictions to reduce the introduction and transmission of new variants of COVID-19 from what they have called “Red List” countries.
“Red-list countries are those the UK government says the highest COVID-19 risk presently and should not be visited except in the most extreme of circumstances. Dozens of countries are on the red list, including Pakistan, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa.”
If you have been in a “Red List” country in the last 10 days, you can only enter the UK if you are a UK or Irish national, or UK resident.
Returning from a red-list country – regardless of your vaccination status – you must:
- Take a COVID-19 test before departure and have proof of a negative result
- Complete a passenger locator form
- Self-isolate for 10 days in a government-approved quarantine hotel, booked and paid for in advance
From 8 August, rates are:
- 10 days (11 nights) for one adult – £2,285 (around R46,450)
- Additional adult (12 and over) – £1,430 (around R29,070)
- Children aged five to 11 – £325 (around R6,607)
The “Red List” impacts tourism both ways, as South Africans cannot get VISAs right now, and UK citizens cannot afford the extra costs or extra time needed (in quarantine).
The petition was created on the 10th of August by Ben Cope with the hopes of getting 100,000 signatures as soon as possible. Only British citizens or UK residents have the right to sign the petition but 15,177 people have already added their signatures.
“The Government should urgently review its travel policy towards South Africa to ensure it is fully aligned with the latest scientific evidence, and therefore remove South Africa from the travel Red List.
Red list travel restrictions to southern Africa are unfair and are inflicting real social, environmental and economic hardship on families, businesses and ecosystems with no scientific justification given, and should therefore be removed.”
One can understand having countries like Brazil (with 590,331 active cases) or Indonesia (with 426,170), but South Africa currently only has 140,875 active cases, and this number is dropping every day. Added to this, countries like France (with 436,919 active cases) and Spain (with 711,877 active cases) have been moved to the “Amber” and “Green” list, respectively.
To sign the petition, click here.
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