UK to Fully Lift Entry Restrictions Starting Next Month

Seven Latin American Countries Removed from Red List

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The UK, which declared 'With Corona' (gradual return to normal life), will fully lift all entry restrictions for all countries starting from the 1st of next month.

On the 28th (local time), the UK government announced that it will remove seven Latin American countries from the list of COVID-19 entry restriction countries known as 'red list countries.' The seven countries are Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Haiti, and Venezuela.

Travelers from red list countries must pay ?2,285 (approximately 3.68 million KRW) and undergo a 10-day quarantine at a government-designated hotel. With the removal from the red list, travelers from these seven Latin American countries who have completed COVID-19 vaccination will be exempt from these measures.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland also announced that they will apply the same measures starting at 4 a.m. on the 1st of next month when this policy takes effect. Vaccinated travelers from most countries will no longer need to undergo pre-entry testing or quarantine. Grant Shapps, UK Secretary of State for Transport, expressed hope that "this measure will be a great help to the travel industry."

The UK has been steadily reducing travel-related restrictions recently. Previously, entry was controlled through a traffic light system of green, amber, and red lists, but recently the amber list was eliminated and the red list was drastically reduced from 54 countries to 7. Amber list countries required a 10-day self-quarantine and tests on days 2 and 8.

However, the red list system itself will not be abolished. Countries experiencing a rapid increase in cases due to new variants can be added back at any time. Secretary Shapps said, "The red list will be reviewed every three weeks," and added, "Hundreds of hotel rooms are kept on standby to be used whenever necessary."

The UK reported 39,842 new cases today. Although the number dropped to the 20,000 range immediately after the 'With Corona' declaration, it has nearly doubled in just three months. On the 21st, cases even exceeded 50,000. Calls to reintroduce mandatory mask-wearing measures are growing louder.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.