Six African countries added to UK red list

Update (1625 26 November): The Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic and Germany have all now placed restrictions on flights and travellers coming from several southern African nations.

Czech Republic will ban anyone who has spent more than 12 hours in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia from entering the country from Saturday.

Meanwhile, Germany will only allow citizens to enter the country from South Africa as of later tonight.

Update (1430 26 November): The European Commission has recommended that EU member states suspend flights to and from southern African countries to prevent the spread of the new Covid-19 variant, which is now named as B.1.1.529.

France has joined the UK in banning flights from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini, though its restrictions are currently only set to last for at least 48 hours. Anyone in France who has travelled to one of these countries in the last 14 days has been asked to report their travel to the authorities and take a PCR test as soon as possible.

The World Health Organization, which is holding a meeting to discuss whether it considers the new strain of Covid-19 to be a "variant of concern", has cautioned world leaders against imposing travel restrictions, advising instead for governments to take a "risk-based and scientific approach".

From midday on 26 November, six southern African countries will be added to the UK’s travel red list due to concerns over a new Covid-19 variant identified in the region.

The change – which applies to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia – means that from 1200 today, non-UK and Irish residents who have been in these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. This does not apply to those who have stayed airside and only transited through any of these countries while changing flights, according to the Department for Transport.

British nationals arriving between midday today and 0400 on 28 November who have been in the listed countries within the last 10 days must quarantine at home for 10 days and take NHS PCR tests on days two and eight after their arrival, even if they already have a lateral flow test booking.

Then, from 0400 on 28 November, all UK and Irish residents arriving from these countries will be required to book and pay for a government-approved hotel quarantine facility for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status.

A temporary ban on commercial and private planes travelling from the six countries will also come into effect from midday today until 0400 on 28 November “to reduce the risk of importing this new variant under investigation while hotel quarantine is stood up”.

In response to the ban on flights, British Airways tweeted that it would be contacting affected customers on its South Africa flights. Virgin Atlantic, which also operates services to South Africa, said it would ‘be in touch with options’ for impacted customers.

The government said it decided to take action after the UK Health Security Agency said it was investigating a new variant of Covid-19 identified in southern Africa. Health officials say this new strain could contain “significant” mutations that “change the behaviour of the virus with regards to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility”.

No cases of the variant have been identified in the UK as of yet.

Sajid Javid, the UK’s health and social care secretary, said: “We are taking precautionary action to protect public health and the progress of our vaccine rollout at a critical moment as we enter winter, and we are monitoring our situation closely.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps added: “We’ve always maintained public safety is our number one priority, which is why we’ve kept in place measures which allow us to protect the UK from new variants.”

The UK government moved away from its previous traffic light system for international travel in October, instead only maintaining a red list for high-risk countries. All nations were removed from that list earlier this month but the government said it would keep the option of adding destinations back onto the list should the coronavirus situation in those locations change.