47 countries removed from U.K. red list

The U.K. revised the list of countries that requires inbound travellers to quarantine, South Africa and Zimbabwe are amongst the nations removed.

The latest travel review, which came on Thursday 7 October, marked good news for travellers, with the red list slashed to just seven countries.
The no go list – which requires inbound travellers to quarantine for 11 days at a cost of £2,285 per adult – had previously meant that winter sun favourites including South Africa, Mexico and Thailand remained off limits to UK travellers.

However, the positive forecasts ahead of the review were proved right, with 47 countries being removed from the red list to open up a wide range of long-haul getaways.

The 47 countries removed from the red list are as follows:
• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Congo (Democratic Republic)
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Eritrea
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• French Guiana
• Georgia
• Guyana
• Indonesia
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mayotte
• Mexico
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nepal
• Paraguay
• Philippines
• Réunion
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Uruguay
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Why were so many countries removed from the red list?

With the Delta variant now dominating the globe and infection rates much higher in the UK than in many countries, critics say that the red list is looking increasingly illogical.