UAE, Qatar, Bahrain to be moved off UK's Covid-19 travel red list

The UK government said on Wednesday it will move the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain from its red list to amber, as the country eases Covid-19 travel restrictions.

It means that from 4 am Sunday, visitors from these countries to England will no longer be required to quarantine at a designated hotel for 10 days. Instead, they can isolate at home or a place they are staying at for the period.

The UAE was said to have been angered about being added to the UK's red list, with hundreds of thousands of British visitors flying into the Gulf state each year.

Despite the UAE's high vaccination rate, there were concerns about the country being an epicentre for the disease due to its standing as a major travel hub, particularly from the Indian subcontinent where the Delta variant is said to have originated.

The UK government said that the situation in the UAE and other countries has since improved, but it will be closely monitoring developments.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we've made through our successful vaccination programme, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world.

"While we must continue to be cautious, today's changes reopen a range of different holiday destinations across the globe, which is good news for both the sector and travelling public."

England lifted restrictions on 19 July despite being at high risk of the disease due to different variants.

The government announced last month that it will be introducing vaccine passports, which will be a requirement to enter certain venues.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said on Tuesday that it will start providing a booster shot against Covid-19 to all fully vaccinated individuals in the country.