All seven remaining countries removed from red list

UK’s hotel quarantine requirement still exists – but applies to zero destinations as of Monday

Medellin in Colombia is no longer going to be red-listed (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

All seven remaining countries will be removed from the UK’s red list from 1 November, the government has announced.

The seven countries moving off the red list are: Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “All seven remaining countries on the red list will be REMOVED from Mon 1 November at 4am.”

However, the red list will continue to exist, with the same hotel quarantine requirement attached to any country that may move onto it.

Shapps added: “We will keep the red list category in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence.”

In addition, more countries’ vaccinations are set to be recognised by the Department for Transport (DfT) from Monday.

A further 35 countries will be added, including Peru and Uganda, bringing the total number of nations whose vaccination certification is accepted by the British government to more than 135.

The 35 countries and territories to be added to the eligible vaccinated traveller policy are: Angola, Anguilla, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Eswatini, Gibraltar, Guyana, Honduras, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda and Uruguay.

Travellers from these destinations will no longer have to quarantine on arrival to England or Scotland, but must simply take a rapid antigen test within two days of entering the country.

Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to follow suit, but have yet to confirm.

Currently, incoming travellers from countries on the red list must quarantine in a government-mandated hotel for 11 nights at their own expense – with packages costing £2,285 per solo traveller and £3,715 per couple.

Many in the industry have called for the red list to be scrapped altogether, as countries begin to open up and vaccine rollouts allow for the easing of travel restrictions.

After the last travel update on 7 October, the chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, Julia Lo Bue-Said, said: “We’d still like to see the removal of inhumane hotel quarantine from remaining red list countries and replaced with home self-isolation and appropriate testing instead.”

Meanwhile, Julia Simpson, president and chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), said: “There is no justification for a red list to remain in the UK.

“Other countries have realised that blanket country measures are no longer needed and instead assess on individual risk and whether travellers have been fully jabbed.”