Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The United Kingdom on Friday added Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, and the Philippines to its travel “red list” as travelers from Saudi Arabia continue to have unrestricted entry into the country.

The updated “red list,” which will come into effect on April 9 at 4 a.m., includes the following countries:

Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

According to the UK government guidelines, visitors coming from destinations on the “red list’ are not allowed to enter the country while British or Irish citizens or those with residence rights in the country need to quarantine themselves in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

"The four countries have been added to the 'red list' to protect the country against new variants of coronavirus (COVID-19), at a critical time for the vaccine program," the government said in a press statement early Friday.

“With over 30 million vaccinations delivered in the UK so far, the additional restrictions will help to reduce the risk of new variants — such as those first identified in South Africa (SA) and Brazil — entering England. So far, surveillance has found that few cases of the SA variant have been identified as being imported from Europe, with most coming from other parts of the world,” the statement added.