BusinessTech has reported that the UK is likely to lift South Africa and its nine neighbouring countries from its Red List, as early as today. The reason is that despite the Travel Ban, the spread of the Covid Omicron variant has not been curbed in the UK!

Nigeria was added to the Red List a week ago.

BREAKING NEWS: Reports from the UK are that the Southern African countries’ Travel Ban will  be lifted at 4h00 tomorrow! 

Southern African countries were placed on the UK Red List on Black Friday 26 November, followed almost immediately by the European Union, the USA,  Israel, and many more countries.

Black Friday for SA tourism industry as UK puts SA back onto Red List, followed by European Union!

Visitors from Southern Africa are forced to spend ten days in quarantine in Government-designated hotels on arrival in the country, at the outrageous cost of R50000 per person.

The report states that the incidence of Omicron variant cases is doubling every two to thee days in the UK, and is likely to represent the bulk of cases in the UK by today.  It has been acknowledged that the Omicron variant has spread around the world.

The UK Government is likely to lift the ban of non-UK residents from Southern Africa as well as those from Nigeria from entering the UK, and will stipulate that isolation should be in their own accommodation and not in government-approved quarantine hotels.

A Daily Maverick article sketched a dreadful picture of the conditions in the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Milton Keynes, in which a South African couple was quarantined: they had t9 pay for their quarantine accommodation first, the eleven night stay costing them R77000; the carpets were badly stained; chair upholstery was dirty; curtains had come off the rail; the bathroom was ‘disgusting’ and had a bad smell; Breakfast was a cold omelette, salad and ‘soggy toast’, brought in from an outside provider; they shared the room with fleas; in short a ‘living hell’.  Read the full article here: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-12-09-travellers-from-south-africa-have-to-fork-out-r77000-for-10-days-of-hell-in-filthy-flea-ridden-quarantine-hotel-in-uk/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1639035182

 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide