"The Damage Is Already Done": South Africans Are Unmoved by UK's Decision to End Travel Ban
- South Africa and 10 other countries could soon be taken off the United Kingdom's controversial travel ban list
- The UK is set to announce a change in policy that will remove the requirement for travellers to quarantine at a government-sanctioned hotel
- South Africans feel that it is a bit too late for the UK to change its mind with some people suggesting that Mzansi should also place a ban on the country
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JOHANNESBURG - The United Kingdom government is reportedly looking into cancelling its travel ban red list that bars Southern African country citizens and other countries from travelling to the UK.
The UK imposed restrictions on these countries after the Omicron variant announcement was made by South African scientists last month.
Source: Getty Images
Fin24 reports that the UK will also cancel the requirement for travellers who come from the 11 high-risk countries who enter the country to undergo quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
Quarantining at a recognised quarantine UK hotel would cost travellers between R50 000 per person and R67 000 for couples for the 10-day stay. Travellers will be allowed to quarantine at a hotel of their choosing after the new policy is implemented.
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BusinessTech reports believe that UK Ministers believe removing the red list is the right step because the stats show that the Omicron variant cases are doubling every two to three days.
They also recognise that the variant has now spread across the globe and is not just limited to the countries that have been red-listed.
The travel ban has been widely criticised by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has gone to call the ban “travel apartheid.”
Take a look at what South Africans have to say about the UK's u-turn:
@chomoulierfarm said:
"We never wanted to go there or have any reason to. We can send them our oranges and avocados by air or sea than go there and get cold."
@maxwell_mncwabe said:
"Initially it was baseless decision."
@lordantebellum said:
"The damage is already done."
@Syanda_Makhanya said:
"Let's block them back!!!"
@IrshaadMoola said:
"Make them beg for our business. Their economy is in trouble and Boris ain't having a good week with some of his closest MPs calling for his resignation. UK thinks because they're our of the EU they can act like douchebags to everyone else. We don't need UK, they need us."
Omicron: South African scientists hit back with scathing report after the UK’s travel ban
Briefly News previously reported that a group of South Africa's most eminent scientists have slammed the UK's hasty implementation of a travel ban following the discovery of the new Omicron variant of Covid 19.
They released a scathing editorial that stated that the travel ban was dangerous and ill-conceived. They called it a threat to global solidarity and might have serious consequences for how governments share information in the future, according to The Daily Maverick.
The editorial's author list reads like a who's who of the South African medical field with some of the countries most respected scientists on board.
The scientists' sentiments were echoed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla who also slammed that travel ban, calling it dangerous.
Source: Briefly News
