This evening (07.10.21), the UK Government announced changes to the Red List and to those countries whose vaccines will be accepted, click here to read the full statement. Please note these changes come into effect at 4 a.m. on Monday (October 11, 2021).
Red list
As of Monday (11.10.21), only the following South American and Caribbean nations will remain on the Red List: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru, Venezuela. Full details are available here.
Boarding pupils aged under 18 arriving after that point from countries no longer on the red list will not need to quarantine or take a Day 8 test, but will still need to complete a Passenger Locator Form and pay and take a Day 2 test. Advice for over 18s from non-red list countries is below.
Vaccines
From Monday (11.10.21), vaccines from more countries will be accepted, and those aged over 18 travelling from those countries will no longer need to quarantine or take a Day 8 test, but will need to complete a passenger locator form and buy and complete a Day 2 test.
UNDER 18 boarders are already exempt under most circumstances [unless they are very short stay and do not qualify as “ordinarily resident”].
PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY FULL VACCINATION WITH THE FOLLOWING VACCINES IS ACCEPTED FOR OVER 18s, and must be completed 14 full days before travel:
Oxford/AstraZeneca; Pfizer BioNTech; Moderna; Janssen. Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines.
Included in the list of countries is Hong Kong, but only for the specified vaccines.
Please check the full list of relevant countries and vaccines for your over 18 boarders here.
Among those countries included are some East European countries (including Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Ukraine), Turkey, several countries in Asia (including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), and some in Africa (including Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria). Brazil and South Africa are also on the list.
Anyone over 18 and not covered by a vaccine exemption will need to take a pre-departure test, a Day 2 and Day 8 test, and self-isolate for 10 days.
Unfortunately, there remains no vaccine acceptance from Russia or China, but this will only affect those over 18 on the day of arrival.
This has been announced as a four-nation initiative but at the time of writing only the England guidance has been updated. Please check the guidance very carefully, and those in the UK devolved nations should check for local updates.
Categories: BSA News Uncategorised
