No Favours For Kenya as UK Drops Countries From 'Red List'

The United Kingdom has removed several countries from its Covid-19 red list but again kept Kenya in the category of high-risk nations whose travellers are subjected to strict requirements.

India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, added Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway has been moved to the green list and France to the amber list.

In April 2021, Kenya protested the decision but the UK stood its ground and retained her on the list. The Kenyan government then announced new restrictions which included a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all passengers originating from or transiting through UK airports and two PCR Covid-19 tests at their own cost.

The UK resolved to 'calm the storm' by dangling partnerships, sending vaccine donations, which landed in Nairobi in July 2021, and promising to help Kenya fight the pandemic by collaborating in research and genomic sequencing at Kemri.

Most African countries remain on the red list to prevent the spread of new Covid-19 variants.

As of August 10, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 7,053,114 while over 49,798,860 vaccinations have been administered across the continent.