UK Removes Indonesia From Travel Red List, Effective Next Week

Illustration of London, England. (Wikimedia Commons/Ilya Grigorik)

JAKARTA - The British government will reduce the number of countries in the red list of COVID-19 travel, from 54 countries to only seven countries, in its announcement.

Along with South Africa, Mexico and Brazil, Indonesia is included in the list removed from the red list, which requires travelers to be quarantined in an approved hotel at their expense for a full 10 days.

In an announcement, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes began on Monday 11 October, marking the next step in opening up travel.

This latest move will be seen as a boost to the airline industry and families separated during the pandemic.

The seven countries that remain on the red list include Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The UK's pandemic travel rules have recently been streamlined, with the yellow list cut, and holiday advice changed for 32 countries.

However, these changes only reflect the requirements for arrivals in the UK, with possible destination restrictions still in place.

"Travelers should be aware that they may still face restrictions on entry to many destinations, especially those under the age of 18 who have not been vaccinated," Minister Shapps said, citing the BBC on 8 October.

Arrivals from the other 37 destinations will have their vaccination status certified, meaning they can avoid the more expensive post-arrival testing requirements.

Vaccinated travelers from Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey, will be treated the same as returning UK citizens who have received full COVID-19 vaccinations, provided they have not visited the redlisted countries ten days before arriving in the UK. .

While judging from the website www.gov.uk, arrivals from countries removed from the red list in this announcement before October 11 at 4 am local time, all travelers must still follow the travel red list regulations.