The United Kingdom exempted Nigeria from its list of banned countries. The countries were listed following their rising cases of COVID-19.
The UK has recorded over 3.7 million cases and more than 100,000 deaths as a result of the pandemic, making it one of the leading most affected countries.
According to a statemet released on the UK government’s website, citizens from 30 countries will face entry ban. Countries affected are in South America and South Africa.
The list exempts British and Irish nationals or others who possess resident visas.
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This development comes amid discoveries of new virus strains such as B.1.1.7 found in UK, B.1.351 discovered in South Africa and P.1 variant identified in Brazil.
“People who have been in or transited through the countries listed below in the last 10 days will not be granted access to the UK,” the statement reads.
“This does not include British and Irish Nationals, or third country nationals with residence rights in the UK, who will be able to enter the UK but are required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival along with their household.”
The affected countries include Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, and Eswatini.
Others are French Guiana, Guyana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores), Seychelles, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Addressing members of parliament on Wednesday, Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, said citizens must have valid reasons to travel outside the country before permission is granted at the airports and ports.
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He said such measure is meant to curtail the spread of the virus from other countries to the UK.
“I want to make clear that under the stay home regulations, it is illegal to leave home to travel abroad for leisure purposes,” he said.
“We will enforce this at ports and airports by asking people why they are leaving and instructing them to return home if they do not have a valid reason to travel.”
