Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Home Health Omicron: UK government to remove Nigeria and 10 other countries from its...

Omicron: UK government to remove Nigeria and 10 other countries from its red list

The UK government has removed Nigeria and 10 other countries from its red list.

UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, announced this on Tuesday while addressing Members of Parliament.

According to him, the red list is “now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad”.

“So I can announce today that whilst we’ll maintain our temporary testing measures for international travel, we will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 4:00 am tomorrow,” Javid added.

The 10 other countries initially placed on the list include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The red list was reintroduced in late November as a precaution after the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19. But now all UK arrivals from those countries must pay for and self-isolate in a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days.

They must also take COVID tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.

The reversal comes just days after Nigeria said it had plans to also place the UK on a red list.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, making clarifications on the decision on Sunday, had said contrary to claims that the plan was on a tit-for-tat basis, the move was only expected to be in the best interest of the country.

“I don’t want you to look at it from that angle, (the tit-for-tat perception). No, it’s not that,” he stated.

“In international diplomacy, I am aware that you have what we call the principle of reciprocity in which case you want to act in a reciprocal manner that another country has acted.

“But most importantly, in all these, is that as a sovereign state we have every right to determine what is best for us in terms of our interest.

“Whichever way we act, it is in consonance with what we take to be in our own best interest. So it is not an issue of tit-for-tat. It’s been done in the best interest of our country

RELATED ARTICLES

Drink up: The essential role of water in your daily Health

By Zainab Mukhtar Madigawa Many people neglect to drink water consistently. It is not uncommon for individuals to consume water one day and completely...

FG restates commitment to sustainable health financing, universal coverage

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s health financing system to ensure Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all citizens. Dr Iziaq Salako,...

Moringa in Northern Nigeria: A Tree that Heals and Nourishes

By Khadija Hamisu Daninna Moringa, scientifically known as Moringa oleifera and locally called Zogale in Hausa, has been described in research as a miracle...

Most Popular

Court Dismisses Suit Seeking to Stop ICPC from Probing Bauchi Security Votes

A Bauchi State High Court has dismissed a suit seeking to bar the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) from investigating...

Why Memes Have Become a Universal Language Among Gen-Z

By Abubakar Muhammad Hamza For many young people today, memes have...

Court Upholds ICPC’s Powers in Kano Scholarship Case

A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has upheld the powers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)...

IPI raises alarm over rising media repression in Nigeria

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global body committed to protecting press freedom and the free flow of information, has raised concern over the...

Recent Comments

// DEBUG: Processing site: https://hamadatimes.com // DEBUG: Panos response HTTP code: 200
Warning: session_start(): open(/var/lib/lsphp/session/lsphp82/sess_6t9r2aqcpketkpqurasie3tbf0, O_RDWR) failed: No space left on device (28) in /home/w3l.icu/public_html/panos/config/config.php on line 143

Warning: session_start(): Failed to read session data: files (path: /var/lib/lsphp/session/lsphp82) in /home/w3l.icu/public_html/panos/config/config.php on line 143
ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş ilbet yeni giriş