The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is relaxing travel advice for 51 countries to help align with the reduction of the government’s red list announced yesterday.
Countries for which the government is immediately downgrading its advice against “all but essential travel” based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks are: Bahamas, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Martinique, Palau, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Western Sahara.
From Monday, when the red list will number just seven countries, advice against all but essential travel will be downgraded to a further 42 destinations, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines and South Africa. See below for the full list.
The change means travellers visiting the destinations are more likely to be covered by insurance policies, the majority of which are guided by official FCDO advice.
“These updates make travel abroad easier - boosting trade, tourism and reuniting friends and families. I am delighted that the safe reopening of travel allows people to exercise personal responsibility and visit more destinations across the globe,” said foreign secretary Liz Truss.
The latest change follows the relaxation of travel advice to 32 destinations announced earlier this week.
The FCDO says it no longer advises against travel to non-red list countries on Covid-19 grounds, except in exceptional circumstances such as if the local healthcare system is overwhelmed.
From Monday 11 October the FCDO will lift its advisory against all but essential travel to: Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia and Zimbabwe.