The British Official has confirmed development, saying that seven other countries will also be removed from the red-list on the same date.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 17th, 2021) Good news for Pakistan as the United Kingdom (UK) authorities decided to remove Pakistan from its travel red list.
Pakistan will be removed from the red list on September 22.
The announcement was made by UK's Secretary of State for Transport Rt Hon Grant Shapps on Twitter.
Pakistan was among the eight other countries including Sri-Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh, Kenya, Turkey , Egypt and Maldives.
All these countries will also come off the red list on September 22.
The UK retained Pakistan on its red list in August as the country failed to meet the requirements on genomic surveillance capability, transmission risk, and variants of concern.
The British official while sharing updates on travel restriction said that the UK government was making Coronavirus testing easier for the travel from October 4.
Rt Hon Grant Shapps said, “If you’re fully [vaccinated] you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow,”.
He also said, “We’ll also be introducing a new simplified system for international travel from Mon 4 Oct, replacing the current approach with a single red list and simplified measures for the rest of the world — striking the right balance to manage the public health risk as No.1 priority,”.
In April, the UK government placed Pakistan on travel red list as the Coronavirus cases increased due to Delta variant—a virus that was first identified in India.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner also responded on the latest development, saying that said he knew well how difficult the last five months were for so many who relied on close links between UK and Pakistan.
The ambassador tanked Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, and relevant Pakistani institutions for their close collaboration.
Turner said UK and Pakistan would continue to work closely to ensure data sharing and safeguard public health in both countries. "No one is safe until everyone is safe."
