UK retains Pakistan on travel red list

LONDON: Pakistan continues to remain in the travel red list, as the UK government announced its latest travel review on Thursday.

It remains in the list for failing to meet the requirements on genomic surveillance capability, transmission risk, and variants of concern.

The News had reported exclusively three days ago that the UK government is cautious and provided no assurance to Pakistan when pressed through the diplomatic means, including through a group of British Pakistani MPs.

Pakistan was hopeful it will be moved to the amber list in the latest review, with government officials – including Prime Minister Imran Khan – urging the UK government to move the country to the amber list.

But it seems the diplomatic offensive failed and the misery of thousands, who are separated from family, will continue.

According to the latest update, seven countries, namely, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Azores will move into the green list starting 4am on Monday, August 30.

Thailand and Montenegro, on the other hand, will be added to the red list at the same time, “reflecting the increased case rates in these countries and the higher risk that travel from these countries poses to UK public health”, said the notice.

“The high rates combined with lower levels of published genomic surveillance in Thailand and Montenegro than other countries mean that an outbreak of a new variant or existing variants of concern (VOC) or variants under investigation (VUI) cannot be easily identified before it is imported and seeded across the UK,” it added. According to the UK government, passengers arriving in the UK from red list destinations “will need to isolate for 10 days in a managed quarantine facility and follow the necessary testing requirements”.

“The data for all countries will be kept under review and the government will not hesitate to take action should the data show that countries’ risk ratings have changed,” it said. There are currently four traffic light categories.

Green: arrivals must take a pre-departure test three days before returning to the UK, as well as a PCR test on or before day two of their return. They do not have to quarantine unless their test is positive, and there is no requirement for additional tests. Green watchlist: The same rules apply as for the green list, but countries on this list are “at risk of moving from green to amber”, potentially without much warning.

Amber: all travellers are required to take a pre-departure test three days before returning as well as a PCR test on or before day two of their return. Travellers who are not fully vaccinated must also self-isolate for 10 days and take a second PCR test on day eight of their return. An optional day-five test can be taken, with a negative result allowing travellers to “test out” of quarantine, but the day-eight test must still be taken regardless of the result.

Red: arrivals must undertake a 10-day quarantine in a managed hotel at a cost of £2,285 per solo adult (with more charges for additional people sharing a room) as well as pre-departure testing, and mandatory PCR testing on or before day two and on or after day eight.

Pakistan had hoped to be removed from the UK government’s travel ban red list alongside Turkey, which also continues to remain on the red list. The responsible UK department — the department for transport — said that three major factors determine the final decision on whether to remove the country from the list or retain it. In an interview with Geo.tv, a spokesman for the department of health — which maintains the traffic light system of the countries — said that genomic surveillance capability, transmission risk, and variants of concern are the key factors in making the final decision.

When asked to comment on the progress Pakistan had made to come out of the red list, a department of health spokesperson said: “Our international travel policy is guided by one overwhelming priority — public health — and traffic light allocations are based on a range of factors, including genomic surveillance capability, transmission risk, and variants of concern.”

The spokesman explained that the traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of Covid-19 and the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories.

The spokesman added that decisions on red, amber or green list assignment and associated border measures are taken by ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors.

The UK government says it uses a range of data sources to inform decisions, including from GISAID, the World Health Organisation (WHO), official reports from host government/administration websites, UK mandatory testing data and information provided by host governments/administrations.

Many countries and territories have limited genomic sequencing and variant assessment or do not publish their data and, therefore, surveillance for variants of concern is challenging, the government maintains.