More destinations added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list - including Dubai

Certain destinations have been banned from travelling to the UK in order to stop the spread of the new South African coronavirus variant (Photo: Shutterstock)Certain destinations have been banned from travelling to the UK in order to stop the spread of the new South African coronavirus variant (Photo: Shutterstock)
Certain destinations have been banned from travelling to the UK in order to stop the spread of the new South African coronavirus variant (Photo: Shutterstock)

The UK has added the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda to its "red list" of countries, which means travel to the UK from these destinations is banned.

Certain countries have been banned from travelling to the UK in order to stop the spread of the new South African coronavirus variant.

Burundi, Rwanda and UAE added to banned list of countries

Burundi, Rwanda and the UAE - including Dubai - are the latest countries to be added to this list, with measures coming into place from 4am on Friday (29 Jan) for Wales, 1pm for England and Scotland and 4am on Saturday (30 Jan) for Northern Ireland.

Also included on the list of 33 banned countries are Mauritius, Peru, Brazil and Portugal.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said: “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.”

This does not include British and Irish Nationals, or third country nationals with residence rights in the UK, who will still be able to enter the UK.

However, they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival, along with their household.

Some may even have to stay in a mandatory quarantine hotel, when the recently announced government measures come into effect.

Travellers from the "red list" of countries will have to pay to isolate in a monitored hotel, with Covid testing carried out during their stay.

However, the date of when this will come into place has not yet been announced.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was working to establish quarantine facilities "as quickly as possible".

Social media influencers in Dubai criticised

The news of Dubai being added to the “red list” comes after a host of social media influencers have been criticised for heading to the popular party destination from the UK despite the Government urging people to stay at home.

Although some of these influencers have said they have travelled to Dubai for work purposes, their actions have been frowned upon.

When recently asked whether the rules would be tightened on social media influencers who have said that their trips abroad are part of their work, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I would echo the words of the Home Secretary on this.

“She said yesterday that we see plenty of influencers on social media showing off where they are in the world – mainly sunny places.

“Going on holiday is not an exemption and it is important that people stay home.

“We’ve been clear that people shouldn’t be leaving the UK for the purpose of holidays.

“We are asking people to stay home and only travel for absolutely essential reasons.”

Although those returning from Dubai who are British and Irish Nationals, or third country nationals with residence rights in the UK, will still be able to enter, they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days.