The United Kingdom will from May 9, 2021 bar individuals who have been in Kenya from entering its territory.
The directive will also apply to individuals who have transited through Kenya in the previous 10 days.
The new travel restriction will take effect on Sunday, May 9, 2021, at 4 a.m, U.K time.
However, British and Irish nationals, as well as third-country nationals with residence rights in the U.K arriving in England, from Kenya will be required to quarantine in a hotel.
The U.K’s move comes a month after the Government of Kenya ordered the indefinite suspension of all international flights from and to the U.K. effective April 9, 2021.
This was after the U.K included Kenya included in its COVID-19 “Red List”.
The U.K. cited the spread of the South African coronavirus variant into Kenya as the main reason for blacklisting Kenya.
The diplomatic tit-for-tat forced national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ) to indefinitely suspend its flights to London.
The U.K’s latest travel advisory also flies in the face of the recent establishment by Kenya and the U.K of a Joint Emergency Response Committee on the Coronavirus-related travel restrictions in mid-April.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Amb. Raychelle Omamo and UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab agreed to form the joint committee following an earlier move by the UK to include Kenya in its COVID-19 ‘Red List’ with a view to exploring ways to resolve ongoing travel restrictions between the two countries.
In its latest travel advisory, the U.K Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also advised against all but essential travel to Kenya based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks.
The advisory also applies to areas within 60 kilometres of the Kenya-Somalia border, Garissa County, Lamu County (exclusing Lamu Island and Manda Island), areas of Tana River County north of the Tana river as well the area within 15 kilometres of the coast from the Tana river down to Galana river.
