Kenya Hits Back at UK Travel an With Strict Measures (SEE WHY)

Reacting to the UK ban, The Kenya government on Saturday announced mandatory quarantine for passengers from Britain, in response to being placed on the country’s so-called red list, which they termed as “discriminatory”.

The UK government on Friday banned visitors from Kenya due to concerns over the circulation of a variant of the coronavirus which originated in South Africa. In a lengthy statement, Nairobi said the decision would have “deep and far-reaching consequences” on trade, travel and security co-operation between the two close allies.

“The decision seems to be motivated by a discriminatory policy against certain countries and peoples,” Kenya’s foreign ministry said in the statement.

In return, Kenya announced that all passengers arriving, or transiting through the UK, will face 14-days mandatory quarantine at a government facility, at their own expense.

They will also have to pay to take two Covid-19 tests. Kenyan nationals are exempt from the new rules.

Kenya highlighted that London could have offered to share vaccines which it “has in bigger quantities than it currently has use for”, condemning vaccine nationalism and hoarding by nations around the globe.

“This vaccine apartheid, coupled with reckless calls for vaccine passports while not making the vaccines available to all nations, widens existing inequalities and makes it near impossible for the world to win the war against the pandemic,” said the statement.

The UK, which has red-listed 39 countries, said new data showed increased risks of importing coronavirus “variants of concern”.