As of September 22, the United Kingdom will remove Kenya from the red list of countries to which it is not permitted to travel for tourism and from which it is mandatory to observe a period of quarantine. Until now, the "Covid Red List" included around twenty countries on the African continent, but only Kenya and Egypt have earned the reopening: Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe remain strongly restricted by London in terms of travel.
The goodwill shown by the Kenyan government in receiving and making available to citizens thousands of doses of vaccine and the comforting data coming daily from Nairobi have suggested to the British Transport Minister Grant Shapps to review the previous division.
"The changes approved today go in the direction of opening up direct and less expensive travel," explains the Minister, "allowing more people to travel, see loved ones or conduct business around the world, while providing a boost for the travel industry.
The situation in Great Britain, still critical but made more fluid by the large percentage of vaccinated people, has also allowed the government to gradually review its restrictions on long-haul travel to the destinations most loved by its compatriots.
Shapps confirmed that the current "traffic light" system will be replaced by a single red list of countries and territories that will continue to be "banned" to protect public health, and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world.
The final change will take place on October 4 and could also set a precedent to activate the decisions of many other countries, especially African nations.
Shapps said that from October 4, England will welcome travelers with green passes from a number of countries excluded from the red list. Those foreign nationals will be treated the same as fully vaccinated British travelers returning - including 17 countries and territories such as Japan and Singapore.
UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott enthusiastically welcomed her government's decision, confirming that although relations between the two countries have been made more difficult by the pandemic, the partnership remains more than solid.