Bahrain, Qatar, UAE to Move From Red to Amber on UK Travel List

Change means no hotel quarantine requirement for travelers to Britain from these countries

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced in a tweet late Wednesday that Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as India, would be recategorized as amber, rather than red, on the UK’s “traffic light” system for travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

UAE, Qatar, India and Bahrain will be moved from the Red List 🔴 to the Amber List 🟠

All changes come into effect Sun 8th August at 4am.

See the full list of changes made today here 👇 [2/3]https://t.co/iYAJhsdm3y

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 4, 2021

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The UK assigns countries green (low risk), amber (medium risk) or red (high risk) status based on COVID-19 risk. Travelers to Britain from red countries must quarantine at a hotel for 10 days.

The changes to the list will go into effect on Sunday, August 8 at 4 am British Summer Time.

All travelers aged 11 or older must take a coronavirus test within 10 days before arrival in the UK. In addition, all travelers except those aged 4 and under must take a COVID-19 PCR test on or before their second day in Britain.

Travelers coming from countries on the amber list are required to home-quarantine for 10 days, taking a PCR test on days 2 and 8. They also have a “test to release” option on day 5. Different rules apply for fully vaccinated people arriving from EU countries and US.

Those coming from red-list countries must quarantine at a hotel for 10 days, taking a PCR test on days 2 and 8.

Israel (including Jerusalem) is the only MENA country on Britain’s green list. It is considered on the green watchlist, meaning that it is in danger of being reclassified.

Amber list countries in the Middle East and North Africa include Algeria, Cyprus, Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and, from Aug. 8 at 4 am BST, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The MENA countries on Britain’s red list include Afghanistan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, and, until Aug. 8 at 4 am BST, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for the Middle East and North Africa as of 7:30 am Greenwich Mean Time (UTC±0) on Thursday.