Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh added to UK travel ban Red List over South Africa and Brazil variant fears

FOUR MORE countries have been added to the UK's travel red list - banning all visitors over fears of Covid variants.

International travellers from the Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh will be refused entry into England from 4am on Friday, April 9.

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Only people with British and Irish citizenship - or residence rights in the UK - will be allowed to enter England from next Friday.

But Brits who do arrive from these countries will be required to self-isolate in a government-approved hotel quarantine facility for 10 days - costing £1,750 per person.

They will also be required to take a coronavirus test on day two and day eight - and they will NOT be allowed to shorten their quarantine period if they get a negative test result.

All other travellers from these countries are banned from entering England.

Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh have joined England's red list to protect the country against new variants of Covid - including the South African mutation.

They join the other 35 countries on the red list - which includes the UAE, South America and nations in South Africa.

The refusal to enter England includes if travellers departed from or transited through the banned countries.

No direct flight bans from the Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh will be put in place - but passengers are advised to check their travel plans before departing for England.

Kenya is facing a third wave with new lockdowns in place - including at the capital Nairobi, after recording more than 2,000 new daily cases last week.

This was the highest daily case toll for Kenya since the pandemic began.

The country has also kept its borders open with Tanzania - who are not documenting the majority of their Covid cases.

Earlier this month, Portugal and Mauritius were removed from the red list - while Ethiopia, Oman, Qatar and Somalia were added.

Meanwhile, reports say that France could be added to the UK's travel ban list, with MPs to discuss the change in the coming days.

The country could be the only destination in Europe to be on the list, if added.

France is currently going through a third Covid wave - with over 50,000 coronavirus cases recorded just yesterday.

Their vaccine rollout is also much further behind the UK's nearly 60 per cent, with just 11 per cent given the first jab.

If the country is added, it will mean all travel is banned to the country even if restrictions are lifted.

It follows concerns that foreign holidays may be off the cards until August to prevent the risk of importing new cases, particularly of variants like the South African strain, to the UK.

BAN EXTENDED

Professor Sir Mark Walport, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, told the BBC Today programme that holidays are unlikely to resume due to the rising daily cases.

He said: "Certainly at the moment many countries in Europe have got case numbers that are going up - there is 36,000 cases a day in France, 16,000 in Germany, 22,000 in Italy.

"The numbers speak for themselves."

And Brits may have to swap Spain for Bahrain under new travel rules, The Sun exclusively revealed today.

The government's Global Travel Taskforce will announce this month when holidays abroad can go ahead - with them not allowed before May 17.

UK holidays can resume from April 12 at self-catered properties while group trips and hotel stays can resume from May 17.