The Rwandan government has issued a statement demanding for clarification from the UK government over a recent ban on travelers from the country.
The move follows a recent decision by the United Kingdom slapping a ban on arrivals from several countries including Rwanda, over worries about “spread of a more contagious and potentially vaccine resistant COVID-19 variant,” recently discovered in South Africa.
The ban affects all visitors who have been in, or transited through Rwanda, from entering UK. The measure came into force from 13:00 on Friday.
In a statement issued on 30th January, the Rwandan government demands for scientific proof that travelers from Rwanda are potential spreaders of the virus claiming that Rwanda has put in place effective protocols in control of the virus spread, better than any in the East African region.
“Considering the list of countries in the region affected and not affected by the ban, the sparse information communicated does not sand up to scientific scrutiny. The government of Rwanda looks forward to receiving clarifications on the motivations behind this arbitrary decision from the UK government” the statement reads in part.
Rwanda also claims its overall response to COVID-19 including testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and reporting has been consistent, transparent and collaborated by third party entities.
In the statement, Rwanda government claims it is one of the few countries that require a PCR COOVID-19 test for all departing passengers and all those in transit but were shocked to se themselves on the list.
The Rwandan government also complained that when other countries slapped ban on travelers from UK in December 2020 over the same variant, Rwanda kept its borders open.
On the UK travel ban list Rwanda appears together with Burundi, Tanzania, DRC and South Africa and the new additions to the UK’s “red list” means travel is now banned from 33 countries.
Arrivals from United Arab Emirates are also not permitted to enter UK according to the latest travel ban list. However, British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights in the UK will are allowed to enter but must self-isolate for 10 days at home.
The UAE was the most popular long-haul destination in November 2020, with 84,500 passengers travelling to and from the country, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. Other popular destinations were India (54,000), Qatar (38,000) and Vietnam (36,000).
