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Kenya has criticized the UK government for adding the country to England’s “red list” for coronavirus travel.
In a forceful statement posted on Twitter, KenyaMinistry of Foreign Affairs used movement to warn of a “vaccine apartheid” between the nations that produce and are “hoarding” jabs, and the rest of the world.
It comes after the UK announced new travel measures that will take effect from 4am on Friday, April 9, along with restrictions for Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
The statement warned of countries like the UK ‘hoarding’ coronavirus vaccines
The Kenyan ministry statement said such strategies by “vaccine-producing countries” with “vaccine-hoarding attitudes” would make “almost impossible for the world to win the war against the pandemic.”
When it announced the additions to the red list this week, the Department of Transportation said it was in response to concerns about new variants of COVID-19.
But Kenya called the policy “discriminatory” and accused the UK of stockpiling vaccines “in larger quantities than are currently used”.
The UK has asked for more than 400 million coronavirus Vaccine doses, for a population of around 67 million people, however, warned of potential supply problems in April.
The UK is a contributor to the global COVAX scheme, aimed at delivering blows to low-income countries, but Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said earlier this week that the UK “has no surplus” at this time.
Kenya, which has a population of 53 million, has received more than a million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX now.
Kenya’s statement said there had been no communication from UK counterparts ahead of the rule change for travelers on Friday.
Being on the “red list” means that international visitors who have departed or transited through those nations in the previous 10 days will not be able to enter.
British and Irish citizens and those with UK residency rights will be able to enter, but will need to arrive at a designated port and then pay to stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days.
Once in quarantine, they will need a COVID test on the second and eighth days of their self-isolation.
In response, Kenya has instituted its own restrictions on travel from the UK.
These include that anyone arriving from the UK has to be quarantined in a “government designated facility” for 14 days, at your expense.
Two PCR tests should be performed during this period, also by the traveler.
The exception to these rules includes Kenyan citizens living in the UK and also cargo flights.
In response to the measures announced by Kenya, the UK high commission in the country announced that it would update its travel advice for the country.
Elsewhere in the Kenyan government statement, he said: “The decision is particularly concerning in light of the fact that the UK and Kenya enjoy a strong and long-lasting relationship …”
Hundreds of British troops train in the country each year, and last month Defense Secretary Ben Wallace opened a £ 70 million military training facility for the British Army Training Unit of Kenya (BATUK).
Wallace said at the time: “Kenya is one of our main defense partners in East Africa and this new facility will consolidate our partnership for decades to come, supporting stability and security in the region.”
Kenya recently introduced new lockdown restrictions in five counties due to a third wave of coronavirus.
The statement read: “The third wave that Kenya is currently handling with strict COVID-19 protocols and restrictions is an example of the sacrifice Kenyans are willing to make to ensure this disease does not spread in Kenya or anywhere else in the world. world for that matter. “
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