Pakistan, Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines have been added to England's coronavirus travel red list, reported British media on Friday.

The move, which will take effect from 4am on Friday, 9 April, is in response to concerns about new variants of Covid-19, like those first detected in South Africa and Brazil.

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner also confirmed the news in a video message he uploaded on his Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/CTurnerFCDO/status/1377912075301875715

It means international visitors who have departed from or transited through those nations in the previous 10 days will be barred from entering.

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1377918080391786496

From April 9, international visitors who have departed from or transited through Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. Only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights in the UK (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter and they must stay in a government-approved quarantine facility for 10 days. They will also be required to arrive into a designated port. No direct flight bans from these countries will be put in place, but passengers are advised to check their travel plans before departing for England.

During their stay, passengers will be required to take a coronavirus test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8, and they will not be allowed to shorten their quarantine period on receipt of a negative test result. They will also not be able to end their managed quarantine early through the Test to Release scheme.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of the spread of variants of concern internationally. These risk assessments cover a range of factors for each country including:

- assessment of surveillance and sequencing capability
- available surveillance and genome sequencing data
- evidence of in-country community transmission of Covid-19 variants
- evidence of exportation of new variants to the UK or other countries
travel connectivity with the UK 
The UK government has made it consistently clear it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus and has added these destinations to the red list to protect public health.

The government continued to work with the hospitality sector to ensure it is ready to meet any increased demand.

British nationals currently in the countries on the red list should make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to England. Commercial routes that will enable British and Irish nationals and residents to return to England continue to operate.

British nationals in these countries should check Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice and follow local guidance. The FCDO will continue to offer tailored consular assistance to British nationals in need of support overseas on a 24/7 basis.