Muscat: Oman, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Qatar have been added to the red list and will be subject to a travel ban to the UK.
All the changes come into effect from 4 am on March 19.
"After the changes come into force, British and Irish citizens or residents arriving in England from Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia, and Qatar will have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days, and any other visitors will be refused entry. A ban on commercial and private planes traveling from Oman, Ethiopia, and Qatar will also come into force on Friday to reduce the risk of importing Covid variants of concern."
Oman's Cultural Attache in London has issued a statement, "We regret to inform you that from March 15, Oman will be on the red list for travelers to and from the United Kingdom, and we hope the tickets of everyone who booked to travel to the Sultanate during the spring break (Easter) will be arranged."
Portugal and Mauritius have been removed from England’s travel red list in the first major change to rules for international arrivals in months.
It means people will be allowed to travel from the two countries and non-British residents and nationals who were previously allowed to do so will no longer have to quarantine in a hotel but can spend the time at home instead.
They can get tested on days two and eight after their journey and will be able to end self-isolation early through the test-to-release scheme.
National lockdown rules are still in place in England, meaning travel out of the country is only allowed for a few essential reasons.
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