Remove Countries from the red list, Archbishop of Canterbury tells the British Government

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, says, the British government should remove Nigeria and other countries from its red list.

There is an outcry over the United Kingdom's red list - Countries on the list includes Nigeria, South Africa and other African countries. The list emanating from the emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

The Archbishop made this known in a series of tweets on Tuesday, 7th December 2021.

He advised that the United Kingdom should avoid ‘travel apartheid’, echoing the words of the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Isola.

He wrote, “With Omicron set to become the dominant variant in the UK, I appeal to the British government to remove Nigeria and South Africa from the red list – together with all other countries currently on it.

"We must find fair and effective approaches for those who are vaccinated and tested to enter the UK. I agree with the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK – we cannot have ‘travel apartheid’.”

"It is also morally wrong – and self-defeating – effectively to punish other nations for being transparent when they discover new Covid variants, as Archbishop of Cape Town (Thabo Makgoba) has said.

“The only route out of this pandemic is vaccine equity. We must end vaccine nationalism and stockpiling. We must get vaccines distributed in countries that need them the most. The choice is vaccine nationalism or human solidarity,” the Archbishop added.