UK feels tighter border controls ‘not effective’ in Covid-19 fight

16 December 2021 - 18:23
By Elizabeth Piper
The UK does not believe tighter border measures are effective when the Omicron variant has spread so widely.
Image: 123RF/perig76 The UK does not believe tighter border measures are effective when the Omicron variant has spread so widely.

Britain does not believe tighter border measures are effective when the Omicron variant has spread so widely but it is up to countries to decide whether they want to go down that route, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

Asked about Paris’s decision to allow only designated categories of people to travel between Britain and France, the spokesperson said: “At all stages it has been down to countries to consider what approach is right for them.”

“Certainly on our part, given the transmissibility of Omicron and its seeding around the world, we don’t think red lists ... are effective or proportionate at this current time.”

Reuters