The United Kingdom, starting Monday, will remove the remaining seven countries from its travel ban red list, the British government announced. The government also added that the travel list will also be reviewed every three weeks and will be revised in case of COVID threats arise.

“From 4am on Monday, the remaining seven destinations on the UK’s COVID-19 travel ban red list – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela – will be removed,” it said in an update on Thursday.

It is to be noted that the red list has not been scrapped and will be reviewed every three weeks. The review would be done in case any COVID variant threats emerge.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said that Delta is now the dominant COVID variant in most countries around the world, which means the risk of known variants entering the UK has been reduced.

“This is another step in the right direction for international travel with more good news today for passengers, businesses and the travel sector,” said UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

“Whether it’s reuniting family members or making it easier for businesses to trade, the success of the vaccine rollout both at home and abroad has allowed us to reach this milestone. However, we must not be complacent and remain ready to spring into action and defend our hard-won gains if needed,” he said.

Earlier this month, travel regulations between India and the UK for fully vaccinated passengers had been eased. For the Indians, who have Covishield-vaccinated, they need not undergo a mandatory self-isolation at a declared address on entry into Britain.

Travellers who would come into the country from red list countries will be undergoing a mandatory 10-day quarantine at a government-sanctioned facility. The latest update means that travellers vaccinated with UK-recognised vaccines will all face similar international travel rules.

“The red list and quarantine remain vital in protecting our borders – we are keeping a small number of quarantine rooms on standby and will not hesitate to take swift action by adding countries to the red list if the risk increases again,” said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

The DfT said government scientists will continue to closely monitor variants of concern in order to ensure the UK’s approach remains “proportionate”.