Back to the complete issue
Thursday, 26 August 2021

Should we get our hopes up?

The UK press is wondering if Egypt could get off the red list today: Egypt could be moved to the UK’s amber list in an expected review of the country’s travel traffic light system later today, Travel expert Tim White tells i News. White called Egypt a “borderline candidate” to be removed from the red list as Egypt’s covid-19 daily case figures remain low.

However, he pointed to the low vaccination rate in the country — currently at less than 3% of the population fully vaccinated — as well as possible suspicion over the accuracy of case numbers. Other countries that could join us on our bump upwards include Oman, Pakistan, Turkey, Maldives, and the Dominican Republic, he added.

What does it mean to be on the amber list versus the red list? Being on the red list meant that arrivals from Egypt were required to undertake a 10-day quarantine in a specified hotel at a cost of GBP 2k per adult as well as several mandatory PCR tests before and after reaching the UK. The amber list’s biggest difference is that arrivals can now self-quarantine instead, also for a period of 10 days. A pre-departure test is still required three days before landing in the UK as well as a PCR test on day two of their arrival and on day eight. Another difference is that an optional day-five PCR test can be taken, with a negative result allowing travellers to “test out” of quarantine.

MEANWHILE- Egypt fell two places in Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, now standing at #39 from the 53 countries included. Egypt scored high on vaccinated travel routes as it largely kept its borders open during the pandemic.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.