On Tuesday (14 December), health secretary Sajid Javid announced that all 11 countries on the red list would be removed at 4am Wednesday (15 December).
Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said when South Africa was added to the red list last month, the implementation of hotel quarantine – instead of at-home quarantine – was a "huge deterrent" for Brits and came at a time when the country’s tourism industry was just beginning to recover.