The Gambia government has placed travel restrictions on travellers from 21 countries including the USA and U.K. over growing concerns about the new coronavirus strain. 

Travellers from United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, USA, France, Japan, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Jordan, Lebanon, The Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, India, Pakistan, Chile, Switzerland, Denmark will have to pay for their own mandatory quarantine and must provide Covid-19 test results on their arrival in The Gambia. 

“These travellers must undergo mandatory quarantine at their own cost. Samples that are found positive upon their testing on arrival in The Gambia, will have the virus strain sequenced to confirm the genome,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement. 

“All other travellers from countries not identified as hotspot for the new strain of COVID-19 must provide a valid negative PCR test to go on home isolation.”

This new travel restrictions start on January 9, 2021. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba