Covid: UK scraps pre-departure travel tests
As the holiday season came to a near bore, England sets to ease its pre-departure travel tests. From 5p.m (NZT) on Friday, fully vaccinated travelers arriving at England’s airports will no longer have to take a test before they travel. And so, from Sunday, rather than taking the PCR test on the second day of arriving they can get a cheaper and a more rapid antigen test.
With the ease of the covid restrictions for travel tests, even the self-isolating on arrival will also be changed. o, with all the ease, people have been crowding to book holidays.
But due to the new variant of Covid known as Omicron, which is known to spread widely, the prime minister Boris Johnson addressed the issue, following the calls
from travel firms who said the measures were not effective due to Omicron.
Previously, under the rules in force until Friday,
All fully-vaccinated travelers over the age of 12 must show proof of a negative rapid antigen test or PCR test taken in the two days before arrival at
the UK. Fully vaccinated people must also pay for a PCR test within two days of arrival and self-isolate while waiting for the results.
People who were not vaccinated must take a PCR test on both days and eight tests after arriving, and self-isolate for 10 days.
But under the new rules:
From 5 p.m. on Friday 7 th January, citizens and travelers who are fully vaccinated and are aged under 18, will no longer need to take the two PCR tests before travelling to England from other countries outside the UK and the common Travel Area. As for on arrival, they will have to take a PCR test but they will no longer have self-isolate while awaiting the results.
From 5pm on Sunday 9 January they will only have to take a rapid antigen test instead of a PCR test on day two. But this test must be bought from a private test provider – free NHS tests are not allowed
Unvaccinated passengers will need to continue to take a pre-departure test, PCR tests on day two and day eight, and self-isolate for 10 days
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the pre-departure tests "discourages many from traveling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense".
This statement was made after the airlines said that the passenger testing had no real impact, with data last week that showed that one in twenty-five people in
England had contracted the virus. However, compulsory testing had held back the sector’s recovery from the past covid restrictions.
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