Covid tests no longer required for fully vaccinated travellers
Fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to take a Covid-19 test when retuning to the UK in time for February’s half-term.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps is understood to be in favour of the move – which will likely be announced on 26 January and will save Brits hundreds of pounds in Covid testing – the Sunday Times reported.
“We are looking at removing all Covid tests for vaccinated travellers by the end of January, which is likely to coincide with the review of the plan B measures on January 26,” a source told the outlet.
On 26 January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to remove all Plan B restrictions – including the working from home order and the need to wear a face mask in shops and on public transport – following a decline in Covid cases and hospitalisations. Ministers are also expected to soon change the definition of fully vaccinated to include the booster dose.
The news was welcomed by the travel industry. According to Tim Alderslade, “there is no compelling reason” for the testing regime to go on for the fully vaccinated.
“For inbound and business travel, arrivals testing is still a deterrent and puts us – again – at odds with other countries across the EU. If Plan B restrictions are removed on 26 January we must see international travel at last given parity with hospitality and the domestic economy.”
Easyjet added that the decision would make travel “much simpler, easier and cheaper.”
According to Francesco Ragni, aviation professor at Buckinghamshire New University, ending the testing regime will have “a significant impact on the UK leisure travel industry leading to a boost in demand.”
“It’s not just the savings,” he told Morning Wire “but also the certainty of being free as soon as arriving back home in the UK, with no risks of having to quarantine.I expect this will drive a rush to book holidays for Easter and beyond.”
At the moment, vaccinated travellers to England are required to take a lateral flow test within two days after their return to England. If positive, they need to self-isolate for 10 days, with the possibility of cutting their quarantine short with a negative lateral flow on day six and seven.
The government’s decision – which came into effect last Sunday – replaced the need for all travellers to take a PCR test within 48 hours after their arrival, which was initially introduced in December to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
“If you take a lateral flow test and get your result immediately, rather than waiting a day or sometimes more then you can act faster on it and the action of course is immediate,” Shapps said in comments to the BBC on 6 January. “In some senses we will get to knowing that result quicker.”