Doubly vaccinated passengers will no longer have to take pre-departure Covid tests in England beginning Friday morning, the BBC reports.
Arriving visitors with two vaccinations also won’t have to go into quarantine while waiting for post-arrival test results, the network said.
“If they arrive after 04:00 GMT on Sunday, they will be able to take a lateral flow test on day two and only need a PCR (test) if the result is positive,” the BBC said.
The Independent reports that the rules will remain the same for unvaccinated or partly vaccinated arrivals 18 and older. Those travellers need to present a negative pre-departure test, quarantine for 10 days upon arrival, and take a PCR test on days two and eight of self-isolation.
“Although the current easing of restrictions currently only applies to England, it is likely that the governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow suit,” the paper said.
“We’re removing the temporary extra testing measures we introduced last year at the border to slow cases of Omicron coming to the UK,” British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter.
“The government’s announcement that travellers will no longer have to take a pre-departure test on return to the UK is extremely welcome news,” said Mark Tanzer, head of the British travel company ABTA. Tanzer and others in the British travel industry were highly critical of increased testing rules, arguing they hurt consumer confidence and were not necessary.
