All passengers arriving in the UK will be required to prove that they do not have a coronavirus, showing a negative test result made 72 hours after the start of their journey.
Under rules announced on Friday, anyone who does not provide proof that he does not have Covid-19 will be fined £ 500 ($ 678). Travelers arriving from countries that are not on the government’s list of open travel corridors will be required to isolate at home for 10 days, regardless of test results.
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
The measures, set by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, will take effect next week for passengers arriving in Britain by plane, boat or train. The plan aims to prevent new strains of Covid-19 from reaching the United Kingdom, such as one identified in South Africa, as the government accelerates the launch of vaccines, said Shapps.
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“The South African variant is worrying experts because the vaccine may not respond in the same way,” Shapps told LBC radio on Friday. “If that were the case, it would be a tragedy to allow this to happen in the country.”
Entry into England will also be banned for those who have traveled to or through any southern African country in the past 10 days, the government said, including Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Ministers were criticized for taking too long to impose border restrictions during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the country on his third national block as infection rates soared. The number of deaths from coronavirus is now over 78,000.
Hit Airlines
Governments across Europe are tightening restrictions on travel to and from the UK to guard against a tension that has spread rapidly and that has settled over the past month. Together, the moves forced the hard-hit airline industry to cut schedules in early 2021.
“UK aviation is once again effectively closed,” said Karen Dee, CEO of the Airport Operators Association, in a statement. “This has worsened a devastating situation for UK airports and communities that depend on aviation.”
Industry Lobby Airlines UK asked that pre-departure testing be a short-term measure and that travel should return to normal as soon as possible as soon as the vaccine implantation is accelerated.
Ministers must now focus on creating a common international standard, said Heathrow Airport chief John Holland-Kaye, who called for the use of tests to increase passenger numbers. The call was repeated by the World Travel & Tourism Council, based in London, which said there are still uncertainties about the type of tests that will be accepted. It required broad access and accessibility.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc and British Airways is among the operators that have reduced their schedules this week, with Ryanair saying it will offer few flights from January 21 until the brakes are lifted.
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Complex lectures
Government officials have been talking for days about how to coordinate a border policy between the four nations of the United Kingdom, which have control over their own transport policies. In a separate statement, the Scottish government said it agreed with the plan and that the measures will be implemented as soon as possible.
Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford told the BBC on Friday that he strongly supports the new rules and expects them to apply across the UK
Passengers will need to show negative test results before boarding and will be stopped if necessary. There will be some exemptions from the new rules, including for trucks, children under the age of 11 and for travelers leaving countries without an adequate test infrastructure installed.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented his plan for a mass vaccination program to protect some 15 million elderly and vulnerable people across the UK, and their caregivers, for a self-imposed deadline of 15 February. rules.
– With the help of Alastair Reed, Rodney Jefferson, Emily Ashton, Siddharth Vikram Philip and Christopher Jasper
(Updates with the declaration of airport operators in the sixth paragraph)