Authorities say Travellers arriving into England from countries that have high infection rates of COVID-19 will be able to cut down their quarantine time
Travellers who are arriving into England from other countries that have high infection rates of COVID-19 will be able to cut their quarantine time down from 14 days to just five if they can show that they have tested negative for the coronavirus on the fifth day, according to the Department of Transport.
Passengers will be permitted to pay for their own COVID-19 tests themselves, and be able to do so by booking with one of the private providers that are currently on the government’s list.
Authorities have said that they want the new testing scheme, which will be coming into effect on the 15th of December, to boost travel without putting any further pressure on the NHS.
This comes after the Prime Minister is hoping to lace his latest set of COVID-19 restrictions with more festive cheer, with the re-opening of gyms and ministers working hard on plans to allow families to be able to meet up within a holiday bubble.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We have a plan in place to ensure that our route out of this pandemic is careful and balanced, allowing us to focus on what we can now do to bolster international travel while keeping the public safe.
“Our new testing strategy will allow us to travel more freely, see loved ones and drive international business. By giving people the choice to test on day five, we are also supporting the travel industry as it continues to rebuild out of the pandemic.”
The chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, Paul Charles, said:
“This measure is not going to be for everyone.”
“There are some people who will find it easy to quarantine on their return but many people can’t and they also may not be able to afford it, especially if they’re a family of four, it could cost hundreds of pounds for them to get a private test after five days.”
“But we have got to see a phased return to what life was like before COVID, and this is a start of that pathway to normality.”
This comes after people in the UK may struggle to get their orders delivered in time for Christmas this year, with a shipping boss warning of chaos at Britain’s biggest port, that is “getting worse” and is leading to a “very challenging” Christmas period.
The chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce has gone even further, saying that travellers coming into the UK will need to prove they have recieved a vaccine against COVID-19 in order to board the airline’s flights.
Mr Joyce has said that this move would be a “necessity” when vaccines will be available, saying that he thought it would be “a common thing” among all airlines in the near future.
But as of now, in a sector where potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk, there is some hope that testing five days after arrival into the UK may be the first step to recovery.
