I really welcome the decision taken by the government to relax many restrictions on testing when travellers return from abroad. It will reduce the burden of travel costs to families and businesses.
The new rules are as follows:
People who aren't fully vaccinated must currently take PCR
tests on both day two and day eight after arriving, and self-isolate for 10
days.
But under the new rules:
- From
04:00 GMT on Friday (07/01/2022): people who are fully vaccinated
and those aged under-18 will no longer need to take a test two days before
travelling to England from countries outside the UK and the Common Travel
Area. On arrival, they will have to take a PCR test but they will no
longer have to self-isolate while awaiting the result
- From
04:00 GMT on Sunday (10/01/2022): they will only have to take a
lateral flow 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