UK to scrap post-arrival COVID test for vaccinated travellers

The United Kingdom says people arriving the country will no longer have to take COVID tests if they are fully vaccinated.

According to BBC, Grant Shapps, UK transport secretary, confirmed the development on Monday in a statement to the house of commons.

Shapps said the changes will be introduced from 4am on February 11.

He added that everyone arriving in the country, regardless of vaccination status, would need to fill a passenger locator form.

“Today, I can confirm that our international travel regime will now be liberalised as part our efforts to ensure that 2022 is the year in which restrictions on travel, on lockdowns and limits on people’s lives are firmly placed in the past,” he said.

“From 4am on February 11, and in time for the half-term break, eligible fully-vaccinated passengers arriving in the UK will no longer have to take a post-arrival lateral flow test.

“That means that after months of pre-departure testing, post-arrival testing, self-isolation, additional expense, all that fully vaccinated people will now have to do, when they travel to the UK, is to verify their status via a passenger locator form.”

Rules have also been eased for unvaccinated travellers, who will no longer have to take a day eight test. They will, however, still need to take pre-departure and day two tests.

Earlier in January, the UK had said vaccinated travellers would no longer be compelled to take COVID tests before boarding flights to the country.

The requirement for travellers to self-isolate on arrival until receipt of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was scrapped and replaced with a lateral flow test to be taken no later than day two.

Prior to this, all passengers travelling to the UK  had to take pre-departure COVID tests two days before boarding a flight, as well as book and pay for PCR tests to be taken after within 48 hours of arrival.