The United Kingdom, on Thursday, said that all passengers arriving in the country will be required to show negative Covid-19 test results taken within 72 hours of the commencement of their journey to prove they do not have the disease.
This disclosure was made in a statement by the UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps.
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According to a report from Bloomberg, the UK government, in its newly announced rules, pointed out that anyone that does not produce the evidence of a negative test will be hit with an immediate fine of 500 pounds ($678).
It also said that international passengers coming in from countries that are not on the government’s open travel corridor list will be required to isolate at home for 10 days, regardless of their test results.
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The UK government said that these measures, which are aimed at stopping the new strains of Covid-19 like the ones seen in Denmark and South Africa from coming into the country, are expected to take off next week for passengers arriving at a British port by plane, boat or train.
What the British Transport Secretary is saying
Grant Shapps, in an emailed statement, said, “We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases of Covid-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally we must take further precautions. Pre-departure tests will provide a further line of defence — helping us control the virus as we roll out the vaccine at pace over the coming weeks.”
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The travellers will be required to show their negative test results before boarding and will be denied entry if necessary. However, some exemptions for these new rules, include hauliers, children under the age of 11, and travellers leaving countries without adequate testing infrastructure in place.
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What you should know
- It can be recalled that following the outbreak of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the discovery of a new strain of Covid-19, the UK government had placed travel restrictions on some countries which include a couple of Southern African countries.
- The UK ministers had been criticized for delays in imposing border restrictions during the first wave of the pandemic last spring. This week, British authorities put the country into its third national lockdown as infection rates surged. The death toll from coronavirus now stands at more than 78,000.
