UK to end COVID testing for vaccinated travelers
Boris Johnson (4R) spoke with Chief Executive Professor Joe Harrison (R) when he visited a coronavirus vaccination training hub at Milton Keynes University Hospital, on Jan. 24, 2022. WPA Pool/Getty
The UK will stop requiring vaccinated travelers to take a COVID-19 test after arriving in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
The new rules come on the heels of a recent lifting of pre-flight test requirements, and are part of a general easing of COVID-19 restrictions as the UK starts to treat the virus as endemic.
“So what we’re doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travelers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated,” Johnson told broadcasters Monday in a pooled interview.
The change will lower the cost of travel and give consumers more confidence their plans won’t be upended at the last minute by fresh rules or a positive test. Airlines, which have sought to lift all testing requirements, are sure to get a boost, as are hotels and restaurants.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid is expected to give more detail in a statement to the House of Commons Monday afternoon.
The UK has been easing its “Plan B” COVID restrictions that were implemented across England in December as the Omicron variant spread quickly through the population.
People are no longer being asked to work from home, and rules forcing people to wear face masks in shops and on public transport will be dropped from Jan. 27. Mandatory COVID passes for businesses will also end this week.
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