England confirms COVID testing for all arrivals

The UK government has announced that all arrivals into England by boat, train or plane will have to test negative up to 72 hours before leaving the country of departure from Monday 18th January 2021 at 4am. This includes British nationals who are abroad which is estimated at over 100,000. In Scotland the rules apply from 4am on Friday 15th January and it is expected that Wales and Northern Ireland will announce similar plans in the coming days.

These rules were initially meant to come into place this week but were delayed by the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and announced via his Twitter account where he said: “To give international arrivals time to prepare, passengers will be required to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test before departure to England from Monday 18 January at 4am.”

These measures are in addition to the quarantine requirements in place for a number of destinations, including Dubai which was removed earlier this week: https://www.experiencedtravellers.com/news/dubai-removed-from-travel-corridor/

Anyone arriving from destinations that are not on the travel corridor must self-isolate for 10 days.

These measures are a step in the right direction to limit the infection and death rate in the UK which hit records this week with over 1,5000 deaths reported on Wednesday: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk

With travel changes occurring frequently, I recommend all passengers look at FCO advice prior to making any travel plans: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Under current restrictions, you must stay at home and only travel for legally permitted reasons such as business or education.