All passengers arriving in the UK must prove that they do not have a coronavirus, which shows a negative test result within 72 hours of the start of their journey.
Under rules announced Friday, anyone who does not provide proof that they do not have Covid-19 will be fined £ 500 ($ 678). Travelers coming from countries not listed on the government’s open travel routes should be separated for ten days, regardless of their test results.
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
The measures set out by Transport Minister Grant Shapps will take effect next week for passengers arriving in Britain by plane, boat or train. The plan is aimed at stopping new strains of Covid-19 in the UK, such as one being identified in South Africa, as the government accelerates the deployment of vaccines, Shapps said.
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“The South African variant worries experts because the vaccine does not react in the same way,” Shapps told LBC radio on Friday. “If that were the case, it would be a tragedy to let it into the country.”
Access to England will also be banned for those who have traveled from or through any Southern African country in the past ten days, the government said, including Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Ministers have been criticized for taking too long to impose border restrictions during the first wave of the spring pandemic. Prime Minister Boris Johnson placed the country in his country this week third national exclusion as infection rates skyrocketed. The death toll from the coronavirus now stands at more than 78,000.
Airlines hit
Governments across Europe are expanding its curbs to and from the UK to protect against a rapidly spreading tension that took hold last month. Collectively, the moves forced the hard-hit airline industry to reset schedules in the early part of 2021.
“British aviation has once again been effectively shut down,” Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said in a statement. “It has exacerbated a devastating situation for British airports and aviation-based communities.”
Commercial Sports Airline United Kingdom asked that the test before departure be a short-term measure and that the journey be returned to normal as soon as possible as soon as the vaccination of the vaccine is accelerated.
Ministers must now concentrate on creating a common international standard, said John Holland-Kaye, head of Heathrow Airport. He called for the use of tests to increase passenger numbers. The London World Travel & Tourism Council reiterated the call, saying there was still uncertainty about the type of tests that would be accepted. It required wide access and affordability.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc en British Airways is one of the airline providers that has reduced its schedules this week. Ryanair has said it will offer few flights from January 21 until the curbs are lifted.
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Complex conversations
Government officials have been discussing for several days how to coordinate a border policy in all four UK countries, which have their own transport policies. In a separate statement, the Scottish Government said it had agreed to the plan and that the measures would be put in place as soon as possible.
Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford told the BBC on Friday that he strongly supported the new rules and expected them to apply across the UK.
Passengers must show their negative test results before boarding, and will be stopped if necessary. There will be some exemptions from the new rules, including for carriers, children under the age of 11, and for travelers leaving countries without adequate testing infrastructure in place.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out his blueprint for a mass vaccination program to protect around 15 million elderly and vulnerable people across the UK, and their carers, by a February 15 deadline. The government will look into whether part of the exclusion is starting to lift. rules.
– With the help of Alastair Reed, Rodney Jefferson, Emily Ashton, Siddharth Vikram Philip and Christopher Jasper
(Updates with the airport operators statement of sixth paragraph)