Currently, travelers must take a PCR test within two days of arriving in the UK. (File)
London:
The UK government has announced that people traveling into the country will need to present a negative coronavirus test before departure as it introduces Covid-19 restrictions due to the Omicron variant.
The Department of Health said that from 04:00 GMT on Tuesday, anyone traveling to the UK will have to present proof of negative lateral flow or a PCR test done within 48 hours prior to boarding. plane, the Health Ministry said late Saturday.
This will apply to travelers over 12 years old from any country. Currently, visitors must take a PCR test within two days of arrival.
The reintroduction of mandatory pre-departure testing has led to an angry response from the travel industry.
The Business Travel Association said the measure would be a “hammer”, while the Airport Operators Association said “pre-departure checks are a devastating blow, as they prevent people from travel”.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News he knew the new measure was “a burden on the tourism industry” but insisted the UK needed to act.
“We have to take pre-targeted measures to prevent new variant seeding in this country from creating a bigger problem.”
The government has stated that it “will take further decisive actions if necessary to contain the new virus and variant”.
The UK previously banned flights from South Africa and put 10 African countries on the red list, meaning only UK and Ireland citizens or UK residents can travel from there to the UK. Great Britain. Nigeria will join the list from Monday.
Experts warn that travel restrictions and bans will not stop the virus from spreading.
Statistician David Spiegelhalter, a Cambridge University professor who co-authored a history of the pandemic, told Sky News that “the current restrictions on travel only slow things down a bit… but… they won’t stop it. (Omicron) and it will go in”.
The UK has made face coverings mandatory again in shops and public transport in response to the new variant, with 160 cases of Omicron confirmed so far in the UK.
The UK has also expanded its booster scheme to make all adults eligible.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from the syndication feed.)
