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ARCHIVED - UK scraps all Covid travel restrictions this week
From Friday, travellers to the UK will no longer need a passenger locator form or Covid test
The United Kingdom has announced that from Friday March 18 at 4am, people travelling to the UK will no longer have to comply with any Covid-19 restrictions. This means that the passenger locator form has been scrapped, and unvaccinated passengers will not need to submit a negative coronavirus test.
At the moment, only fully vaccinated passengers can freely enter the UK; unjabbed adults have to present a negative Covid test.
Announcing the news on his social media account, Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, wrote: "These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter."
With this relaxation of the restrictions, holidaymakers will be able to enter the UK from Friday without any limitations for the first time since the health crisis began in the spring of 2020.
TRAVEL UPDATE
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 14, 2022
All remaining Covid travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March.
These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter.
However, although travellers won’t need to complete a passenger locator form prior to their arrival in the UK, they will need to fill one out within 72 hours of landing as part of the country’s ongoing measures to monitor the evolution of the pandemic.
While holidaymakers have welcomed the changes, many experts have expressed their concern over lifting all travel restrictions at a time when daily Covid infections have begun rising once more in Britain, for the first time since January.
In response, the Secretary of State for Health, Sajid Javid, assured that experts will continue to tract any possible new strains and that safety measures could be re-imposed if necessary.
"As we learn to live with COVID, we're taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays,” Mr Javid said.
"We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants, and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe.
"We can remove these final restrictions thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination programme which has seen more than eight out of 10 adults across the UK boosted,” he concluded.
In another boost for passengers, Heathrow Airport has announced that, from Wednesday March 16, facemasks will no longer be required.
The airport said in a statement: "Effective from Wednesday 16 March, we'll remove the requirement for wearing face coverings at the airport. We still strongly encourage both colleagues & passengers to wear them, particularly when they come into close contact with others, but this will no longer be mandatory.
"Passengers may still be required to wear a face covering onboard their flight and should check the airlines’ requirements before travelling."
Now read: How to get a Covid passport and How to book an appointment for a vaccination or booster jab
Image: Heathrow Airport, Wikimedia Commons
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