Starting tomorrow: no more test obligation to travel to England

Frequent travellers to England, pay attention📢 — starting tomorrow, vaccinated people travelling to England will not be obligated to take a coronavirus test to enter the country.

This decision was announced by the British government earlier today.

Current measures

At the moment, everyone over the age of 12 must submit a negative coronavirus test on arrival in England within 48 hours of testing. It is also mandatory to do a PCR test within two days of arrival. Until a traveller receives a negative test outcome, they must isolate.

This changes tomorrow for vaccinated travellers, who will no longer have to test before entering England. They will also be able to do a rapid test instead of a PCR test within two days of arrival. ⏳

The rules for unvaccinated travellers remain the same — they still have to get tested before entering the country, must do PCR tests on the second and eighth day after they arrive, and remain in quarantine for 10 days

Ineffective against coronavirus

Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially said the pre-travel coronavirus test was there to discourage people from travelling to England. Travel companies are saying otherwise, according to the NOS. 👀

They find the measures to test for coronavirus ineffective, considering the rapid spread of the omicron variant across England. 🦠

What does this mean for the Netherlands?

With the omicron variant on the horizon and the likely continuation of a hard lockdown in the Netherlands, the announcement comes as a surprise. 😯

It seems a little counterproductive, especially for Dutchies. With increasing infections, should more easygoing travel be encouraged? 🤔

What do you think of the relaxation of travel measures to England? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Feature Image: Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels

Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Third culture kid Katrien has been working as a writer and editor at DutchReview for over two years, originally moving to the Netherlands as a tween. Equipped with a Bachelor’s in communication and media and a Master’s in political communication, she’s here to stay for her passion for writing, whether it’s current Dutch affairs, the energy market, or universities. Just like the Dutch, Katrien lives by her agenda and enjoys the occasional frietje met mayo — she just wishes she could grow tall, too.

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