England abolishes the COVID-19 test on arrival for tourists with a complete guideline

MADRID, Jan. 24 (Royals Blue) –

The United Kingdom Transport Minister, Grant Shapps, announced this Monday the abolition of the obligation to undergo a diagnostic test for COVID-19 upon arrival in England for tourists vaccinated with the complete schedule.

Shapps has detailed that the measure will come into force on February 11 and that tourists with the complete vaccination schedule will only have to verify their status with a locator.

According to the British minister, diagnostic tests at borders for vaccinated people are no longer “useful” and, in his opinion, this measure will make traveling “much easier”, it will allow families to save money and provide certainty to tourists and the industry ahead of the summer season, according to the BBC.

In addition, the British authorities have recognized the vaccination of 16 other countries, including Mexico and China, which means that people with a full guideline from 118 countries will be able to enter England more freely.

As for unvaccinated travelers, they will not have to undergo a test on day eight of their visit or be isolated, but they will be required to carry a locator to demonstrate a negative result in a test carried out two days before traveling. They will also have to undergo a PCR as soon as they arrive in England.

This Monday, the United Kingdom Ministry of Health has recorded 88,447 new infections and 56 deaths from COVID-19, which have raised the totals to 15,953,685 and 153,916, respectively, within the framework of a stabilization of the epidemiological situation after the rebound attributed to the spread of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

The British Government is expected to lift the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of omicron – return of teleworking, mandatory use of a mask and the need to present the vaccination certificate against COVID-19 to access certain facilities – this Wednesday. While Scotland or Northern Ireland have also lifted some of the limitations imposed.

The Johnson Executive has entrusted the development of the pandemic situation in the country to the vaccination plan against COVID-19. Until this Monday, 83.8 percent of the British population has the complete immunization schedule, while 64.2 percent have already received the third dose.