UK plans to drop international COVID travel measures, including testing requirements, this week
The United Kingdom is set to drop all remaining COVID-19 travel measures later this week, allowing all travelers – regardless of vaccination status – to enter without a passenger locator form or negative coronavirus test.
The new travel measures will go into effect 4 a.m. on Friday, according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
“These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter,” Shapps said in a Monday tweet. Nearly 86% of the U.K.’s population aged 12 and older has had two doses of a vaccine as of Sunday, according to government data.
Currently, adult travelers from the U.S. who are not fully vaccinated must show a negative coronavirus test taken no more than two days before travel and purchase a PCR test to be taken within the first two days after arrival. All passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must fill out a passenger locator form no more than three days before their arrival.
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The country’s travel restrictions are set to ease even as COVID-19 case counts are rising.
More than 444,000 people in the U.K. tested positive over the last seven days, up 48% from the week prior, according to government data. Deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were up 2% in that same timeframe, while the number of patients admitted to a hospital jumped 17%.
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