TESTING TIMES
For travellers, it looks like Covid testing is here for the long haul – and there’s nothing simple about the process…
Now that travel is opening up once again, we are all faced with the issue of testing. Some countries require it, some do not, and the exact nature of the test – whether rapid flow/antigen or PCR – also adds uncertainty. The rules change frequently, yet are mandatory, and are imposed at either end of the journey. They can also differ for departing and arriving passengers. So what can be done to enable travel while also keeping us safe?
THE TESTS
The aim of the tests is to determine whether a traveller has Covid-19. There are two main types – an antigen or lateral flow test, and a PCR test. Which is required will differ depending on where you are travelling to and from.
What is certain is that the whole experience of testing – demonstrating your negative Covid-19 status to the relevant authorities and then possibly entering quarantine and undergoing a further testing regime – is depressing demand for both leisure and business travel considerably.
GREEN COUNTRY
For travel from the UK to a green country, the rules at the time of going to press in June are that on your return you have to fill in a passenger locator form. This gives the government the details of your passport or the travel document you’ll use when you arrive at the UK border, your travel information, including times and dates, the address where you will stay in the UK (if applicable) and the booking reference for the Covid-19 test you’ll need to take after arriving home – you have to undergo a PCR test on or before Day 2, with the day that you land counting as Day 0.
You also have to obtain a negative test before leaving the destination for return to the UK. This can be an antigen/lateral flow test, and many hotels are offering it for free or for a nominal cost, as are some travel companies. Note that you can’t simply self-administer an antigen test and take a photo of the negative result – it has to be taken by a healthcare professional or witnessed by video link to ensure it has been properly conducted. You need to obtain a certificate, normally with a QR code generated, for it to be acceptable. To read about the process of undertaking a video antigen test see overleaf.
AMBER COUNTRY
If you are coming back from an amber country you need to complete a passenger locator form, obtain a negative test before leaving the destination and have pre-purchased a Day 2 and Day 8 package.
POSTAGE PROBLEMS
It’s clear that despite the excellent service offered by some testing companies, all have suffered from negative customer feedback. This is down to several reasons, the first of which is issues with Royal Mail. Without exception, all of the testing companies we spoke to blamed at least some of their problems on the postal service. Alex Templeton, chief executive of Qured – a government-approved testing company that appears on the recommended list of British Airways (with a discount code) – says: “When kits were being sent directly to our Cambridge laboratory, local delays at our Royal Mail delivery office meant that it was taking 48 or sometimes even 72 hours to make the last mile delivery to the lab. This was causing a really poor customer experience. We came up with a workaround whereby they are sent to our fulfilment centre in Bristol. We then have them couriered to Cambridge to circumvent those local delivery issues.”
The problems are encountered both when sending out the testing packages to customers and also on their return to the laboratories. To travel to some countries, it may be necessary to have a negative result before travel – if your
What is clear is that the experience of testing is depressing demand for both leisure and business travel considerably