Shapps dismisses airport testing as ‘no silver bullet’ and considers new plans

By Charles Hymas Home Affairs editor

GRANT SHAPPS has rejected airport testing and instead backed a German-style model, which could reduce quarantine for holidaymakers and travellers by up to nine days.

The Transport Secretary said the “best solution” to replace blanket quarantine was “probably” testing incoming travellers for coronavirus five or eight days after their arrival in the UK. A negative result would release them from the 14-day self-isolation.

He said this would reduce the chances of missing asymptomatic people if they were tested just on arrival at the airport or the UK border.

It is the clearest signal yet of the Government’s thinking as it comes under ferocious pressure from the tourism and aviation industry, former ministers and travellers to replace blanket quarantine with testing of international arrivals. The Telegraph has launched a Test4travel campaign.

The Government may also follow Wales with regional “air bridges”, which allow quarantine-free travel to “low risk” holiday islands such as the Azores and Madeira while maintaining restrictions on mainland Portugal and Greece, according to industry sources.

Boris Johnson and his ministers have been accused of dragging their feet after postponing a Cabinet committee meeting two weeks ago, which would have considered options including a single delayed test after entry to the UK and a double test with one on arrival and another later from home.

The Prime Minister faced further backbench criticism when he insisted Covid testing at airports would only give a “false sense of security” and maintained that quarantine remained “vital” as an “important part of our repertoire, of our toolbox, in fighting Covid”.

Citing modelling by the Government’s scientific Sage advisers, Mr Shapps yesterday said a Covid test at airports would pick up just seven per cent of potential carriers of the disease by failing to detect those who were asymptomatic. He dismissed airport testing as no “silver bullet”.

However, he said a test after five days increased the detection rate to 85 per cent and up to 95 per cent if it was delayed until the eighth day.

“What is the solution? You probably need to have some period of quarantine and a test,” he said. “We are working with the sector on all of these things.”

Germany this week switched to testing travellers from “red list” countries five days after their arrival, freeing them from quarantine if negative. It ditched its previous approach of testing passengers only on arrival at airports after scientists detected a spike in cases. Most of the travel industry, however, is calling for Britain to adopt Iceland’s model, where travellers are tested on arrival and then again after five days when a negative test releases them from quarantine. David Evans, chief executive of Collinson, which has set up a testing facility at Heathrow, said it was “backed by science and real-world data”.

It came as figures showed police across the UK were investigating thousands of potential violations of quarantine rules by returning travellers.

Scotland Yard had more than 1,000 referrals from Border Force since the beginning of August relating to individuals who did not respond when contacted to check if they were self-isolating while Greater Manchester police has been asked to check on 263 cases, The Guardian reported.