END OF PCR TRAVEL TESTS
PM set to axe costly and unpopular rule in time for October holidays
THE UK Government is set to scrap expensive PCR travel tests for those who are fully vaccinated – giving a massive boost to millions of holidaymakers.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that pre-departure tests for Covid-19 will no longer be deemed necessary and PCR tests currently required on the second day after returning from abroad will be replaced by cheaper lateral flow tests.
The move would slash the cost of family holidays by hundreds of pounds and officials are working to introduce it before the October school break.
The plan will be discussed this week by Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Cabinet Office Minister
Michael Gove, who form the so-called Covid-O committee.
The proposed change would give a boost to the struggling tourism and aviation industries and also tackle public suspicion that some PCR firms have been profiteering. It may also provide an incentive for people to be vaccinated as the new rules would only apply to those who have been double jabbed. News of the plan came as:
The Prime Minister is preparing to set out his winter plan for the fight against coronavirus. Praising the public, NHS and the vaccination programme, he said yesterday: ‘Life has returned to a sense of normality... I’m determined to get rid of any powers we no longer need because of our vaccine defences’;
There was an expectation that the UK’s Chief Medical Officers will recommend extending the vaccine rollout to 12 to 15-year-olds within days, despite the refusal of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) to do so;
One senior Tory MP urged Mr Johnson to write to the parents of pupils in the age bracket to set out the case for vaccination;
Ministers, however, expect the JCVI to recommend a vaccine booster programme;
The number of people in Scottish hospitals suffering from coronavirus is now at its highest level in seven months;
Across Scotland another 4,298 people tested positive for the virus and there were a further ten deaths;
US bank Goldman Sachs urged its entire 6,000-strong UK workforce to return to the office from tomorrow, while Cabinet Secretary Simon Case faced calls to encourage more civil servants to get back to their desks.
At present, both the UK and Scottish Governments require all those entering the UK to pay for a PCR test on or before the second day after their arrival, irrespective of whether they have been vaccinated in part or fully.
Those arriving from countries on the Government’s ‘amber list’ also have to take a pre-departure test, which can be a PCR or lateral flow test. The test is not required for ‘green list’ countries while those travelling from ‘red list’ nations must pay to stay in quarantine hotels for ten days.
Most EU countries have, however, abandoned the requirement for PCR tests for those who have been fully vaccinated and the Government is set to do likewise.
Although the UK Government is only responsible for restrictions in England because health is a devolved matter, Scotland is likely to follow suit, as previous differences in international travel policy between the two governments during the crisis have attracted criticism.
Travellers will still be required to adhere to the testing rules of the country to which they are travelling.
Details for those under 16 are still being finalised but the intention is to make them exempt from both tests too. Welcoming the news, Paul Charles, boss of the travel consultant The PC Agency, last night said: ‘This would be a significant vote-winner with consumers and the industry. It’s exactly what we’ve been calling for. These tests have been expensive and too confusing for most of Britain.
‘It’s a significant move that would boost confidence and help the travel sector recover substantially.’
There has been mounting anger about the cost of PCR tests, with a family of four often having to spend £600 or more. The Competition and Markets Authority last week reported widespread complaints of ‘dodgy pricing practices, unfair terms, and a failure to provide tests on time or at all’.
In Scotland, aviation chiefs have voiced concerns that families are having to pay twice as much as those south of the Border as the Scottish Government requires mandated test kits, which are more expensive.
On Tuesday, Mr Johnson will set out his plan to combat Covid-19 this winter when a rise in cases is predicted. The PM is expected to say that vaccines will remain the first line of defence and downplay the prospect of another lockdown by repealing a number of Government powers.
Legal powers in the Coronavirus Act to disrupt education and temporarily shut schools will be cut, but others – such as giving sick pay to people isolating from day one rather than day seven – will remain.
In stark contrast, the Scottish Government admitted last month it was planning to make the Covid laws permanent.
An updated UK-wide announcement on booster jabs is imminent, with the JCVI predicted to back the move.
‘Mounting anger over the cost of PCR tests’
‘Move would help the travel sector recover’