Last checked at 
* Test result requirements to start next week
* Quarantine rules for travellers remain in place
* Authorities worried about new COVID variants
* Airlines say test rules must be temporary
* Heathrow hopes tests can replace quarantine rule
(Combines separate stories)
By William Schomberg and Sarah Young
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - People entering England and
Scotland will have to show a negative COVID-19 test result
starting next week as authorities try to ramp up protection
against new, more infectious strains of the coronavirus from
other countries.
Passengers arriving by boat, plane or train will have to
take a test a maximum of 72 hours before departure, mirroring
measures taken last year by other countries around the world.
"We already have significant measures in place to prevent
imported cases of COVID-19, but with new strains of the virus
developing internationally we must take further precautions,"
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
He said there were concerns that vaccines might not work
properly against the highly transmissible variant of the
coronavirus discovered in South Africa, echoing recent comments
from other government officials.
On Thursday, Britain said it would extend a ban on
travellers entering England from South Africa to include other
southern African countries, and non-essential travel in and out
of the United Kingdom is restricted.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a new lockdown for
England this week after a surge in cases linked to another
variant of the virus believed to have originated in the country.
Scotland, which like the rest of the United Kingdom has
tight COVID-19 restrictions in place, said it too would require
travellers to show negative tests and the rule is also expected
to be applied by Wales and Northern Ireland.
Passengers from many countries are currently required to
self-isolate for 10 days, or five if they pay for a private test
and test negative. Those requirements will remain in place after
the new pre-departure testing rule comes into effect.
Britain's airlines industry recognised the need to introduce
pre-departure testing but said it should be only a short-term,
emergency measure.
"Once the roll-out of the vaccine accelerates, the focus
must be on returning travel to normal as quickly as possible in
order to support the UK's economic recovery," said Tim
Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, an industry group.
"What we'd like to see is that testing before you take off
becomes the standard as an alternative to quarantine," said John
Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Britain's biggest airport
Heathrow.
Travel to and from Britain has been almost wiped out by
COVID-19 and the quarantine requirements, leaving many airlines
and airports fighting for survival.
Exemptions to the new testing requirement rule in England
would be offered to hauliers, children under 11, crews and
people travelling from countries where tests are not available.
Passengers will be subject to a fine of 500 pounds
($678.30) if they fail to comply with the new regulations.
($1 = 0.7371 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Daniel Wallis and
Catherine Evans)
