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LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain will scrap tough COVID-19
quarantine requirements for 47 destinations including South
Africa and Thailand on Monday and make it easier for people to
arrive from countries including India and Turkey in the latest
relaxation of the rules.
Britain's tourism industry has essentially lost two full
summers after travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread
of COVID-19 deterred many people from going abroad.
Many countries with high infection levels were put on a red
list, requiring arrivals to spend 10 days in a government
provided quarantine hotel, while the need for a PCR test and
other tests often cost more than the flight itself.
Airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have said that the
approach and the frequently changing restrictions have delayed
any recovery in the sector, leaving the British industry lagging
its European peers.
On Thursday, transport minister Grant Shapps said he would
remove 47 destinations from the red list. Seven countries will
remain, including Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
He has also eased the rules for countries such as India,
Turkey and Ghana, meaning that the inoculation status of
arrivals will be recognised and fully vaccinated arrivals will
only need to take a test on day 2 to check for COVID.
In a further change, passengers will be able to send a
picture of their lateral flow test result to verify test
accuracy once the requirement switches from the more expensive
PCR test to lateral flow later this month.
Shapps said restoring people's confidence in travel was key
to rebuilding the economy. "With less restrictions and more
people traveling, we can all continue to move safely forward
together along our pathway to recovery."
(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Andy Bruce)
