British nationals in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia can return home without a negative COVID-19 result, at least until January 21.
The British government said in a media release on Tuesday, this limited exemption was as a result of challenges in those countries “including limited COVID-19 testing capacity and heightened demand for tests”.
However, a negative COVID-19 test will be mandatory for all British nationals returning home from January 15 “as an added measure to safeguard public health against coronavirus and its variants”. Visitors are advised to use the time to review travel guidelines and put measures in place.
In preparation for travel, passengers will need to find a testing provider which meets the standards set out on by the UK Government, the majority of which will be Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. Full details of requirements can be found at www.gov.uk.
Prior to departure, passengers will be required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than three days before departing to transport operators, as well as their passenger locator form. Carriers may deny boarding to those who do not have a negative test result.
The UK Border Force will conduct spot checks on arrival into England. Passengers who arrive at the border without proof of a negative result will be subject to an immediate £500 fine.
For people arriving from countries not on the Travel Corridor list, they will still be required to complete a mandatory self-isolation period, and the Travel Corridors list is regularly reviewed to manage the risk of imported cases of COVID-19 from high-risk countries.
Passengers still have the option to reduce their self-isolation period as part of the Test to Release scheme launched last month, unless they have been in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Zambia or Zimbabwe in the 10 days prior to their arrival in England.
The current advice for persons in the UK remains that they must stay at home and not travel abroad unless it is for a permitted exempt reason. (PR/SAT)
Editor’s Note: Reflects change in paragraph 3 to January 15.
