Covid travel restrictions return – the new rules explained

Covid travel restrictions are back. From 5 January, all travelers traveling to the UK from mainland China will be required to provide a negative test result before being allowed to board a flight. It is not clear what tests will be accepted, but previous policy allowed lateral flow/rapid antigen testing and the more reliable and costly PCR testing.

Additionally, travelers arriving directly from China may be subject to a second screening upon arrival.

The government announced the measures on Friday night – a day after it said it had no plans to reintroduce Covid tests.

What exactly is the government proposing and why?

From 5 January onwards, passengers arriving in the UK from mainland China, excluding Hong Kong, will be required to undergo a Covid-19 test at least two days before departure and present a negative result to airline staff at check-in.

Currently, it is the only flight from mainland China to London Heathrow, but we will be applying the restrictions across the UK.

After landing, passengers may be randomly selected for a second round of testing “to strengthen existing measures to monitor for new subspecies.”

Since China abandoned its “Covid zero” policy, the virus has spread very quickly across the People’s Republic. Beijing plans to ease border restrictions next week to allow more citizens to leave.

The UK government is concerned that the sudden change will increase the risk of a dangerous variant arriving. This concern is shared by Italy, the United States, Japan and a growing number of other countries that have introduced testing requirements.

Aren’t we told Covid restrictions are over?

yes. Last March, then-Secretary of Transport Grant Shaps said the UK was “leading the world in removing all remaining Covid travel restrictions”, thereby “keeping international travel moving.” ” he said.

The government said it would “maintain a set of emergency measures in reserve” but would only deploy them “in extreme circumstances” to slow future harmful variants of Covid entering the UK should the need arise.

On Thursday, the government stressed to me:

But now, Secretary of Transportation Mark Harper claims:

Why only China when so many other countries are experiencing high levels of Covid?

Covid has hit China, and the Beijing government plans to ease border restrictions next week to allow more citizens to leave.

Ministers here said travel restrictions “could circumvent the immune response in people who were already vaccinated, or could successfully defeat other subspecies and spread internationally,” the epidemic in China. It states that it is necessary to detect “new variants that may be

They are concerned that they say Beijing is unwilling to share data on the spread of the virus. It said it would review the measures “if information sharing and transparency improve”.

Are many people arriving in the UK from China?

No. His six direct flights with 1,795 seats are due to arrive in the UK from China within the next week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Planes arrive from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao. If you put that into perspective, 10 times more people come alone from New York every day.

However, with Cathay Pacific and British Airways operating three daily flights from Hong Kong to London Heathrow, it is not clear whether people traveling to Hong Kong from other parts of China will face a challenge.

Many passengers between China and the UK are traveling across the Gulf, especially via Dubai and Doha, and it is unclear if they will be checked.

What happens next if an arrival from China tests positive for Covid?

The UK Health and Security Agency began monitoring from Sunday 8 January, with randomly selected arrivals from mainland China being tested for Covid at the airport.

The government said: “All positive samples will be sent for sequencing.”

However, at this stage, there is no indication that Covid-infected arrivals will need to enter self-isolation or hotel quarantine. This is what positive cases arriving in Japan from China should do.

What do scientists say?

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor, Health and Security UK, said:

But she said there was no evidence of a potentially harmful variant in circulation.

“Evidence suggests that the recent rise in cases in China is not due to the emergence of new Covid-19 variants, but due to a decline in natural immunity and reduced intake of vaccines, including boosters.

Ahead of the ban’s announcement, Christina Pagel, a professor of operational research at University College London, said the situation in China “has great potential for mutations and new subspecies to emerge.” rice field.

But Professor Pagel, a member of the Independent Sage group of scientists, said: Subspecies spread across borders and can appear anywhere. ”

She said that for travel restrictions to be effective, a negative PCR test would be required for everyone flying to the UK from anywhere in the world.

After the move was announced, Adam Kucharsky, co-director of the Center for Epidemic Prevention and Response, said: This also means that you are less likely to test positive. “

How did the travel industry react to this move?

Partly accompanied by anger. China is very important for global tourism and business travel. Before the pandemic, it accounted for one-fifth of all international spending. The travel industry hoped that the number of Chinese traveling abroad would increase rapidly as the economy recovered.

Business Travel Association CEO Clive Ratten called the move “a blow to the entire travel industry” and a “huge setback to customer and business confidence.” He said Britain may be “stepping back towards an isolated island”.

However, PC Agency CEO Paul Charles said: It will also buy time for the UK government to gather more information and assess the extent of his Covid in the country.

“This measure will help prevent future more widespread measures that would damage travel as a whole.”

Could Covid testing spread?

It’s clearly a possibility. China is a special case with a huge population with very high Covid infections and a lack of openness from health authorities.

But following the government’s swift U-turn on China, pressure to re-extend controls if other countries are perceived to pose a threat due to high infection levels or fear of dangerous subspecies. It may take

The World Health Organization claims that: