Travellers to UK need negative Covid test from today & ALL travel corridors suspended with Brits forced to quarantine
HUGE queues have formed at Heathrow Airport due to new travel restrictions required from all arrivals from today.
All Brits must have a negative coronavirus test to arrive back in the UK from today, as well as quarantine on arrival following the suspension of the travel corridors.
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The new restrictions were introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus, with nearly 70,000 new cases on January 8 alone, and concerns about mutant strains arriving - such as those originating in Brazil and South Africa.
Some travellers were forced to queue for 90 minutes after landing today as staff checked both the negative coronavirus tests and Passenger Locator Forms.
One passenger said it was "chaotic," adding: "I just thought it could have been handled better."
Another person : "Some people are not very happy with the wait. It was getting very hot in the immigration hall and they were giving out water."
However another traveller returning from a business trip in Dubai said that while the queues were long, it just showed "they were doing it properly".
Someone else agreed: "The checks were very thorough. Everyone had to produce the PCR test result and the locator for on. Some people had not filled out the form and went to the back of the queue."
A number of travellers from the US were banned from boarding their flight to the UK following the new rules, according to the Mail Online, over confusion regarding their coronavirus test.
Many had a lateral flow tests - allowed by the government - but were told it was not permitted.
Other arrivals were stopped at border control as their negative test results were not in English, required by the government.
The new negative test rule was originally mean to start last Friday, but was delayed after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he wanted to "give international travellers some time to prepare".
Travellers entering the UK now have to have a negative coronavirus test as of 4am today.
It means passengers arriving in England by boat, train or plane - including UK nationals - will have to test negative up to 72 hours before leaving the country of departure.
The test will be checked when passengers check-in with their airline, train company or ferry before they travel, and those who refuse won’t be allowed to continue their journeys.
Anyone caught entering the UK without a negative test will face a £500 fine, and airlines will also be fined if they are caught not checking for negative test certificates.
There are some exemptions - hauliers, children under 11, and flight and international rail crew are all exempt, along with travellers from the Common Travel Area, which includes the Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
Anyone travelling from an area that does not have the facilities in place for negative testing are also exempt for now, which includes St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, although they will be included from Thursday.
The government has also suspended all travel corridors with countries abroad from today.
This means that when returning to the UK from any country, Brits will have to quarantine.
Arrivals must quarantine for 10 days, although this can be reduced to five with a second negative coronavirus test.
The move has been introduced across all four corners of the UK, so all the rules will be the same, and there's no time limit on how long it will last for.
This will be backed by more spot checks to ensure people are remaining in self-isolation, too - and anyone caught out faces a £1,000 fine.
While holidays abroad are currently off the cards due to the UK lockdown, there were more than 50 destinations which had an air bridge with Britain.
This included some of the Greek islands, the Maldives and Barbados.
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The government is also considering new rules which would make all UK arrivals quarantine in an airport hotel, similar to the New Zealand scheme.
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Australia has a similar scheme where travellers are charged up to £2,500 to stay in a hotel room for between 14 and 24 days – the UK scheme would also be at the travellers own cost.
Holidays have been banned for Brits due to the UK lockdown since January 4, and is expected to last until at least mid-February.
