It’s likely that the requirement for travellers to take a Covid test before returning back to England will be scrapped as Plan B measures are reviewed this week.
The government is expected to assess travel rules after stricter measures were introduced in December in an effort to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.
Sources told The Times that the requirement is set to be dropped since the variant is already widespread in the UK, reducing the need for the pre-departure testing.
Under the current rules, everyone travelling to the UK has to take a PCR test or a lateral flow two days before their arrival.
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After arriving in the UK, travellers must also take a day two PCR test, and quarantine at home while waiting for the result.
The government is set to look at Plan B measures this week as well. The rules came into force in early December include wearing face masks in indoor public venues, working from home where possible and needing vaccine passports for large-scale events and venues.
It’s reported that new measures are not likely to be introduced, although Plan B rules are expected to remain in place.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Breakfast that Plan B measures would be reviewed on Wednesday, but added: “There’s nothing in the data that gives me any concern that we need to go beyond where we are at.
“There’s some really good data from London that it looks like the infection rates are plateauing, if not yet coming down. But we are seeing leakage into the over-50s in terms of infections, and it’s generally the over-50s who end up with severe infection and hospitalisation.”
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