London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

UK To Ease English Covid Travel Curbs As Infections Hit All-Time High

UK To Ease English Covid Travel Curbs As Infections Hit All-Time High

"Now Omicron is so prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases, while continuing to pose significant costs on our travel industry," Boris Johnson said.

The UK government announced changes Wednesday to Covid travel rules for England, scrapping the need for visitors to have pre-departure tests and quarantine on arrival until they have tested negative.

The new arrangements under which arrivals will be able to take a lateral flow in the first two days after travel rather than a more expensive PCR test come as official data showed one in 15 people in England were infected with coronavirus in the last week of 2021.

The UK, already among the worst hit countries in Europe by the pandemic with virus deaths of nearly 150,000, has seen a fresh surge in cases due to the arrival of the Omicron variant in late November.

Updating lawmakers after daily case numbers crossed the 200,000 threshold in recent days, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said travel curbs beefed up last month to contain the strain were now ineffective.

"Now Omicron is so prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases, while continuing to pose significant costs on our travel industry," he told MPs.

"So I can announce that in England from 4:00 am (0400 GMT) on Friday we will be scrapping the pre-departure test, which discourages many from travelling...."

PM Johnson noted only those testing positive on lateral flow devices would be required to then do a further PCR test "to help us identify any new variants at the border".

However, he also announced testing rules for the general population in England without symptoms would be eased to help mitigate the fallout from the record infection levels.

Asymptomatic people who test positive will no longer require a confirmatory PCR test from January 11.

Instead, those who receive a positive result on a lateral flow device will be required to self-isolate immediately, without getting the PCR confirmation.

A similar system will be rolled out in Scotland and Wales from Thursday.

 'Balanced approach'


The Office for National Statistics (ONS) earlier released its latest infection survey, showing more than one in 20 people had Covid-19 in the week ending December 31 in Britain -- its highest infection rate recorded during the pandemic.

An estimated 3.7 million people had the virus, up from 2.3 million the previous week, according to the ONS, which is seen as one of the most reliable counts as it randomly samples the population.

The unprecedented levels were highest in London where as many as one in 10 people had it.

"#COVID19 infection rates continued to increase across all age groups in England... with the highest rates still seen in school age children and young adults," the ONS said.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where devolved governments have reimposed some restrictions in recent weeks, rates were slightly lower at between one in 20 and one in 25 people.

Despite the unprecedented numbers, Johnson has opted not to introduce tougher restrictions in England, arguing the rising levels of hospitalisations and serious illness do not yet require more measures.

He has instead turned to so-called "plan B" measures -- mandating mask-wearing in most settings and advising people to work from home if possible -- while ramping up the vaccine booster programme.

It has seen nearly 60 percent of over-12s so far get a third dose.

"This government does not believe we need to shut down our country again," he told MPs.

"Instead we are taking a balanced approach, using the protection of the boosters and the Plan B measures to reduce the spread of the virus,"

But other UK regions have tightened rules, with devolved governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast all rolling out post-Christmas curbs on socialising and large events.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday the measures there, which have included closing nightclubs and limiting the size of gatherings, would remain in place until at least mid-January.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
×