Wales and Northern Ireland to ease travel and testing rules
Will PayneThe governments of Wales and Northern Ireland have confirmed both countries will align with the rest of the UK on their travel and testing rules.
The move will guarantee a four-nations approach to the new rules, outlined by UK transport secretary Grant Shapps on Monday (24 January). This includes from 11 February scrapping Day 2 testing for fully vaccinated arrivals, and self-isolation for those who are not fully vaccinated. Their quarantine requirement will be replaced with a testing requirement.
Welsh ministers have also, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, stopped advising people not to go on foreign holidays. In a statement, first minister Mark Drakeford said the change was due to the Omicron wave waning and high vaccination rates. "We will no longer advise people to only travel overseas if their journey is essential," he said.
"As we move beyond the Omicron wave of Covid-19 we will also see a greater opportunity for individuals to return to making decisions based on their own circumstances. On that basis, and because of the vaccination success set out above, we will no longer advise people to only travel overseas if their journey is essential."
Drakeford criticised the UK government’s move to relax testing rules for returning travellers, but said the "practical difficulties" of taking a different approach in Wales means ministers here are "reluctantly retaining alignment" with the decisions.
From 11 February, fully vaccinated travellers returning to Wales will no longer have to take a Covid test in the two days following their arrival. On Monday, the Scottish government also pledged to bring its travel restrictions into alignment with those laid out by the UK government.
In a statement on Tuesday (25 January), the Northern Ireland executive confirmed it would take the same action as Wales and Scotland. "The Department of Health has confirmed the removal of a number of travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers arriving into Northern Ireland," it read.
"From 4am on 11 February, fully vaccinated travellers arriving from non-red-list countries will only have to complete a UK passenger locator form with no additional requirement for testing or isolation.
"Individuals who are not fully vaccinated will be required to complete a UK passenger locator form, take a pre-departure test 48 hours before arriving into Northern Ireland and book and pay for a Day 2 PCR test. These individuals will only be required to self-isolate if they test positive following the Day 2 PCR test."
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