Compulsory Covid PCR tests for arrivals to UK starts tomorrow

The introduction of compulsory Covid PCR tests for everyone arriving in the UK was announced by Boris Johnson on Saturday, has been welcomed by scientists as a way of buying time to learn more about the Omicron variant.

There are now 10 countries on the government’s red list for travel, which means arrivals from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia will have to quarantine for 10 days.

The government’s statement says: “All travellers arriving into the country from 4am on Tuesday 30 November will be required to take a PCR test on or before day 2 and self isolate until they have received a negative test result. These PCR tests can be purchased from private providers. Free NHS tests are not valid for this purpose.”

New measures also mean that starting tomorrow “face coverings will be compulsory in shops and other settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as on public transport unless individuals are exempt from doing so…”