England
Travel restrictions
From June 8th, 2020, individuals arriving in the UK must self-isolate for 14 days and may be contacted to verify compliance. New arrivals will be required to provide UK officials with contact and travel information upon arrival. Anyone failing to complete the information form or adhere to the new policy may be denied UK entry or be subject to fines. For complete details, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control
From July 10th, 2020, passengers arriving to England by air, land, or sea from a number of “travel corridor” countries do not need to self-isolate so long as they have only visited the listed countries in the past 14 days. Note that these rules apply to England only. For the list of designated travel corridor countries, visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors
As of July 10th 2020, passengers arriving to Wales by air, land, or sea from a number of “travel corridor” countries do not need to self-isolate so long as they have only visited the listed countries in the past 14 days. Note that these rules apply to Wales only. For the list of designated travel corridor countries, visit: https://gov.wales/written-statement-international-travel-regulations
Passengers arriving to Scotland by air, land, or sea from travel corridor countries do not need to self-isolate so long as they have only visited the listed countries in the past 14 days. Note that these rules apply to Scotland only.
For the list of designated travel corridor countries, visit: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-checks-at-borders/pages/exemptions/
Passenger locator forms are required in England even if you are arriving from a travel corridor country. You may be denied UK entry or fined £100 if you refuse to provide your contact details and £1,000 if you refuse to self-isolate, or you may face further action.
You may be denied UK entry (Wales) or fined £1,920 if you refuse to provide your contact details and £1,000 if you refuse to self-isolate, or you may face further action.
Beginning January 15th 2021, all persons (with limited exemptions) arriving in the UK by ship, plane or train will have to take a test up to three days (72 hours) before departure and provide evidence of a negative result before they travel.
Travellers are permitted to enter the UK as long as they are not travelling from a red-list country:
- For England, consult the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england
- For Scotland, consult the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-quarantine/
- For Wales, consult the following link: https://gov.wales/arriving-wales-overseas
From March 8th 2021, UK citizens/residents travelling abroad will need to carry a new form stating that their trip is permitted under UK national lockdown rules.
From March 29th 2021, anyone in England attempting to travel abroad without a ‘reasonable excuse’ will be subject to a £5000 fine.
Measures taken by the government
On May 10th 2020, UK Prime Minister Johnson addressed the public and announced a three-step plan to reopen society based on the reproduction and infection rates of COVID-19.
In step three, no earlier than July and subject to conditions and further scientific advice, the UK government may re-open at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places, provided they are safe and enforce social distancing.
As of June 15th 2020, all travelers must wear face covering on public transport and on aircraft. Passengers using taxis and private hire vehicles should also use a face covering for the duration of their journey.
The United Kingdom announced new restrictions on November 23rd 2020, set to begin on December 2nd. Please see the following link for updated guidance on local and national restrictions and quarantine procedures: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-local-restrictions
Since December 2nd 2020 the UK is using a tier system to determine local restrictions:
Tier 1: Medium alert
Tier 2: High alert
Tier 3: Very High alert
Tier 4: Stay at Home
Starting December 2nd 2020, the following restrictions apply across all tiers:
- Mandatory face covering in most indoor public settings, unless they have an exemption
- Follow the rules on meeting others safely
- Each person must follow the gathering limits at their tier except for in specific settings and circumstances.
On January 4th 2021, new restrictions and a national lockdown for the United Kingdom began.
Please see the link below for updated guidance on local and national restrictions and quarantine procedures:
- For England, visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know
- For Scotland, visit https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
- For Wales, visit https://gov.wales/coronavirus
Testing
If you are not a part of the National Healthcare System, you will need to seek a private clinic for testing. Testing may cost anywhere from £40 – £500 depending on where you are tested and the type of test you take. COVID-19 tests differ in the amount of time they take to get results (from 45 minutes to 48 hours).
For testing at Heathrow, please visit the Heathrow Airport COVID-19 testing site: https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/fly-safe/covid-19-test
DO NOT travel to Heathrow Airport if you are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 or are feeling unwell.
Some local laboratories are (this is not an exhaustive list of every facility performing COVID tests in the UK): Concepto Clinic, Corona Test Center, Harley Medic International, The London Clinic, The London General Practice, PExpo Diagnostics, Private Coronavirus Tests, The Private Harley Street Clinic & TDL Pathology.
In Scotland, private testing is available at a number of facilities: Edinburgh Airport, Newington Pharmacy, Glasgow Medical Rooms & Hawkes Health.
Emergency number (related to COVID-19) while visiting the country
In Wales call 111 (if available in your area) or 0845 46 47
Source:
US Embassy in the UK https://uk.usembassy.gov/covid-19-coronavirus-information/
Published on May 25th 2021 (checked on June 9th 2021)
For more information please visit our COVID-19 Updates page at https://www.hiddentrails.com/article/covid19update.aspx