UK closes travel corridors; arrivals need negative test

Bloomberg

The UK said it will close its travel corridors with countries around the world, meaning all visitors from overseas will require a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of travel to enter Britain.
Visitors may be checked when they arrive in the UK and could face substantial fines if they don’t comply, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a televised press briefing. The new rules will come into force at
4 am on Monday local time.
“We will be stepping up our enforcement both at the border and in country,” Johnson said.
The latest restrictions are another hit to an airline industry that has been battered by the pandemic for almost a full year. Carriers have essentially written off the first quarter and are focused on a recovery built around vaccinations taking place during the summer.
While the measures are understandable, “this adds to the current near-complete shutdown of the UK’s airports, which are vital for our post-pandemic prosperity,” Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said in an email. “This is making a devastating situation for UK airports, and communities relying on the jobs and economic benefits that aviation brings, worse.”
The countries where visitors could previously arrive in
the UK without needing to quarantine on arrival included
Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, and Norway. Now, arrivals will have to self-isolate for 10 days, though this can be cut short if they test negative after five days under the UK’s test-release program. The measures will be in place at until at least February 15.