Ming Inspector Yang remains
At a glance
● Online news that "the UK will cancel the nucleic acid testing requirement before boarding the plane from January 7" is a misleading interpretation of the new regulations of the British government. This applies only to fully vaccinated travellers and the policies of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Territories Governments on arrivals are slightly different from those in England and cannot be generalized.
● After December 15 last year, the British government emptied the "red list" countries. The "Red List" is updated every 3 weeks, with the next update after 1 week. Travelers passing through "Red List" countries will face strict immigration checks.
Event background
Recently, a screenshot circulated in the WeChat group, saying that "the United Kingdom canceled the nucleic acid testing requirement before boarding the plane for entry personnel from January 7, because The Omicron has spread all over the country, and it is the same whether it is done or not", "After entering the country, the nucleic acid PCR requirement can be changed to a cheap and convenient LFT".
Nucleic acid testing, also known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), requires a sample from a nasopharyngeal swab to determine whether the test subject is infected with the virus by detecting the presence of new coronavirus RNA genetic material. The lateral flow test (LFT) works by looking for proteins specific to the surface of the virus. Lateral flow detection is simpler and requires no laboratory analysis than nucleic acid testing, so it is more efficient and less expensive.
Mingcha
Using the wayback machine to look at government regulations before January 7, you can see that there are indeed traces of online transmissions. On January 5, the UK government (gov.uk) webpage stated that "if you are eligible to travel to England and will arrive in England after 4am on Friday, January 7, you do not need to: get tested for COVID-19 before travelling to England; quarantine after arriving in England." ”
There are two key points in this message that deserve the reader's special attention, namely "England", and "full vaccination". In other words, the new rule refers only to England in the UK, not to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; in addition, unvaccinated travellers are still subject to pre-departure testing and may face post-entry quarantine.
It can be seen that online messages have a certain basis, but their scope of application is limited and should not be extended to all situations, so it is misleading information.
The UK is made up of four regions, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the local governments have some slight differences in the policies for entering and pre-landing COVID-19 testing, but they are generally similar.
First, the UK government's "red list of countries and territories" policy applies equally to all four of its territories. The UK government has listed countries with higher COVID-19 risk factors, based on the recommendations of the Joint Centre for Biosafety, where travellers from these countries will face stricter restrictions when entering the country.
According to The Times, the UK government first introduced the policy in February 2021. In the initial iteration, much of South and Central America, as well as much of Southern Africa, was included on the "Red List." The "Red List" is mobile and is updated every 3 weeks, with the next update time being after 1 week. In the October 28 version last year, the "Red List" was cleared for the first time; at the end of November, a small number of countries in southern and central Africa were rejoined on the "Red List" in response to the impact of the new variant, TheOmilon.
Only (a) British/Irish citizens, or (b) persons with UK residency may enter the UK from a "red list" country.
On December 14 last year, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the "red list" would be emptied again from the next day, but at the same time, Shapps also said that it was possible to "impose new restrictions to protect public health" if necessary.
According to the UK government's official website, travellers who pass through within 10 days or from "red list" countries must be British or Irish citizens, or have UK residency, before they can be allowed to enter. In addition, passengers are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of boarding to enter England from 7 airport ports approved by the government. The seven airports include Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Bristol, Farnborough, and Biggin Hill. Upon entry, travelers are required to self-isolate at a government-approved hotel for 10 days and undergo two tests during that time.
Second, all four places in the UK distinguish between entry requirements based on the vaccination status of travellers. The four governments agree on a definition of "full vaccination". "Full vaccination" refers to the completion of the last dose of the specified vaccine and the past 14 days. At present, there are 8 vaccines recognized by the British government, namely Covaxin, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson Janssen, Novavax, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, and two Chinese vaccines, Koxing and Sinopharm.
Passengers who have not completed vaccination will still be required to provide a negative test report before the flight, and will be placed under stricter control after entry. This is the same in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. In England, for example, unvaccinated travelers are subjected to more complex and sensitive nucleic acid tests than lateral movement before and after entry.
Entry requirements for unvaccinated travellers in England
Only fully vaccinated travellers from countries not on the "red list" can enjoy the relaxed entry conditions in the online message.
The Welsh Government's requirement to be exempt from pre-departure testing states that travellers must meet one of these conditions: (a) be from within the UK or the British Overseas Territories, (b) be fully vaccinated, (c) be under 18 years of age, (d) have exceptional medical circumstances, or (e) practise certain special occupations.
According to a number of media reports, due to the shortage of new crown testing reagents worldwide, there has been a shortage of nucleic acid detection kits and horizontal flow test kits across the UK.
On December 13 last year, the BBC reported that some users who had ordered lateral flow tests online had sold out reagents. The article quoted Sudhir Sehrawat, a pharmacist at The Lakeside Pharmacy in Cardiff, as saying that some pharmacies are limited to ordering only 54 tests a day, "but 54 reagents are sold out in an hour." "Due to the high demand, the Welsh Government encourages people to use up the lateral flow test kits they already have at home before ordering more."
Screenshot of a BBC report.
In an article published on December 29 last year, British media outlet ITV said that people's requirements for COVID-19 tests have increased significantly during the Christmas season. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it provided 900,000 test kits a day during the holidays, twice as many as on December 18. Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced on 29 December that Scotland would prioritize testing of public service workers due to supply and production pressures.
In summary, the online news that "the UK will cancel the nucleic acid testing requirements before boarding the plane from January 7" is a misleading interpretation of the new regulations of the British government. This applies only to fully vaccinated travellers and the policies of the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on arrivals are slightly different from those in England and cannot be generalized. After December 15 last year, the British government emptied the "red list" countries, and the "red list" will be updated again in a week. Travelers passing through "Red List" countries will face strict immigration checks.
Senior Editor of this issue Xing Tan