UK to end all COVID-19 travel rules ahead of Easter break

Britain says all remaining coronavirus measures for travelers, including passenger locator forms and the requirement for unvaccinated people be tested for COVID-19 before and after their arrivals, will end Friday

Virus Outbreak Britain (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Britain's government said Monday all remaining coronavirus measures for travelers, including passenger locator forms and the requirement that unvaccinated people be tested for COVID-19 before and after their arrivals, will end Friday to make going on holiday easier for the Easter school vacation.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes will mean people “can travel just like in the good old days.”

The passenger locator forms require people to fill in travel details, their address in the U.K. and their vaccination status.

The announcement came as coronavirus infections were rising in all four parts of the U.K. — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — for the first time since the end of January. The number of hospital patients with COVID-19 is also going up. Scientists say many of the new infections in England were a more transmissible sub-variant of the omicron variant.

“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants, and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe," Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.

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