Pre-departure Covid tests to be scrapped for double vaccinated travellers into England

[BruceM]

In the news yesterday;

 

Vaccinated travellers entering England will be subjected to lighter testing requirements as the UK government seeks to boost the travel industry ahead of state support ending this month. In an overhaul of the UK’s current “traffic light” system of travel restrictions, it will be announced later this week that people who are double vaccinated will no longer need to take a Covid-19 test before entering England. Under the new proposals, the current system will be simplified by merging the green and amber groups to form one category of countries deemed safe to travel to. A separate “no go” list of countries will require travellers to enter hotel quarantine upon arrival in England. Apparently the need for a PCR day two test is likely to be scrapped and replaced with a requirement for a lat-flow test.

 

I suspect the tedious Passenger Locator form will remain, although if that’s scrapped as well then for now travel to and from Continental Europe (well France at least) will be almost back to normal.

[Derek Uzzell]

I think the information Bruce has helpfully provided may have been derived from this Financial Times article

 

https://www.ft.com/content/495b9e50-bf08-49d7-8bbf-2a5ba8cdba5d

 

Regarding replacement of the PCR test, evidently the Telegraph mentioned this possibility 4 days ago but has more recently said

 

“...Ministers also plan to replace expensive PCR tests, which travellers have to take on day two of their arrival in the UK, with cheaper lateral flow tests, although there are fears this proposal could be derailed by last-minute objections by health chiefs.”

[hallii]

I am just back from France, the way the form filling is done ( only on line) and the byzantine PLF caused me hours of frustration. The questions are not clear, the PLF is difficult to do using a mobile phone with a doubtfull signal.

 

Then Eurotunnel wanted all the bits of information on one page with a QR code, but no one at the Tunnel could make the website let me have a download, after half an hour of trying they managed to print it off on good old paper, I missed my train because of the delay. Then, of course, no one even glanced at all the information I had.

 

I doubt I will go again until this poorly thought out PLF form is redesigned, but that may be the intention? If so it has worked on me.

 

H

[Derek Uzzell]

For what it's worth, the following link provides a 'feel' for what is currently involved in completing the Passenger Locator Form.

 

https://onemileatatime.com/uk-passenger-locator-form/

 

[Steve928]

We're off in just over a week to France + Spain and I think I've done all the pre-preparation possible.

- we both have gov.uk accounts set up with all personal information already entered to make completing the PLF easier.

- I'm taking a laptop (I do anyway) so won't be trying to complete the PLF on a phone.

- we have Day 2 PCR test kits (£43 each) to take with us, including the required reference no. for the PLF, as we won't be back home within the 72 hours following arrival in Plymouth. Hopefully those will suffice even if the requirement is reduced to lateral flow by the time we return. We'll test upon arrival and then drop them into the Randox Health dropbox on the Exeter industrial estate.

- it's a relief not to have to 'test to return' before boarding the ferry; our plan was to stay at the Somo 'RV park' and take the chugger passenger ferry into Santander to do this, which would have worked.

 

We shall see..

[BruceM]

Steve928 - 2021-09-18 4:27 PM

 

We're off in just over a week to France + Spain and I think I've done all the pre-preparation possible.

- we both have gov.uk accounts set up with all personal information already entered to make completing the PLF easier.

- I'm taking a laptop (I do anyway) so won't be trying to complete the PLF on a phone.

- we have Day 2 PCR test kits (£43 each) to take with us, including the required reference no. for the PLF, as we won't be back home within the 72 hours following arrival in Plymouth. Hopefully those will suffice even if the requirement is reduced to lateral flow by the time we return. We'll test upon arrival and then drop them into the Randox Health dropbox on the Exeter industrial estate.

- it's a relief not to have to 'test to return' before boarding the ferry; our plan was to stay at the Somo 'RV park' and take the chugger passenger ferry into Santander to do this, which would have worked.

 

We shall see..

 

Yes, that all sounds right.

 

Having done it once, now that the requirements (and costs) are being lessened, and if some of our current commitments evaporate then we’ll be heading back to France for a few weeks and a well earned holiday touring. The covid paperwork process appears daunting but in actual fact is pretty straightforward especially now that the pre departure test for inbound travellers to England is being dropped. I agree with others though that the PLF design is poorly executed and I’m unimpressed that we had to fill in a separate form for each of us rather than listing the travellers on a single form. Incidentally, I checked my covid record on the NHS app and it makes no mention of having has a Day 2 negative PCR test on return to England so I do wonder where the joined up thinking is taking place.