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UK arrivals - pre-departure, quarantine and post-arrival [currently no requirements]

Old Jun 4, 2020, 5:57 am
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Last edit by: NewbieRunner
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A reminder that this thread is about the self-isolation requirements for UK arrivals.

It is a help/Information resource for those travelling or returning to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from outside the UK. Let's concentrate on news, questions and answers that are relevant and on-topic and stay away from speculations about the spread of the virus, the performance of politicians and other topics which are more suitable for OMNI.

Please stay within these requirements to avoid issues.

LATEST UPDATES

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-t...virus-covid-19


18 March travel to the UK changes

If you will arrive in the UK from abroad after 4am, Friday 18 March, you do not need to:
  • take any COVID-19 tests before you travel or after you arrive
  • fill in a UK passenger locator form before you travel

This will apply whether you are vaccinated or not.

You also will not need to quarantine when you arrive, in line with current rules.
Other countries still have COVID-19 entry rules in place. You should check travel advice before you travel.
If you will arrive in England before 4am, 18 March, you must follow the current rules as set out in this guidance.

*****

The following historical information is retained for the time being.

The Passenger Locator Form for passengers arriving into the UK can be found here:
https://visas-immigration.service.go...r-locator-form
This can only be completed once you are within 48 hours of arrival in the UK.

Exemption list from quarantine requirements - specific details:
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...k-border-rules

England
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to England: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/582/contents (this html version is updated, but may not have the very latest updates for Statutory Instruments released in the last few days)

Test to release for England only from 15 December, see post 4776 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32841066-post4776.html

Statutory instrument for transport providers http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2.../contents/made

Scotland
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to Scotland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/169/contents (this html version is updated)

Wales
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to Wales: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2020/574/contents (this html version is updated) &
Welsh language version: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2...0200574_we.pdf

Northern Ireland
Statutory instrument https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2021/99/contents (this html version is updated)


PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR QUICK RELEASE FROM SELF-ISOLATION (based on November 28th updates)
[This section has been moved lower down in the wiki post following the change in self-isolation rule on 7th January 2022[

Any PCR test noted as a UK Government Day 2 test will be accepted for release from self isolation as soon as you get the negative result. If it is any other PCR test (eg "Fit to Fly") and not advertised specifically as a Day 2 test then it won't be valid.

This means that you can:[list]
  • Book a suitable Day 2 PCR test before you travel and use the booking reference for the test on the PLF (Passenger Locator Form).
    • On your day of arrival go to your scheduled test.
      • Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.

        Alternatively:
        • Book any Day 2 PCR test before you travel even if you do not intend to use this test, and use the booking reference for the test on the PLF to ensure entry to the UK.
          • Note that you are not strictly required to have a PCR booking before arrival, but your carrier might not know that so you run the risk of being denied boarding
          • On your day of arrival (or before end of Day 2) go to a walk-in test centre and take a different test to the one you booked.
            • Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.

        If you are leaving the UK before the end of day 2 then you do not need to take a test, but are required to self-isolate for the duration of your trip (since you do not have a negative result). Also, if you are self-isolating while waiting for a result (and hence have not been informed of a positive result and need to isolate) you may travel to leave the country.

        If you take a test and it is positive for any variant of COVID you will be required to isolate for 10 days from the date of the test.

        Whether you take a test or not you may be contacted by the UK Test and Trace system at any time if it becomes apparent that you have been in contact with another case. This is very unlikely to happen before day 3 if it is in relation to your flight to UK. Depending on the suspected / identified variant for that case and if you are fully-vaccinated by an accepted programme (see below for links to what this means and valid exemptions) :
        • Omnicron or not fully-vaccinated: You will be required to isolated for 10 days, including a bar on travel to leave the country. A negative Day 2 test does not release you from this requirement.
          • Other and fully vaccinated : You will not be required to isolate.

Test Providers for Day 2/8 tests & Day 5 Test to release
This section is for FTers to post their experience with specific providers (good or bad). Keep it brief and to the point. Please mention how the service is provided and your FT name.

DNA Workplace - Postal - Test kits arrived with me on time. Royal Mail slow for return. 5+ days for Day 2 result. #DaveS
DNA Workplace - Postal - Test kits both arrived on time, video of tests required, results by late evening Day 3 and Day 9. #TSE
ExpressTest Gatwick - Drive through - Tested early at 1000 a few times for TTR. Results came through in evening. #DaveS
NowTest - Postal - Day 2 kit arrived on time, day 8 did not. Will update with result arrival times when applicable. #wilsnunn
Collinson - Postal - Day 5 Test to Release kit arrived in time. Results and release by end of day 6. #tjcxx
CTM - Postal - Days 2/8 kits arrived together in time. Both sent results 2 days after posting. #tjcxx
Qured (Oncologica) - Postal -Day 2/8 kits arrived late. Results 3+ days from posting. #Gagravarr
Qured (Oncologica) - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived on time. Day 2 result on Day 5 and Day 8 result on Day 10 - happy customer! #EddLegll
Qured (Ocnologica) - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived on time. Day 2 result on Day 5 (after bedtime; ironically after my TTR result). #KSVVZ2015
Anglia DNA - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived early. (Both were labelled Day2). Results on Day 4 and Day 9. Cheapest on the list at the time, and good service/result. #tjcxx
Qured - Pre-flight test booked and bought through BA. Very efficient service. Highly recommended. #lhrsfo
Randox - Days 2 and 8. Booked two days before return, using BA discount. Kits already arrived on return. Slightly confusing instructions but manageable. Used Randox dropbox and results next day. Good. #lhrsfo
Randox - Day 2 (also used as pre departure test for a London to Milan flight). Used a drop box and results arrived at midnight the next day. #11101
Randox - Day 2 test centre - 2h30 queues outside the test centre in Waterloo. Results of antigen arrived 45 minutes later. #11101
Collinson - Test to Release at LHR T2. Good trip out! Very efficient service and well organised. Used BA discount. Results by end of day. Excellent. #lhrsfo
DAM - Test to Release in Fulham (they have many locations) - the cheapest fast turnaround TTR we have found. They promise 24 hours but in reality me, my wife, and my son (on different days) have received results inside of 12 hours. Very efficient staff as well. Princes outside of Central London as low as 99 GBP. Fulham is 129 GBP. #KSVVZ2015
Boots/Source Bioscience - days 2&8. Both packs sent in the same mail, waiting at the isolation address. Dropped off at postbox at 4pm, result back next day between 4 and 5 pm, very effective. Bought from Boots, 160, but same package sold directly bu Source Bioscience is just 120. Aaargh! Instructions said nasal and throat swabs, did only nasal and marked accordingly, no issues. #WilcoRoger
Collinsons/Stansted walkin TTR - test taken 1:30 pm, email with results 10:10 pm same day If the BA20OFF doesn't work (didn't work for us) there's another discount on the airport's site #WilcoRoger
Ordered Day-2 kit from Chronomics a week before our return for 18.99. Duly dispatched day we were returning to UK, so arrived on day following return. Reasonably simple process to do test and upload -ve result picture. Not sure where +ve result would have led to... #EsherFlyer
Hale Clinic testing centre (near Oxford Circus) - While not the least expensive, appoint schedules are accurate and results returned in promised timeframe. I've used the clinic for Day 2 tests (twice) and antigen test for US (once). I would def utilize again. #ecaarch
Halo at T5 (Sofitel) - Day 2 PCR spit test. Took the test 7pm, results arrived 7am the next day. No queues but a slightly awkward process to follow.

Useful data sources:

New cases per 100k - 7 days: https://covid19.who.int/table
New tests per 1000 - 7 days: https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-testing
Vaccination doses per 100: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
Sequenced samples uploaded to GISAID: https://www.gisaid.org/index.php?id=208
NHS Track & Trace data (positivity rates for arriving passengers are published every three weeks, so if you can't find the data in the current release it will be in one of the previous two) https://www.gov.uk/government/collec...weekly-reports https://assets.publishing.service.go...ut_week_50.ods
UK daily COVID data https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga...827.1594116739
Risk assessment methodology to inform international travel traffic light system
Data informing international travel traffic-light risk assessments


Testing Terminology
Notes which may assist with understanding which tests to use and with "reuse" of UK tests for other countries regulations:
  • LFT: Lateral Flow Test - A rapid antigen test using nasal / throat swab typically performed by the traveler at home, hotel, etc using simple disposable device. Usually tests the "outer shell" of the nucleus (which causes the symptoms and is reasonably stable across variants) and not the "spikes" (which allow new variants to invade more easily), so gives a positive result for many variants. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-...d_antigen_test)
  • PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction - A laboratory based test which looks at the nucleus of the virus to determine which specific variant it is. After a positive LFT test ("I have some form of COVID") a PCR test ("You have the Gamma variant") allows identification and tracking of new variants to see if they are likely to become a "variant of concern". (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerase_chain_reaction)
  • NAAT: Nucleic Acid Amplification Test - A general class of laboratory based tests which includes PCR, LAMP, etc tests. (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...b/naats.html)
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UK arrivals - pre-departure, quarantine and post-arrival [currently no requirements]

 
Old Nov 12, 2020, 2:35 am
  #4636  
 
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Originally Posted by houstr8male
Thanks for this reply and the caution from wilsnunn. I have not been able to find many recent reports regarding the e-gates. I saw one person saying they used them at T5. Any idea if they have been open consistently?
I went through the eGates at T5 last weekend with no issues at all.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 4:08 am
  #4637  
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The data today seems to be delayed, so apologies for anyone looking out for the update. I will post it up when it finally arrives.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 5:04 am
  #4638  
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We now have the data for Thursday 12 November. Again some countries, including the UK seem to have reached a high plateau, France may also be there, and the two countries which had sharp rises are now showing sharp falls, namely Belgium and the Czech Republic. Other countries such as the USA continue to climb upwards.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 7:56 am
  #4639  
 
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New research on the effectiveness of 14-Day quarantine:

On arrival passenger testing is twice as effective as 14-day quarantine at reducing Covid-19 community transmission

Summary
  • UK Government’s 14-day quarantine policy is least effective at preventing Covid-19 from entering the community, compared to all forms of passenger testing.
  • New modelling finds a single test on arrival is twice as effective as the 14-day policy with a test three days pre-departure also 44% more effective than current policy.
  • If a ‘test and release’ regime is applied, three days of quarantine is significantly more effective to minimise infectious days (by 60%) compared to ‘test and release’ after five days (53%) or seven days (45%).
  • Innovative modelling by Oxera and Edge Health takes account of quarantine non-compliance evidence to analyse the effectiveness of passenger testing versus 14-day quarantine and introduces an improved measurement of risk of community transmission – the number of ‘infectious days screened’.
  • When quarantine compliance, which is particularly low amongst asymptomatic individuals, is taken into account, the 14-day policy reduces the number of ‘infectious days’ that an individual is in the community by just 25%.

[...]

The new analysis follows a Public Health England (PHE) paper which underpins the Government’s policymaking, which assumes 100% compliance to 14-day quarantine. However a recent study[2], which is consistent with SAGE’s own findings[3], shows that just 71% of symptomatic individuals may be following the rules, falling to as low as 28% for asymptomatic individuals. Another study finds that compliance may be as low as 18%, even when individuals present Covid-19 symptoms[4].
Read the rest:
https://www.oxera.com/on-arrival-pas...-testing#_ftn2

Last edited by NewbieRunner; Nov 12, 2020 at 8:45 am Reason: Font size
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 8:42 am
  #4640  
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13-day COVID-19 case notification rate per 100 000, weeks 44-45 (ECDC - map produced on 12 November 2020)






Geographic distribution of 14-day cumulative number of reported COVID-19 cases per 100 000 population, worldwide, as of 12 November, 2020

Last edited by NewbieRunner; Nov 12, 2020 at 1:24 pm Reason: 13 days rather than 14 days
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 9:18 am
  #4641  
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
.... And then today Greece went over 200 cases (a big rise there) which is the unofficial trigger point for losing travel corridor exemption. As an aside, note the big rise in the USA today too.
Back in the summer the trigger point was 20 or so, and now it is 200, talking about dropping the standards 10x...
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 9:21 am
  #4642  
 
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Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
13-day COVID-19 case notification rate per 100 000, weeks 44-45 (ECDC - map produced on 12 November 2020)



Another scale change needed for Europe I see.

Last edited by NewbieRunner; Nov 12, 2020 at 1:25 pm Reason: Removed world map
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 10:06 am
  #4643  
 
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Fair few added today...

Travel Corridor Update: BAHRAIN, CHILE, ICELAND, CAMBODIA, LAOS, UAE, QATAR and TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS have been ADDED to the #TravelCorridor list.


The travel ban on DENMARK will also be EXTENDED for a further 14 days. A reminder that under the current restrictions, travel outside of the home, with the exception of a limited number of reasons including work or education, is not permitted.


Latest data also means we have to REMOVE all of GREECE apart from Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos from the #TravelCorridor list. From 4am Saturday 14th November, if you arrive into the UK from this destination you will need to self-isolate.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 1:40 pm
  #4644  
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Originally Posted by Dan1113
Another scale change needed for Europe I see.
The latest figures for Europe only cover 13 days rather than 14 days as before!

Colour categories have changed in recent weeks as follows:







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Old Nov 12, 2020, 6:09 pm
  #4645  
 
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Originally Posted by 13901
New research on the effectiveness of 14-Day quarantine:

Read the rest:
https://www.oxera.com/on-arrival-pas...-testing#_ftn2
Calling Mr Shapps and the Global Travel TaskForce. Read please!
The sad thing is much of the above insight was known back in July and flagged here through August.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 11:55 pm
  #4646  
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Originally Posted by 13901
New research on the effectiveness of 14-Day quarantine:

Read the rest:
https://www.oxera.com/on-arrival-pas...-testing#_ftn2
I don't think such a policy paper belongs ITT. But seeing moderators posted right after you, I've got to assume moderation is okay with this. Consequently, it is only fair one should be able to present a counter-argument.

A recent paper in Nature entitled "Mobility network models of COVID-19 explain inequities and inform reopening" uses cell phone data on 98 million Americans to study how human mobility affects the virus spread. They conclude that superspreader events drive the spread which occur predominantly at hotels, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and houses of worship.

When people travel, they visit hotels, restaurants, cafes, and perhaps even gyms disproportionally much. And what do quarantines do? They prevent many people from traveling in the first place! The quoted Oxera study is hugely flawed from a methodological perspective because it merely focuses on those that do travel. How can the study ignore the channel of people deciding not to travel due to quarantine regulation which reduces mobility and hence the spread of the virus?
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Old Nov 13, 2020, 12:41 am
  #4647  
 
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Originally Posted by 13901
Any idea of when Joe Public might get a glimpse of the plan?
Friday 20th.
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Old Nov 13, 2020, 1:21 am
  #4648  
 
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Originally Posted by funkydrummer
I don't think such a policy paper belongs ITT. But seeing moderators posted right after you, I've got to assume moderation is okay with this. Consequently, it is only fair one should be able to present a counter-argument.

A recent paper in Nature entitled "Mobility network models of COVID-19 explain inequities and inform reopening" uses cell phone data on 98 million Americans to study how human mobility affects the virus spread. They conclude that superspreader events drive the spread which occur predominantly at hotels, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and houses of worship.

When people travel, they visit hotels, restaurants, cafes, and perhaps even gyms disproportionally much. And what do quarantines do? They prevent many people from traveling in the first place! The quoted Oxera study is hugely flawed from a methodological perspective because it merely focuses on those that do travel. How can the study ignore the channel of people deciding not to travel due to quarantine regulation which reduces mobility and hence the spread of the virus?
The purpose of the paper - which I will admit, is a partisan one - is to show that a 14-day self-isolation like the UK one does not work. It's not respected (and PHE too admits that), it's not enforced, it's not adhered to. I mean, I'm self-isolating right now (three days to go, yay!) after a brief visit to Europe where I by the way got a test on arrival (negative). No one has checked my PLF, no one has contacted me and the members of my household don't have to self-isolate! How senseless is that?

And indeed despite self-isolation the UK has more than a million cases and 50,000 deaths. Germany, which had a more intelligent approach, doesn't. To me it comes to show that in handling this pandemic it pays to use science, intelligence and organisation instead of blunt tools and conflicting messages.

I don't want to drag this into OMNI territory, and I'm not a Covid denier. I simply am not. But it is high time that we all start figuring out ways to unfreeze society. By my reckoning, between 40 and 60,000 jobs have been lost in the UK air transport & aerospace industries; airport cities like Crawley have, according to the BBC, 40% of their population on furlough. There are ways beyond the self-isolation to give this industry some breathing space and, at the same time, enhance public safety. Because it's bloody well clear that the self isolation isn't working. And the same applies to a lot of other sectors (for instance, I'm told that my local NHS trust is no longer doing breast cancer prevention screenings due to Covid, which is dangerous), but I'm going off on a tangent here.
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Old Nov 13, 2020, 3:12 am
  #4649  
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A bit early today for the Friday figures. Unfortunately there was a big jump in the UK figures yesterday, we don't know the exact cause of this yet but we will in a day or two. France has stabilised, Belgium is still above 1000 really, but nevertheless well down on the 1800 peak it reached last week. Netherlands is also well down from their peak. Greece is now orange since shortly it will be just the nominated islands that will have a travel corridor and will thereby be exempt from self isolation. But it makes this chart as constructed not really serving much value from a travel practicality aspect. Iceland, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain's inclusion on the travel corridors does have a vaiue however.
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Old Nov 13, 2020, 4:54 am
  #4650  
 
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
A bit early today for the Friday figures. Unfortunately there was a big jump in the UK figures yesterday, we don't know the exact cause of this yet but we will in a day or two. France has stabilised, Belgium is still above 1000 really, but nevertheless well down on the 1800 peak it reached last week. Netherlands is also well down from their peak. Greece is now orange since shortly it will be just the nominated islands that will have a travel corridor and will thereby be exempt from self isolation. But it makes this chart as constructed not really serving much value from a travel practicality aspect. Iceland, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain's inclusion on the travel corridors does have a vaiue however.
Could it be linked to the Liverpool testing?
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