Jun 4, 2020, 5:57 am
Last edit by: NewbieRunner
Mod note on thread engagement:
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.
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.
- 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.
- Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.
- On your day of arrival go to your scheduled test.
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)
UK arrivals - pre-departure, quarantine and post-arrival [currently no requirements]
Aug 19, 2020, 1:54 am
#3211
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
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Posts: 30,535
Regardless of whether your confidence is justified, I think that this particular figure is simply down to the fact that I doubt many Germans are heading to the UK for either family reunion or holidays. You don't see Sweden or Russia in the table either, but that's simply because Germans are not really travel there at the moment.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:04 am
#3212
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,252
Regardless of whether your confidence is justified, I think that this particular figure is simply down to the fact that I doubt many Germans are heading to the UK for either family reunion or holidays. You don't see Sweden or Russia in the table either, but that's simply because Germans are not really travel there at the moment.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:10 am
#3213
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programs: KL Gold, SQ KF Gold, CX Green
Posts: 9,407
There are multiple daily frequencies to FRA from a range of UK cities (LHR, MAN, BHX) plus daily direct flights to DUS, MUC, etc. as there have been throughout most of the crisis, in contrast there are currently no direct flights between Germany and Russia that I'm aware of. I imagine the travel volumes between the Germany and the UK are a multiple of those between Germany and Russia currently. Sweden may be a fairer comparison, but I still imagine there is a lot more Germany-UK travel going on currently.
Dutch authorities announced yesterday that 68% of infections can be traced back to family gatherings and gatherings with friends in private settings. And in Amsterdam, there are significantly more infections in poorer neighbourhoods with 1) more immigrants; 2) smaller houses; and 3) larger family units compared to native Dutch.
The authorities recommended (they cannot force it) that gatherings at home are limited to at most 6 people.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:14 am
#3214
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,535
There are multiple daily frequencies to FRA from a range of UK cities (LHR, MAN, BHX) plus daily direct flights to DUS, MUC, etc. as there have been throughout most of the crisis, in contrast there are currently no direct flights between Germany and Russia that I'm aware of. I imagine the travel volumes between Germany and the UK are a multiple of those between Germany and Russia currently. Sweden may be a fairer comparison, but I still imagine there is a lot more Germany-UK travel going on currently.
Don't take me wrong, I'm not suggesting no movement, but it is simply a matter of proportions - let me return the question: do you think that as many German tourists are planning their summer break in the UK as in, say, Spain or Croatia? And do you think that there is as much reunion travel of people living in Germany going to spend 2 weeks or a month with the family in the UK as in, say, Turkey or Romania? If you do not think so either, that is merely the point I was making.
Incidentally, to go back to franksnorge's point, I'd expect some of those numbers to keep increasing in the next couple of weeks. If, as I was suggesting, family reunion travel is particularly vulnerable here, I dare say that family stays are often far longer than tourism stays (both because of the nature of what is involved and because it often means no accommodation costs), so I'd expect large numbers of family visits to still be ongoing till the end of August...
Aug 19, 2020, 2:16 am
#3215
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
Well I was struggling to find other examples of ham-fisted, potentially counterproductive approaches to a problem that weren't too political.
My reason for citing HK, Germany or Italy is that they are approaching overseas contagions with intelligence, by using testing. I could add Iceland, to an extent Hungary even though I think their method for defining red-amber-green countries is absolutely mental. In the specific point of ensuring continental travel, or travel to/from countries with a medium level of contagion or big regional swings, the UK's approach is a one-size-fits-all that you can't possibly define as flexible. Sure you can enter the UK, but the 14-day limit is effectively making it impossible for all but a tiny minority of people. And similarly for going out. If there were no alternatives then I'd be in for the quarantine. I was in way back in March, in April, in May... when we had genuine worries with the NHS, worries on readiness, worries on testing capabilities. Now, that the situation is improved - at least in terms of kit and knowledge - there should be nuances, otherwise what's the plan? Keep everything closed down until AstraZeneca comes to the rescue like Bruce Willis in Armageddon? And what if they don't?
Mostly, your choice of counter-examples is a bit confusing because I think it would be very hard to make the argument that Hong Kong or to an extent Germany and Italy have less "radical" than the UK in their approach. I may be wrong (brunos will confirm) but I thought Hong Kong had a very strict regime of discouraging leisure travel + mandatory testing + mandatory quarantine in Government facilities, so in many ways, a lot stricter than the UK. Germany and Italy, like much of the Schengen area have gone for an almost complete ban of all travel originating from outside Europe except for citizens and residents returning home (essentially from having lived abroad). There is more of a tendency to take EU+ as a single territory bar explicit exemptions or testing requirements with which I very much sympathise personally, but I don't think that would be enough to consider it more flexible than the UK, which, effectively, allows arrivals from absolutely anywhere suggest to largely self-enforced quarantine.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:17 am
#3216
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,252
The difference are the family reunions. Relatively few of them in UK - Germany travel, loads of them in Kosovo - Germany and Turkey - Germany travel.
Dutch authorities announced yesterday that 68% of infections can be traced back to family gatherings and gatherings with friends in private settings. And in Amsterdam, there are significantly more infections in poorer neighbourhoods with 1) more immigrants; 2) smaller houses; and 3) larger family units compared to native Dutch.
The authorities recommended (they cannot force it) that gatherings at home are limited to at most 6 people.
Dutch authorities announced yesterday that 68% of infections can be traced back to family gatherings and gatherings with friends in private settings. And in Amsterdam, there are significantly more infections in poorer neighbourhoods with 1) more immigrants; 2) smaller houses; and 3) larger family units compared to native Dutch.
The authorities recommended (they cannot force it) that gatherings at home are limited to at most 6 people.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:26 am
#3217
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programs: KL Gold, SQ KF Gold, CX Green
Posts: 9,407
I get this point and I agree family reunions are a major contributor, both you and @orbitmic are arguing against something I haven't said. There are also several arrival points on that list where tourism, not family reunions, is the major driver - Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, etc.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:29 am
#3218
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
Reducing 14 to 10 seems silly really. Most places are either doing just a test on arrival to 'avoid' the quarantine or at day 5. Day 5 catches nearly all of them so if it was day 0+5, I could live with that, but day 10 isn't of much use IMO. 10 days is the full quarantine - without testing! - in Switzerland and Norway in the first place.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:37 am
#3219
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
In other news, I assume that the Baltics and others like Slovenia and Slovakia have shut their doors on the UK already due to our higher cases.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:44 am
#3220
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,754
Italy and Croatia are nr. 5 and 6, respectively in the list of countries of origin of foreigners living in Germany.
https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/...ml?nn=13490888 (this is a link to the daily reports published by RKI)
They do make some comments about the age group of the cases from different countries:
Table 5 lists the top 15 countries most frequently reported as the probable place of infection in weeks 30 to 33. The Western Balkan countries, as well as Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Romania and Poland were most frequently reported as the country of exposure. When looking at the different age groups (not shown), it is noticeable that among the cases with information on Kosovo and Turkey, children and middle-aged persons are more likely to be affected, which indicates possible travel within the family group. On the other hand, in the cases with probable country of infection Spain and Croatia, persons between 20-24 years of age are more likely to be affected, which in turn points more to pleasure tourism.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:45 am
#3221
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,811
If you test on arrival only you get 7% of cases that would be confirmed by 14 days. I think we all knew that those countries doing this were wasting their time. If you test on arrival plus 5 days it rises to 85%. If arrival plus 8 days it is 96%. It is worth noting that 14 days self isolation is 98.5%, it is possible but rare to be able to infect after 14 days, though the suspicion is that in those cases the viral load wouldn't be high. Almost all test results not involving the postal service are now being delivered under 24 hours.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:48 am
#3222
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
If you test on arrival only you get 7% of cases that would be confirmed by 14 days. I think we all knew that those countries doing this were wasting their time. If you test on arrival plus 5 days it rises to 85%. If arrival plus 8 days it is 96%. It is worth noting that 14 days self isolation is 98.5%, it is possible but rare to be able to infect after 14 days, though the suspicion is that in those cases the viral load wouldn't be high. Almost all test results not involving the postal service are now being delivered under 24 hours.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:56 am
#3223
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Posts: 63,811
I don't think many people get contaminated by laying on the beach or taking photos of the Blue Mosque, but if anyone is travelling at all, I think that avoiding clubs and football nights at the pub, and, - however sad and inhumane this might sound - resisting the urge to hug aunts and grandmothers will likely make a difference to the risk of infection.
- sitting on a beach = good, virus rarely transmits
- sightseeing around Istanbul = not too bad, the virus has a half life of under 30 minutes in that environment, good ventilation
- prolonged visit indoors to a pub with poor ventilation - not so good, half life of 60 to 180 minutes
- visit to see granny / folks back home / sister who is an expat - really bad idea.
Some of the above is counter-intuitive, but most people know the person who infected them.
Aug 19, 2020, 3:00 am
#3224
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: VIE
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Posts: 3,775
Aug 19, 2020, 3:04 am
#3225
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LHR/ATH
Programs: Amex Platinum, LH SEN (Gold), BA Bronze
Posts: 4,489
Are we good regarding Switzerland if it stays below 20 cases in the last 7 days? It is at 16.3 as of yesterday.
I see we are referring on this thread to the last 14 days and it being in danger above 35 past 14 days, but I am not sure of the UK govt's metrics. I want to go but I am worried about the UK government
killing it.
I see we are referring on this thread to the last 14 days and it being in danger above 35 past 14 days, but I am not sure of the UK govt's metrics. I want to go but I am worried about the UK government
killing it.