LONDON, Jan 8 — England will require all travellers, including UK citizens, to present a negative COVID-19 test result up to 72 hours before departure starting from next week, the United Kingdom’s Department for Transport said on Friday, Sputnik news agency reported.
“All international arrivals to England, including UK nationals, required to present a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure. Passengers will be subject to an immediate fine of £500 (US$677) if they fail to comply with the new regulations on pre-departure testing,” the department said in a press release.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that the spread of new strains of coronavirus requires the country to impose additional restrictions.
On Thursday, the UK registered over 52,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,162 related deaths, the highest increase since April.
Overall, the country has confirmed over 2.8 million COVID-19 cases and more than 78,000 deaths.
England imposed its third lockdown this week, while COVID-19 restrictions are also in place in Scotland.
