Huge boost for half-term holidays as ministers set to scrap Covid tests for fully-jabbed
Huge boost for half-term holidays as ministers are set to declare TODAY that Covid tests for the fully vaccinated are being scrapped and double-jabbed children will be able to get travel passes
Post-return Covid tests to be scrapped for those fully-jabbed, saving £120Vaccinated children aged 12-15 will be able to access digital Covid pass Comes amid general easing of Covid restrictions carried out by Boris Johnson
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Families are set for a holiday boost before half-term with ministers expected to make foreign travel easier today.
At a meeting of the Covid-O committee later they are expected to scrap the requirement for people who have been fully vaccinated to take a Covid test on their return, saving around £120 per family.
At the same time, vaccinated children aged 12-15 will be able to access digital Covid passes that will allow them to travel far more freely than at present.
They are currently not past of the scheme, making it harder for parents to prove their children’s jab status.
An announcement is expected this afternoon, amid a general easing of Covid restrictions being carried out by Boris Johnson.
The Prime minister, speaking on a visit to Milton Keynes today, said: ‘We have, thanks to the tough decisions, the big calls that we made… the most open economy and society in Europe.
‘And although we have to be cautious, we are now moving through the Omicron wave, and you can see the figures are starting to get better.
‘So what we’re doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travellers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated.’
The expected changes come as the chief executives of the UK’s largest airlines have written to the Government to demand an end to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
They say that Omicron is in retreat and evidence shows that travel restrictions have a ‘limited effect’ in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
At a meeting of the Covid-O committee later they are expected to scrap the requirement for people who have been fully vaccinated to take a Covid test on their return, saving around £120 per family.
The move comes amid a general easing of Covid restrictions being carried out by Boris Johnson (pictured today)
The Covid-O committee is chaired by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay, with other members including Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid/
Currently, vaccinated people travelling to England must pre-book a coronavirus test to be taken on the second day after they arrive. They do not need to quarantine once they are in England.
If travellers are not fully vaccinated they must take a test up to 48 hours before their journey, and they must pre-book two tests to be taken on day two and day eight after they arrive. Once they arrive in England they must quarantine for 10 days.
In a letter to ministers, airline bosses ask that restriction-free travel is restored ‘at the very least’ for those who are fully vaccinated.
The letter is signed by the heads of Ryanair, Easyjet, Loganair, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Jet2, as well as the chief executives of holiday travel group Tui and trade body Airlines UK.
It contains three key demands:
– Restriction free travel for all travellers or at the very least those who are fully vaccinated;
– The targeted and transparent use of red lists without universal testing or hotel quarantines;
– That the Government rules out the use of border closures and flight bans in response to future variants of concern.
The chief executives say that travel restrictions have had a devastating effect on the UK’s economy, with marginal health benefits.
‘This has meant fewer business trips and less investment in our economy, fewer chances for holidays and to reunite with friends and family abroad, and fewer international visitors’, the airline bosses write.
‘VisitBritain estimate nearly £50bn in tourism spend from overseas has been lost since the pandemic began – all resulting in less tax revenue to fund public services including the NHS.
‘The recovery of the UK’s aviation industry is vital; not just to the more than half a million people working in it, but to everyone who lives and works in the UK.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We continue to keep our travel measures under review and no decisions have been made.
‘We recognise the impact travel measures have had on the travel and tourism industry and that’s why businesses have been able to draw from an unprecedented package of Government support since the start of the pandemic, including around £8bn for the air transport sector.’
